Every March the attention of sports fans turns to the NCAA Tournament. Every March there is that one team that defies the odds and becomes a Cinderella story.

Without brackets, upset specials or television coverage, the Kosciusko County Panthers are experiencing their own version of March Madness.

The Panthers are a Special Olympics basketball squad that will compete in the Special Olympics Indiana State Basketball Championships in the Level 3 tournament.

A skills assessment is given to players before each season and players are rated from 1 to 4 with 1 being a person with no disabilities and 4 being a person who is severely disabled.

Leading the charge down to Terre Haute for a state championship is Panthers' head coach Tom Ducheteau.

Ducheteau began coaching seven years ago after the company he worked for strongly encouraged community service.

But what started out as something to fulfill a work obligation turned into much more.

"These fellas can be a little cantankerous," said Ducheteau. "I thought that I'd give it a shot and see what happens. Now I've been doing it for seven years."

In terms of basketball, it's been up and down for the Panthers over the past couple years.

Last year the team lost in the first round. In 2003, they compiled a 12-0 record but a paperwork problem kept the Panthers from competing in the tournament.

This year the Panthers rolled to a 7-1 regular season record.

Ducheteau and his team traveled to Valparaiso University last weekend for sectional play. Their season looked to be over when they entered the fourth quarter against the St. Joseph County Cavemen down by 13 points.

The Panthers forced the game to overtime and eventually won.

The Marshall-Starke Wildcats stood between the Panthers and a sectional championship.

Like they did earlier in the day, the Panthers fell behind before coming back in the final minute to defeat the Wildcats.

"Winning the game," said player Ryan Morse of what his favorite part about playing is. "When we won (the sectional) we just stormed the court. That's all we did."

While the success on the court has been great, it's the relationships that formed off the court that trump everything else.

"Love. I love these guys. They're my family," said Ducheteau of what he gets from coaching the Panthers.

The players no are no longer simply defined by disability but by their ability on the hardwood.

As the team gathered for a meeting Wednesday, the Panthers were brimming with confidence.

"We're gonna win," the group said in near unison when asked what they expected Saturday.

And that sort of confidence, which is bred through competition, is part of the mission of the Special Olympics.

Locally, the Special Olympics Indiana Kosciusko County branch is involved in such spring sports as bowling, bocce, horseshoes and track and field.

Becky Walls, the county coordinator, said they are always looking for younger athletes but it's a challenge.

Members of the Panthers have been together for the past five years.

Lisa Scott, the county's outreach coordinator, has a son, John Ong, on the team.

Walls and Scott are always hoping that those mentally disabled in the county who want to be afforded the chance to compete.

As for the Panthers, a quest for a state championship begins Saturday morning at 10:15 a.m. against Delaware County. The state championship game will be played Sunday.

Members of the Panthers include starters Morse, Scott Frush, Tony Thompson, Ron Taylor and Ed Condinho. Robert Svinarich, Jim Nuell, Wayne Momeyer, Roger Marshall and Ong come off the bench.

Seven skills players will also be making the trip to Indiana State. Skills players are those who are unable to play in 3-on-3 or 5-on-5 games but rather compete in shooting and ball handling competitions.

For more information on the Special Olympics or to learn more about what the Special Olympics does locally visit www.sokosco.org. [[In-content Ad]]