Students excited about Special Olympics
By Dolly A. Butz Journal staff writer | Posted: Thursday, December 07, 2006
Dressed in her royal blue cheerleading skirt and blue and white shell top embroidered with "Sioux City," Allison Bruneau, a student at East High School, picked up the shiny gold medal dangling from a ribbon around her neck and held it in her hands. She smiled and said, giggling, "Cheerleading. Boom dynamite. Boom dynamite."
Bruneau, 18, who is intellectually disabled and has down syndrome, is one of several Sioux City students who have found a place to belong and excel in athletics through the Special Olympics. Students from North, East and West high schools, Central Campus, North and West middle schools and Emerson and Crescent Park elementary schools compete in the Special Olympics, a series of regional, national and international athletic competitions for people with intellectual disabilities.
According to Special Olympics Iowa, about 2.1-2.3 percent of Iowa's population has intellectual disabilities. Special Olympics Iowa serves more than 13,000 Iowans.
Special Olympians compete in sports such as golf, bowling, basketball, weightlifting, track and field and cheerleading.
"It's definitely different from watching a regular basketball game," Michelle Morgan, a Special Olympics coach and East High School teacher, said. "They absolutely play 'til their heart's content with 110 percent of what they can do."
Morgan, who has been coaching Special Olympics for six years, first got the opportunity to coach when she came to East High School. She coaches basketball, bowling and weightlifting and is an assistant coach for the cheerleading squad.
"Every other school I had been at already had a coach, so I never had the opportunity to get involved," she said. "I tried it and I loved it and I've been doing it ever since."
Morgan said some students have mild disabilities, while others have "severe and profound" disabilities. She said her coaching philosophy is focused on giving students a new experience.
"I really think it gives them a place where they can shine and they can have some acceptance and they can be a part of a team and succeed at their level," she said. "I think that most of them realize that being a part of a regular basketball team is just not possible, so this gives them a place to belong and a place to really realize some success."
Although it's not about winning, Morgan said her students are very competitive.
"When we get there and they see the other teams and they realize that they're up against other people, they start getting really encouraged and excited about performing," she said. "It's really stressful. You can just see it on them, just like everybody else."
Going for gold
Some Sioux City students started competing in the Iowa Special Olympics in elementary school and have continued through high school. Cody Daugherty, 18, has been competing in the Special Olympics for about five years. During that time he's racked up a wall full of medals.
"No, I don't know how many I have," he said. "I don't count them."
Daugherty, who has gone to state in several sports, has excelled in weightlifting and track and field. He deadlifts 310 pounds and bench presses around 220 pounds. In track and field he competed in events including the softball throw, 50-meter dash and shot put.
Although football isn't a Special Olympics sport, Daugherty said it's his favorite. He was a member of the East High School football team and practiced at nose tackle. The athlete he looks up to, however, isn't a professional football player, but a former East High School Special Olympic runner and high jumper named Able. It wasn't so much Abel's athletic ability, but his friendship that won Daugherty's admiration.
"We used to talk, and we were friends," he said.
While Daugherty is a veteran, Kiley Carlson, 14, just started participating in golf this year, competing in her first tournament last spring. She said she likes golf because it was a "new experience" for her.
At the district competition, Carlson competed alongside an adult golfer. The competition is organized in a unified team format. A volunteer pairs up with a Special Olympian and their score is determined on a "best ball" basis.
Tyson Hast, 16, is also new to the sport of bowling. Hast, who has been bowling for a couple of months, competed in his first state tournament in November in Des Moines.
He said he hoped to finish first or second going into the competition, and placed second with his bowling partner Jeff Stowe in the 16-21 age bracket.
"It was pretty fun," Hast said of the competition. "I got to meet new people and I got second."
Morgan said she is proud of the students' accomplishments, but said she is also grateful for the new experiences they were able to gain by competing in the Iowa Special Olympics.
"It's just wonderful and they were just so excited," she said. "To compete against that many kids from across the state of Iowa and to get second-place in their division was just exciting to me, and it was just exciting to get to go as a team and travel on a bus and eat as a team. That's all part of the experience."
Dolly Butz may be contacted at (712) 293-4275 or dollybutz@siouxcityjournal.com.
How it works
When a student decides on a sport, his or her skills are tested. The tests are sent to Special Olympics Iowa and the appropriate placement is determined. Students are placed in brackets according to their age and skill level. Boys and girls compete against each other. Students compete with other athletes with similar abilities.
The Iowa Special Olympics includes competition at the district and state levels. If a student competes at the district level and finishes first, he or she advances to the state competition.
The Special Olympics are funded by donations and contributions from businesses and service organizations and personal donations. Monies raised pay for uniforms, transportation, lodging and food for Special Olympians.
Donations for the Sioux City Special Olympics can be sent to Lois Lihs, North Middle School, 2101 Outer Drive N., Sioux City, Iowa, 51108.
Bruneau, 18, who is intellectually disabled and has down syndrome, is one of several Sioux City students who have found a place to belong and excel in athletics through the Special Olympics. Students from North, East and West high schools, Central Campus, North and West middle schools and Emerson and Crescent Park elementary schools compete in the Special Olympics, a series of regional, national and international athletic competitions for people with intellectual disabilities.
According to Special Olympics Iowa, about 2.1-2.3 percent of Iowa's population has intellectual disabilities. Special Olympics Iowa serves more than 13,000 Iowans.
Special Olympians compete in sports such as golf, bowling, basketball, weightlifting, track and field and cheerleading.
"It's definitely different from watching a regular basketball game," Michelle Morgan, a Special Olympics coach and East High School teacher, said. "They absolutely play 'til their heart's content with 110 percent of what they can do."
Morgan, who has been coaching Special Olympics for six years, first got the opportunity to coach when she came to East High School. She coaches basketball, bowling and weightlifting and is an assistant coach for the cheerleading squad.
"Every other school I had been at already had a coach, so I never had the opportunity to get involved," she said. "I tried it and I loved it and I've been doing it ever since."
Morgan said some students have mild disabilities, while others have "severe and profound" disabilities. She said her coaching philosophy is focused on giving students a new experience.
"I really think it gives them a place where they can shine and they can have some acceptance and they can be a part of a team and succeed at their level," she said. "I think that most of them realize that being a part of a regular basketball team is just not possible, so this gives them a place to belong and a place to really realize some success."
Although it's not about winning, Morgan said her students are very competitive.
"When we get there and they see the other teams and they realize that they're up against other people, they start getting really encouraged and excited about performing," she said. "It's really stressful. You can just see it on them, just like everybody else."
Going for gold
Some Sioux City students started competing in the Iowa Special Olympics in elementary school and have continued through high school. Cody Daugherty, 18, has been competing in the Special Olympics for about five years. During that time he's racked up a wall full of medals.
"No, I don't know how many I have," he said. "I don't count them."
Daugherty, who has gone to state in several sports, has excelled in weightlifting and track and field. He deadlifts 310 pounds and bench presses around 220 pounds. In track and field he competed in events including the softball throw, 50-meter dash and shot put.
Although football isn't a Special Olympics sport, Daugherty said it's his favorite. He was a member of the East High School football team and practiced at nose tackle. The athlete he looks up to, however, isn't a professional football player, but a former East High School Special Olympic runner and high jumper named Able. It wasn't so much Abel's athletic ability, but his friendship that won Daugherty's admiration.
"We used to talk, and we were friends," he said.
While Daugherty is a veteran, Kiley Carlson, 14, just started participating in golf this year, competing in her first tournament last spring. She said she likes golf because it was a "new experience" for her.
At the district competition, Carlson competed alongside an adult golfer. The competition is organized in a unified team format. A volunteer pairs up with a Special Olympian and their score is determined on a "best ball" basis.
Tyson Hast, 16, is also new to the sport of bowling. Hast, who has been bowling for a couple of months, competed in his first state tournament in November in Des Moines.
He said he hoped to finish first or second going into the competition, and placed second with his bowling partner Jeff Stowe in the 16-21 age bracket.
"It was pretty fun," Hast said of the competition. "I got to meet new people and I got second."
Morgan said she is proud of the students' accomplishments, but said she is also grateful for the new experiences they were able to gain by competing in the Iowa Special Olympics.
"It's just wonderful and they were just so excited," she said. "To compete against that many kids from across the state of Iowa and to get second-place in their division was just exciting to me, and it was just exciting to get to go as a team and travel on a bus and eat as a team. That's all part of the experience."
Dolly Butz may be contacted at (712) 293-4275 or dollybutz@siouxcityjournal.com.
How it works
When a student decides on a sport, his or her skills are tested. The tests are sent to Special Olympics Iowa and the appropriate placement is determined. Students are placed in brackets according to their age and skill level. Boys and girls compete against each other. Students compete with other athletes with similar abilities.
The Iowa Special Olympics includes competition at the district and state levels. If a student competes at the district level and finishes first, he or she advances to the state competition.
The Special Olympics are funded by donations and contributions from businesses and service organizations and personal donations. Monies raised pay for uniforms, transportation, lodging and food for Special Olympians.
Donations for the Sioux City Special Olympics can be sent to Lois Lihs, North Middle School, 2101 Outer Drive N., Sioux City, Iowa, 51108.
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 0 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
