When she meets new people, Diamond Douang is often quiet and shy.

But when she gets on a basketball court, her whole personality shifts.

She’s assertive and hyper-focused on her performance, while supporting her teammates, said her father, Jeff Osborn.

“When she gets on the court and gets a basketball in her hand, it’s completely different,” he said.

Diamond, of Pataskala, got the chance to show off her skills and represent Licking County earlier this summer at the 2022 Special Olympics USA games in Orlando, Florida.

Her 3×3 basketball team won a silver medal after six games against teams from around the country.

“It was a great opportunity,” Osborn said. “It was an honor for her to be considered and for her to be able to go.”

Diamond, 22, started playing basketball in second grade, after receiving a flyer for Upward Basketball at school.

During her sophomore year at Watkins Memorial High School, she began playing basketball for the West Licking Special Olympics women’s team.

Over the years, Diamond has participated in a variety of other sports in the program, including tennis, basketball, bowling, bocce and track, said Vicki Sussman, West Licking Special Olympics Coordinator.

“She’s a great athlete, she’s really a coach’s dream” she said. “She’s a team player, she’s competitive and she works hard.”

Diamond was a member of the West Licking women’s basketball team that placed third at the State Special Olympic games in March of 2020 — scoring 36 points in the final game.

So when Special Olympics Ohio contacted Sussman months later, to ask if she had any basketball players who would be eligible to represent Ohio at the USA games, she didn’t hesitate to call Osborn.

“I said ‘That’s Diamond,’ she said. “She was an obvious choice.”

When Osborn told his daughter about the opportunity, she said, “How soon can I go?”

Diamond was nominated and selected as one of the six women to represent Ohio in the 3×3 competition.

The team members met and practiced several times, in Cincinnati and at Ohio State University. But since COVID-19 had limited many of Special Olympics’ activities, Diamond did a lot of her preparation on her own. 

She worked hard to practice her dribbling and prepare for a new version of the game. 

“It’s half the court, so you have to pass the ball more and play different positions.” she said.

On June 4, she and her dad flew to Orlando, where Diamond got to participate in the USA Games opening ceremony with more than 6,000 other athletes from around the country.

Once she arrived, she spent most of her time with her teammates, getting to know athletes from all around the state.

There were many emotional moments, such as the medal ceremony after their final game. 

But there were also many fun ones, from playing their games in the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex to visiting Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom and shopping at Disney Springs.

Osborn said he did his best to share photos and updates with family, friends and Special Olympics teammates back home.

“It was great to watch her, it was great to watch all the athletes,” he said.

Since returning home from Florida, Diamond has been taking it easy. But she did compete in bocce for West Licking during the Special Olympics summer games. And she and her dad are active in their bowling league.

She’s hoping to rejoin the West Licking women’s team in October, when the season starts.

Osborn said it’s been amazing to see how much Diamond has grown since she started Special Olympics — going from a teen who didn’t want to talk to anyone to a confident woman playing on the national stage.

“This whole thing has been so good for her,” he said. “It’s really brought her out of her shell.”

Some photos provided by Special Olympics Ohio.