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A Special Needs Camp Volunteer Uses Skills Learned to Lead Colgate Basketball Special Needs Camp Volunteer Uses Skills Learned to Lead Colgate Basketball

'Gate takes on Syracuse tonight from the JMA Wireless Dome at 7 p.m.

By Trey Redfield

Jeff Woodward looks on at a Colgate practice, as he rests his injured thumb.
© 2022 Trey Redfield

TREY REDFIELD: IF YOU TAKE A TRIP DOWN TO HAMILTON, YOU MAY NOTICE COLGATE MEN’S BASKETBALL’S RECENT SUCCESS. BACK-TO-BACK PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONS, AND IN SEARCH OF ITS THIRD STRAIGHT NCAA TOURNAMENT BID. SOMEONE WHO WAS ON BOTH OF THOSE TEAMS IS JEFF WOODWARD, WHO ALSO WON THREE STRAIGHT CONFERENCE TITLES AT METHACTON HIGH SCHOOL IN AUDUBON, PENNSYLVANIA.

JEFF WOODWARD: IT’S KIND OF A FAMILIAR PLACE FOR ME, AND KIND OF THE EXPECTATION I HOLD MYSELF TO.

REDFIELD: BUT THIS SUMMER, THE PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR FOUND SUCCESS FOR FIVE WEEKS AT CAMP RAMPAPO, A CAMP THAT SERVES KIDS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN RHINEBECK, WHICH IS THREE AND A HALF HOURS SOUTHEAST OF COLGATE UNIVERSITY. WOODWORD FOUND OUT ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY SENT OUT THROUGH AN EMAIL SENT OUT BY THE SCHOOL. HE APPLIED, AND GOT THE JOB – ONE THAT WAS 24-SEVEN.

WOODWARD: YOU’RE SLEEPING IN THE SAME BUNKS AS THEM, YOU’RE EATING ALL OF YOUR MEALS WITH THEM. IT REALLY GIVES YOU AN INSIGHT INTO THEIR EVERYDAY LIVES, AND HOW DIFFICULT IT CAN BE, BUT HOW SPECIAL THE KIDS ARE.

REDFIELD: WOODWARD DID A LOT. HE SPENT TIME WITH HIS NEW FRIENDS, TAUGHT THEM LIFE LESSONS, AND DID NUMEROUS ACTIVITIES. LIKE FEEDING CHICKENS. WHEN ‘GATE HEAD COACH MATT LANGEL FOUND OUT ABOUT WOODWARD’S OPPORTUNITY, HE SAYS HE THOUGHT IT WAS THE PERFECT FIT.

MATT LANGEL: HE’S GOT A BIG PERSONALITY, HE’S A BIG BALL OF ENERGY, AND HE’S GOT A POSITIVE OUTLOOK ON LIFE.

REDFIELD: WOODWARD DOES MOST OF HIS WORK BEHIND ME IN THE PAINT. THE SIX FOOT ELEVEN CENTER, GOING INTO HIS JUNIOR YEAR, SAYS HE HOPES TO USE HIS SKILLS FROM CAMP RAMAPO AND BRING THEM TO THE HARDWOOD, IN AN EFFORT FOR THE RAIDERS TO THREE-PEAT IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE.

WOODWARD: HAVING THAT PATIENCE ON YOUR TEAM WHEN, YOU KNOW, AN UNDERCLASSMAN DOESN’T KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON, NOT HAVING THAT FRUSTRATION WITH THEM. BUT TAKING TIME TO MAKE SURE THEY UNDERSTAND THIS IS WHAT WE DO, THIS IS WHY WE DO IT, AND THIS IS HOW WE DO IT.

REDFIELD: BECAUSE IN LIFE, IT’S ALL ABOUT HOW YOU MAKE YOUR MARK, BEFORE THE FINAL BUZZER SOUNDS. I’M TREY REDFIELD, NCC SPORTS.

HAMILTON, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) –  Tonight, Syracuse men’s basketball takes on Colgate. Last year, the Raiders defeated the Orange for the first time since 1962, when John F. Kennedy was president of the United States.

In that win for ‘Gate, there was a 6’11 presence down low, in Jeff Woodward, a junior from Audubon, Pennsylvania. Woodward is someone that has been around for Colgate’s recent success. He is used to winning, thanks to winning three conference titles at Methacton High School.

“It’s kind of a familiar place for me,” Woodward said. “And it is kind of the expectation I hold myself to.”

As great as Woodward’s success has been on the basketball court, he found that and then some at Camp Ramapo, a camp that serves kids with special needs in Rhinebeck, N.Y., for five weeks. This was a job the psychology major found out about through a university email listserv. He applied, and got the job. This job, though, had no breaks.

“You are sleeping in the same bunks as them, you are eating with all of them,” Woodward said. “It really gives you an insight into their everyday lives, and how difficult it can be, but how special the kids are.”

In those five weeks, Woodward did a ton. He taught his new friends life lessons, cared and bathed them and did a plethora of activities. When Raiders head coach Matt Langel found out about Woodward’s opportunity, he said he knew it was the perfect fit.

“He’s got a big personality,” Langel said. “He’s a big ball of energy, and he’s got a positive outlook on life.”

So now, it’s hoops season. Colgate is 2-1, and in search of taking down Syracuse for the second straight year. Woodward hopes to bring the skills that he learned in downstate New York onto the hardwood, in an effort to continue ‘Gate’s success under Coach Langel.

“It comes down to having that patience on your team,” Woodward said. “When, you know, an underclassmen does not know what is going on; not having frustration with them. But taking the time to make sure they understand this is what we do, this is why we do it, and this is how we do it.”

Syracuse and Colgate tango tonight from the JMA Wireless Dome at 7 p.m.

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