大象APP

The 鈥淓xtraordinary Cats鈥� football camp, started by Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales, is an all-ages camp for people with mental and physical disabilities.

Around 40 people, from kids to young adults, attended the camp at the Cole and Jeannie Davis Sports Center Wednesday night and a majority of the UA football players helped campers in the drills.

The camp consisted of kicking and throwing drills and a relay race. Campers ended the night by taking turns running at a stand-up pad and diving on a cushioned pad. Each camper had a swarm of football players nearby for encouraging words and praise. Campers also wore white T-shirts with 鈥淚 Am Extraordinary鈥� emblazoned on the back.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 just the experience of being around some young people that have it much more difficult than they do and having a respect and appreciation for that, how blessed they are, and what they can do with their platform and how much joy they can bring to somebody else by just being involved in their life,鈥� said Arizona head coach Brent Brennan.

The inspiration for Extraordinary Cats came more than 11 years ago, when Gonzales and his wife, Sandra, had their daughter, Abby, who has Down Syndrome. The Gonzales family noticed the father-son tandem of NFL stars Ed McCaffrey and Christian McCaffrey holding camps for kids with special needs.

Sandra Gonzales wanted to do the football camp, so Danny Gonzales, who was an assistant at San Diego State, made a deal with her and said, 鈥溾�橧鈥檒l tell you what, if I ever become a head coach, we鈥檒l do a camp.鈥欌��

When Gonzales became the head coach at New Mexico in 2020, they couldn鈥檛 do the camp due to pandemic-related concerns. Eventually, Gonzales held the camp at New Mexico and called it 鈥淓xtraordinary Lobos.鈥�

鈥淲e started this thing for people with disabilities and then I thought, well, it鈥檚 different abilities,鈥� Gonzales said. 鈥淚鈥檓 good at certain things and there鈥檚 other things that I鈥檓 not good at. Everyone has different abilities and they鈥檙e extraordinary. They鈥檙e extraordinary people. We鈥檙e going to keep this tradition and hopefully long after we鈥檙e gone, they鈥檒l continue it. It鈥檚 an amazing event and it鈥檚 just as good for the kids as it is the individuals.鈥�

Added Gonzales: 鈥淲e鈥檙e big on inclusion. I promise you, our football players today learned more today than the kids out here with disabilities. Not just kids, there were adults with disabilities out here, which is what we want. It鈥檚 an opportunity for them to come out and have some fun with our football players.鈥�

Abby Gonzales鈥� favorite part of the camp? 鈥淭he races.鈥�

Malachi Avila, a 19-year-old Cholla High School alum, was one of the standout campers on Wednesday. Avila attended a similar camp during Super Bowl weekend in Glendale two years ago.

鈥淗e has never been able to play football, so this is a good opportunity for him,鈥� said Estella Avila, Malachi鈥檚 mother. 鈥淚 think this is great. I love him being at the U of A and being around some big, burly football players. He loves football, and it鈥檚 so inspiring and it鈥檚 wonderful to include everybody.鈥�

Malachi Avila competes in Special Olympics events and plays basketball, soccer, baseball, swimming and track. Every Saturday, 鈥渉e鈥檚 out there playing ball鈥� at 大象APPField of Dreams on Kino Parkway, said Estella Avila, who sparked her son鈥檚 passion for sports growing up.

鈥淚 grew up in Michigan and I鈥檝e always been outdoors,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 raised him by myself and I used to throw a football with him, throw a baseball with him and a frisbee and always kept him active and keep him moving.鈥�

Some campers already had pre-existing relationships with the UA football team, like 10-year-old Keoni Medlock, who is on the spectrum of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and autism. Medlock was born at 大象APPMedical Center and was adopted by his parents, Phil and Benjie Medlock, at 4 months old. After he was in an emergency foster home, Keoni Medlock 鈥� named 鈥淏aby K鈥� in the foster care system 鈥� became a part of the Medlock family as a baby.

鈥淚 remember coming home and telling my husband, 鈥楬e was born for me. He鈥檚 going to be mine,鈥欌�� said Benjie Medlock, who named her son Keoni (Hawaiian for John) after her father. 鈥淎nd he became mine.鈥�

Benjie Medlock grew up in Oahu, Hawaii, and has connected with several of Arizona鈥檚 Polynesian football players over the years. Every few months, the Medlock family will 鈥渋nvite them over to come and eat,鈥� she said.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e always super amazing with (Keoni Medlock) and super patient,鈥� said Benjie Medlock.

Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan were among the contingent of players who visited the Medlock household for meals and gatherings. Benjie Medlock said Keoni Medlock 鈥渞eally loves T-Mac,鈥� who was drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers.

鈥淭hey were never super close, but one time when he did come over, T-Mac gave him some attention and he loved it,鈥� she added.

Keoni Medlock attended a traditional youth camp at Arizona last year, but felt discouraged when he looked at other campers.

鈥淗e said, 鈥業 don鈥檛 belong,鈥欌�� Benjie Medlock said.

When Mama Medlock discovered Extraordinary Cats, 鈥淚 literally cried,鈥� she said.

鈥淎rizona is literally the best school ever because of this,鈥� she added. 鈥淚 think this is wonderful. I want to bake cookies for (Danny Gonzales) and his wife forever.鈥�

Another familiar face at the Extraordinary Cats camp was 8-year-old Braxton Larowe, who has been with the UA football program the last two seasons. Larowe was part of Team IMPACT, a national program that pairs kids with disabilities or an illness with college and professional teams.

Larowe, a Marana native, was matched with the UA football team and attended practices and games, including the Wildcats鈥� win at the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio during the 2023 season. Since it鈥檚 a two-year program, Larowe graduated from Team IMPACT and is now considered a UA football alumnus and will receive invitations to UA football-related events. The connection with the football 鈥渉as been amazing,鈥� said Kristin Larowe, Braxton鈥檚 mother.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen a huge impact with him and a huge change with him,鈥� Larowe said. 鈥淲hen he first started, you could barely get him to talk and you could barely understand him, but he talks and they completely understand him. Their bond with him is something he鈥檒l never let go of. He talks about them all the time and those are his boys. Any time something is wrong, he just wants to go see them. He鈥檒l always be a part of their lives.鈥�

The UA football players were excused from mandatory team obligations, but nearly the entire team 鈥渁ll chose to be here, which is heartwarming to me, because they knew how much this camp meant to me,鈥� Gonzales said.

鈥淭he fact that they gave up their time to do this is awesome,鈥� Gonzales said. 鈥淭his was not mandatory. They all showed up, which is really cool.鈥�

Extraordinary Cats 鈥渋s a wonderful event, celebrating a bunch of kids,鈥� Brennan said. The Wildcats are aiming to make the camp an annual tradition.

鈥淭he joy on their faces and the joy on our players鈥� faces was incredible to watch and it was incredible to be a part of it,鈥� said Brennan. 鈥淚鈥檓 hoping it鈥檒l grow every year. ... Our players were so wonderful working with the athletes competing in the obstacle course. When you see the joy on their faces and how much fun they were having, it made for a really special day.鈥�