Hi Virginia Special Olympians!
If you know me, you know that I LOVE sports. I play in every season, and Special Olympics gives me some of the best opportunities to play, compete and have fun.
But it doesn’t have to end with Special Olympics if you want to take your skills to the next level!
One of my favorite sports is swimming. I have been in Special Olympics aquatics since my 9th grade year. I have competed at Virginia's Summer Games every year they have had it since then. But Special Olympics swim season starts with practice in January and finishes up in early June. For me, it’s hard to get started each year because swimming requires a lot of muscles that don’t get used in my other sports, such as basketball, football and volleyball.
The solution? To help stay in “swim shape” a few years ago, I started swimming with the Master’s program at George Mason University.
Master’s swim is a nationwide program in which adults swim laps and train several times a week, all year round. I have been in Master’s swimming for about three years now. I practice every Tuesday and Thursday (and sometimes Friday) with a couple of my fellow Special Olympians, along with about 20 other swimmers from ages 18 to over 60.
Special Olympics has improved my swim conditioning, but I like Master’s as well because I get to work on my endurance and strokes. Both are needed to be a better swimmer, but it is hard to work on this enough with the short Special Olympics season and only one practice a week.
Many athletes need more practice than that. Most can practice on their own or in small groups at home (running, shooting baskets, kicking goals, dribbling or passing a ball, and so on). But it is very hard to practice swimming in the bathtub – the laps are too short!! Master’s gives me the chance to practice kicking, paddling and strokes all year. It is also fun to talk to the other swimmers on breaks between laps. We catch our breath and find out how each other are doing.
I also like to learn from my coaches. The head coach of our program, Cheryl Ward, was in the actual Olympics Games back in 1984 as a freestyle swimmer. She and our other coaches help us improve our form and encourage us when we get tired. Working with a group like this makes staying active easier. My goals in swimming are to keep getting Gold in butterfly and freestyle and to keep up my endurance all year.
Special Olympics gives opportunities for members of our community to learn new sports and new ways to stay healthy, but in many cases we can take what we learn and play the sports in other ways, too. My friends who bowl participate in regular tournaments as well those sponsored by Special Olympics. One of my teammates in football plays competitive tennis outside of Special Olympics.
Part of living in an inclusive culture is joining in activities beyond our community. I encourage my fellow athletes to participate wherever they can!!
