Special Bonds
SLIPPERY ROCK — The words were not spoken, but they resounded in every movement of each Special Olympian at the Western Fall Sectional last Sunday at Slippery Rock University.
"We're here and we matter."
Longtime Crawford County Special Olympics running coach Michael Shea, an SRU graduate working with these athletes since 1972, also said as much.
"We can learn from these people," Shea said. "They cheer for everyone. They encourage everyone. They never say a bad word about anyone in another uniform.
"They get to know the other team members instead. It's sportsmanship in its purest form, the true joy of competition.
"They want to win so badly, yet they gain from the experience regardless," Shea added.
Motivational speaker Jon Kolb, a former Pittsburgh Steelers lineman, said the Special Olympics could be renamed the Perfect Olympics.
He addressed the sense of purpose, feeling of accomplishment and demonstration of human spirit.
"All anyone can do is be the best he can be," Kolb said. "That's what these athletes are doing and their effort always comes from the inside.
"People lose their high expectations sometimes. Not these people. Never. That's what makes these the Perfect Olympics, or Special Olympics. They're one and the same."
It makes the coach-athlete relationships pretty special as well.
A number of Butler County coaches have children of their own involved in the program.Renee Spohn is the head floor hockey coach for Special Olympics Butler County and works with athletes in volleyball, track and field and basketball as well.Her daughter, Haley, has Down syndrome."The socialization is the big thing," Spohn said. "Most of the athletes are extremely shy when they first join. Their interaction with teammates and the encouragement they get from them brings them out of their shell."It's all about self-esteem, self-confidence, feeling of self-worth — not to mention the physical exercise they get. Without Special Olympics, some of these people might never leave the house."Val Stiffy, 42, a Special Olympian for 12 years, said "I'd probably be home watching TV all day," if not for the Butler County program.Instead, she's headed for Athens, Greece, and the 2011 International Games next summer to compete in tennis.Some Special Olympians live with their families while others live independently. Still, others live in group homes."In some cases, their parents die and they're incapable of living on their own, so they go to group homes," Spohn said. "Regardless of the person's situation, Special Olympics gives them structure and a support system in their lives."It may take a long time, but a level of trust is developed between the coaches and athletes. Without Special Olympics, some of these people living on their own might find trouble on the streets."Spohn cited a case of a female athlete showing up for practice one day with a black eye."I asked her how she got it and she said a friend gave it to her," Spohn said. "I told her anybody who would give you a black eye is not your friend."We don't know who they're hanging out with when they're not here. When we gain their trust and become their friends, we can guide them."Dave Burgoon has been head volleyball coach for Special Olympics Butler County for 22 years."Some of them trust you as a mentor, some of them don't," he said. "We try to fit in with them. We can't expect them to fit in with us."Burgoon's son, Ryan, got involved in Special Olympics at age 8. He's 33 now."They love getting together, learning and competing together," Burgoon said of his team. "Everybody plays regardless of their ability."What's amazing is how everyone feeds off each other. Either the whole team is playing great or nobody's doing anything out there. It really is a group thing."Mary Ann Lindsey is a bocce coach for Butler County. Her daughter Kristen, 35, is a longtime Special Olympian and has been a global messenger for the organization for five years."I was a spectator who became a coach," Mary Ann Lindsey said. "You grow so close to these athletes. There's a special quality about them that's hard to describe."They go through little stretches where they don't want to be told what to do. Any human being doesn't like to be told what to do. They listen when they see how they benefit from the instruction."Shawn Kuntz is an athlete with no verbal communication skills. He communicates through touch and understands what he's told."We taught him how to play bocce," Lindsey said. "The smile on his face tells us he likes it."Soccer coach Scott Pitzer has been with the program for 16 years. He has two stepchildren — Rosalind and Madeline Burns — on the team."You create a bond with them," Pitzer said of the athletes. "They open up and show their personality to you and to each other."They're grateful for the opportunity to compete. They definitely want that gold medal, but they're not here to win. They're here to have fun discovering what they can do when they push themselves."Pitzer recognizes the power of Special Olympics when he looks at his stepdaughters."There was a time they didn't want to go outside on a beautiful day," he said. "Now, they'd be playing this soccer game if it was raining."
Benjamin Bennett has been a soccer goalie for two years. At age 27, he's been a Special Olympian for 20."It's fun. It's exercise. It's running around in the fresh air," Bennett said. "I love being part of this."My coaches are great ... fun to hang around with. We joke with each other. Win, lose or tie, it doesn't matter. We're playing. It's a game."They're games not worth missing for Kristen Lindsey.Winner of 109 gold medals in swimming, she proudly displays No. 100."Already framed and on the wall," she said of its destination. "I've won other medals, but I don't count the silver and bronze ones."Lindsey had hip replacement surgery and was back in the pool within eight weeks, back in competition within 12."She never moped or complained about the exercises she had to do after that operation," Lindsey's mother said. "No doubt in my mind the swimming events motivated her."Kristen wasn't about to miss a competition. No way."She's gotten pretty good at bocce, too. On her way to SRU Sunday, Lindsey plotted three diagrams for her and doubles partner Jeff Walsh to employ."It's our playbook," she said, smiling. "I made some trick plays. We're gonna slow the ball down and outfox our competition."It worked. Lindsey, Walsh, another bocce duo, and Butler County's soccer and volleyball teams qualified for the Special Olympics Pennsylvania Games in early November.Two Butler County Special Olympians — 75-year-old Don Wimer and 74-year-old Betty Double — have been bowlers in the program since its inception in 1971."Betty fell two years ago and she bowls with a ramp now, but she's still out there every Friday," Special Olympics Butler County manager Mary Pitzer said. "It's such a big part of their lives."Stiffy, a volleyball player, works at McDonald's 12 hours a week. Teammate Bruce Pryor, 52, a Special Olympian for 30 years, works at Young Funeral Home."I'd get bored too easily if I wasn't doing this," Stiffy said. "Who wants to sit at home?"Pryor enjoys staying active as well as being a team leader."I remember when I started. I was afraid to do anything," he said. "Now I help out the new players. You have to get used to this. It took me about two years."Once I saw I could do it, I just wanted to do more."
■ Special Olympics was established in Butler County in 1971 by the Jaycees. It began with bowling and a one-day track and field event. Fewer than 50 athletes participated.■ Today, there are six Special Olympics events each year involving Butler County athletes. There are 280 athetes in Special Olympics Butler County.■ Special Olympics Butler County offers 14 sports today: track and field, aquatics, basketball, bocce, bowling, equestrian, floor hockey, soccer, gymnastics, long distance running/ walking, power lifting, skiing, tennis and volleyball.■ Special Olympics Butler County became an independent organization in 1982 and offers all of its programs free of charge.■ Special Olympics Butler County is a nonprofit organization run solely by volunteers. It is funded through its own fundraising efforts and contributions from individuals, businesses, foundations and community organizations.■ The organization has 30 coaches and more than 100 volunteers. Each coach must take training classes to become certified and must recertify every three years.■ To participate in Special Olympics, athletes must have an intellectual disability, a cognitive delay or a development disability, that is, functional limitations in both general learning and adaptive skills.■ Athletes may begin training at age 6, but may not compete until age 8. There is no elderly age limit.■ Volunteers are always needed. Call Mary Pitzer at 724-738-1477 or Patty Daniels at 724-285-4101.
