CHANGES MADE TO SUPER KIDS BOWL

BO B PR AT TE
   Idyllwild School Principal Matt Kraemer is making a big change for this year's heartwarming Super Kids Bowl set for Feb. 1 at Hemet High from 9:30 to 11 a.m.

   To make the event more manageable for staff, parents and Hemet Unified School District kids from severely handicapped and autism programs, Kraemer will rotate the grade levels that participate each year. Middle school and high school students will be in the Bulldog stadium this year. Elementary students will score touchdowns next year.

   Last year, with 220 kids involved, it took too long for all the students to take turns scoring touchdowns. Also, alternating the grade levels that participate will greatly reduce transportation costs.

   “The high school students had to wait over two hours before they got to go onto the field,” Kraemer wrote in a note about the change. “That's too long of a wait for special needs students.”

   In the Super Kids Bowl, students line up in the running back position with varsity football players. One by 
one, they are handed footballs and score touchdowns. Cheerleaders cheer. The school band plays for each touchdown.

   The kids are excited. It's a morning that can bring tears of joy from spectators.

   Kraemer started the Super Kids Bowl for his Little Lake students eight years ago after seeing an ESPN report on a similar event. He expanded to include other schools and more grade levels. He is so dedicated to the day that he continued organizing the Super Kids Bowl when he transferred to Idyllwild.

   Kraemer rotates the event between West Valley, Tahquitz and Hemet highs.

   He said besides providing an exciting morning for the special needs kids, it makes high school students more aware of their presence on campus. “That's makes the day special,” he said. “They strike up friendships and recognize them on campus. When they see them, they'll have conversations and call them by name.”

   Kraemer said he hopes other school districts will copy the Super Kids Bowl. They should.


   Contact Bob Pratte at 951-763-3452, [email protected]   or 3400 Wentworth Drive, Hemet CA 92545. Find Bob’s blog at blog. pe.com/bob-pratte   and follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PE.BobPratte   and Twitter: @bpratte
STAN LIM/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

   Dawson Heng, then an 8th-grader at Rancho Viejo Middle School, scores a touchdown with members of Tahquitz High School football players at last year's Super Kids Bow. The event will be held this year on Feb. 1 at Hemet High.

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