Special education department teacher Judith Jurado spins a basketball on her finger in her classroom. Jurado played basketball for seven years when she was younger. “I fell in love with the game. I enjoyed playing defense and making a good shot. It was always just a good feeling. When you’re playing, you forget yourself, you’re just out there playing,” Jurado said.
Photo by Julie Alpaugh
Update: The ODYSSEY Media Group will provide viewers with weekly stylized profiles that center on people in the Athens community telling their own stories.
By JULIE ALPAUGH – Digital Visuals Editor
Standing only 5’1” as she rushes down the hall to unlock her classroom at Clarke Central High School, students wouldn’t guess what special education department teacher Judith Jurado’s passion was as a kid.
Special education department teacher Judith Jurado grew up in Manchester, New Hampshire with her mom who raised her and her three other siblings.
She remembers at the age of 10 going to the local park with her brother, his friends and whoever showed up and playing “street ball”.
She remembers being in grade school, and the day the coach from the junior high came to speak to her class saying that they would let fifth and sixth graders on the junior high basketball team.
She remembers going home excited and sharing the news with her mom, who always encouraged her and her siblings to go for whatever they wanted.
She remembers going to the tryouts and slipping around in her K-Mart tennis shoes but being determined to make the team anyway.
She remembers making the team and falling in love with the fast paced game. She remembers taking the court and letting all her other thoughts disappear as she focused on the game.
She remembers the day she blew out her knee her sophomore year and would never be able to play basketball again.
She remembers the devastation and hard time that followed.
She remembers later in her life when she coached kids’ basketball ball and found new enjoyment through teaching the game.
When she was playing, basketball was all about the winning score or the number of points. As a coach, it was the rules of the game and teamwork that mattered.
She remembers the day she asked some Clarke Central students to see the basketball they were using and their surprised faces when she spun it on her finger.
She looks back and remembers.
