By Matthew St. Amand
The Special Olympics were born out of a hopscotch of philanthropic initiatives, beginning with the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, established by the venerable Kennedy family in 1946. The foundation was named after the family’s first-born son, Joe Kennedy, Jr., who died in World War II. Eunice Kennedy Shriver (sister of future president John F. Kennedy) took over direction of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Foundation in 1957. Camp Shriver came into being in her backyard in 1962 with 75 youths with intellectual disabilities and a scattering of volunteers. Six years later, in 1968, the first International Special Olympics Summer Games were held at Soldier Field in Chicago. Since that time, the Special Olympics has grown into the world’s largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. It provides year-round training and activities to five million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries.
In 2008, the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. opened “Special Olympics at 50.”
The Special Olympics were created at a time when people with intellectual disabilities (ID) were often institutionalized or hidden away. The Games helped change commonly held attitudes about the abilities and talents of children and adults with ID—providing them the opportunity to train and improve their fitness, build confidence, meet new people and share skills through sports.
Locally, in July 2014 Windsor Special Olympics and LaSalle Special Olympics joined forces to provide a unified club for athletes with special needs to have a safe, fun place to socialize and exercise, providing competitive tournaments for those who wished to compete in local, Provincial, National and World games for Special Olympics.
LaSalle resident Bill Magone has been involved with the Special Olympics for the past few years.
“We started just before COVID,” Bill explains. “We adopted a boy, Tyler. He is thirteen years old and is special needs. He got us into it. I’m a coach—basketball and bowling during the winter and I coach softball in the summer.”
Bill quickly learned that the Special Olympics embodies the true spirit of sports: the joy of competition, sportsmanship, taking on challenges.
“The experience has been absolutely amazing,” Bill continues. “It’s such a reward. The athletes make you feel incredible. With what the kids accomplish, their sportsmanship. They cheer for each other, enjoy each other’s success, but they are also competitive. They love the medals. It’s so rewarding for us as coaches, going to practice, working every week. We sometimes wonder how much the athletes are taking in and then we get to a game and think: ‘Oh my gosh, they’re really getting it!’ During baseball season last year, we practiced all summer long. We went to a tournament in Stratford and the players were pulling off double plays, catching fly balls. When I told them how amazing they did, they told me: ‘We learned this in practice.’”
The ages of the athletes range from 13 to 72. Al, who is part of the powerlifting team, is still going strong into his seventies.
The Special Olympics is in dire need of coaches. No expertise in a given sport is necessary.
“I knew nothing about basketball when I started coaching it,” Bill says.
All a coach needs is some time to devote to the team and a desire to join in the fun.
For more information about Special Olympics Ontario / Southwestern District, check them out on line at https://www1.specialolympicsontario.com/districts/south-western-ontario/. To inquire about becoming a coach, contact Jeff Charlesworth at jeffc@specialolympicsontario.com.
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