Oakton High to Host Special Olympics Event

Coach Fred Priester has long been aware of the Special Olympics Virginia basketball league because of his long tenure as the varsity girls basketball coach at McLean High, which has a robust program that dates back decades.

Priester, who currently coaches the undefeated Oakton High girls basketball team, used his McLean experience to start a Special Olympics team at Oakton three years ago. The varsity girls help coach the team, along with the Cougars' coaching staff.

"I remember in the first year Oakton started the Special Olympics team giving the kids their jerseys, which are just like our practice jerseys, and one of the kids said, 'Now I really feel like a Cougar,'" Priester said. "I think I teared up immediately."

Now the school will play host to the first-ever Fanquest to help build awareness of the program around Northern Virginia.

Fanquest, sponsored by Booz Allen, will feature a basketball game between the Oakton and McLean high schools' Special Olympics teams in the main gym, and Olympictown — which will feature carnival-type games — in the auxiliary gym. A dance will follow the game. The game begins at 7:10 p.m. Saturday.

Both schools' girls basketball programs have been involved in the planning of the event, recruiting school and community groups to pack the gym so the exhibition game players have a raucous audience. They have arranged for the dance team and cheerleaders to also be involved.

"We want to make it as special for those kids and as much like a regular high school game as we can," Priester said. "It's really a special opportunity for us to give back to the game we love so much, and these kids love the game, too."