Brandon Sports Club to Offer Program for Disabled Adults, Children

The Brandon Sports and Aquatics Center has teamed with the former director of Special Olympics in Hillsborough County to create a new type of program that will serve adults and school-age children with intellectual disabilities. 

According to a press release from BSAC, the program will be called TRIDENT, an acronym for Training and Recreation for the Intellectually Disabled Enhancing Natural Talents. Headed by former Hillsborough County director of Special Olympics Tom Denham III, the program will feature a day program and an after-school Program. 

The day program will serve adults who have graduated high school, and the after-school program will serve school-age children. Both programs are designed to create an active recreation environment for the participants. Plus, the day program will feature two to three hours per day of classroom time that focuses on training independent life-skills, which is not taught by any other local program.

BSAC will host an open house and introductory presentation of the TRIDENT Program on Monday, July 11 at 7 p.m. for teachers, parents, guardians and caregivers of intellectually disabled individuals. Tours of the facility will be available. The program officially starts on Monday, Sept. 19.

In addition to serving as executive director of the Special Olympics Hillsborough County program for the past six years, Denham served in several volunteer capacities within the organization since 1987. 

“I remember being a little kid in the late '70s helping my mom at Special Olympics events with her students,” Denham said. His mother, Sandy Denham, has been a special education teacher in the Hillsborough County School System for more than 30 years. 

“I grew up here in Brandon, and the people that will benefit from this program are more than just clients; they are my friends. I know a lot of their parents are frustrated by the lack of available options for their children. This is an underserved population with few options. Fortunately, BSAC was looking for a way to expand its mission of service to the community.”

BSAC Executive Director Chuck Burgess said he feels the addition of Denham to the BSAC team is a win for everyone.

“With Tom’s passion for making a difference in every individual he works with and his experience in organizing superior special needs programming, he is a perfect fit for BSAC’s mission to positively impact all individuals in our community," said Burgess.

Those interested in attending the open house on July 11 should contact Denham by calling 813-545-4368 or via e-mail at tdenham@mybsac.org.