How far is far? How high is high? We’ll never know until we try. On Sunday August 24, I visited our own Freedom Park to watch the Special Olympics. Special Olympics Northern California is a year round program for youth and adults with disabilities. Sports training and competitions are offered in a surprisingly large variety of events - 19 in total - including alpine skiing, bowling, and softball.
August’s event was softball, and man. was it hot outside. Local vendors and sponsors were on hand, and I ran into our very own plant lady. Games were going on non-stop on four different fields, with medals being awarded throughout the day as different divisions finished.
Teams get started through local schools or organizations. The athletes were eight years old and up; and after being cleared to play their respective sport by a physician, they must attend 8 weeks of practice to enter a regional championship. The teams are coached by family members, teachers, and care providers.
There are seven different divisions with gold, silver, and bronze medals going to the respective winners, as well as ribbons for each place so that no one walks away empty handed. The top two teams from each division went on to play in the Northern California Championship in Sunnyvale California on September 6.
I spent the day walking around the complex talking with some of the local teams who, if you ask them, have worked hard to get there and enjoy every minute of it. I spoke with Donna Adams who runs the Sacramento All Stars - a softball club that runs a recreational league March through June. There are ten teams in the All Star league and they play each other during the season and also prepped 3 teams from divisions 3 and 4 for the August 24 tournament. I was privileged to meet her long time member Raymond Johnson who at the age of 51 has been playing since he was 9 years old; that’s 40 years. Raymond who lost his twin brother to a car accident a few years back started out running track and field and playing basketball, but made a switch to softball and has overcome many personal and physical challenges to continue playing the game he loves.
Some of our local teams did very well in Sunnyvale; Folsom Hills Grizzlies Div 3C brought home silver, Sacramento Comets Div 3D got bronze, and Folsom Hills Bruins Div 4A won the bronze.
Going into this I was completely unprepared what I was going to encounter; teams of athletic men and women who showed great sportsmanship and cheered each other on in the heat of the day; putting their hearts into something they love, everyone walking away a winner. You can be sure you’ll find me cheering them on at The Regional Bowling Championship Dec 6 at Mardi Gras Lanes (I bowl about a 62).