Gone Fishin'

Odessa isn’t really the best place when it comes to a fishing outing.
   But thanks to the pond in Ronnie and Annette Parrish’s backyard, local students with special needs got a chance to learn how to cast a line and catch a bluegill.
   “They’re really special,” Ronnie Parrish said. “Whenever you can do anything for these kids, it’s really a treat for me.”
   They came from Ector and Hood junior high schools via their teacher and Special Olympics coach Kent McCord. He’s been teaching for 20 years and educates kids at seven of the ECISD schools.
   “The kids are the reason why I teach,” he said.
   It may have taken some assistance, but the participating students got their chance at a sport they wouldn’t normally get to do on a regular basis — especially in West Texas.
   “It’s just like an extracurricular,” McCord said.
   Next to fishing, McCord takes the students to other field trips and teaches them a number of other sports like bowling, soccer and hockey — just to name a few.
   Students get the chance to participate in what McCord calls “lifetime sports.”
   When there’s a laugh, a smile or even a clap at the reward of catching a fish and watching it flip, flap and dangle from the hook, it makes the experience of teaching all worthwhile. Even if some of the students can’t communicate.
   “Some kids are nonverbal,” McCord. “Some aren’t.”
   The feeling of pride is also hard to avoid when students are succeeding despite their limitations.
   “The kids are just kids,” McCord said. “You can’t help but be happy and proud for (them).”
   In addition to a day of fishing, Ronnie Parrish also provided a full barbecue with burgers, sausage and potato salad. And thanks to some hunting skills by the Parrishes’ chocolate Labrador “Bear,” the day was complete.
   “Just to see ’em be able to do something out of the ordinary … benefits these children quite a bit,” Ronnie Parrish said.

FACT FILE
   >> Kent McCord teaches Adaptive P.E. for seven of the ECISD schools.
   >> Adaptive P.E. students and other special needs children participate in the local Special Olympics.
   >> McCord has been teaching for 20 years.
   >> Bluegill were the majority of the fish students caught.