SPORTS

Year•Round Athletes

Local Special Olympians are more than one-day competitors

MIKE ROSENBAUM

Sports Writer

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Melissa Gross watches fellow Special Olympian Rob Lowther dive.

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akland County Special
Olympics will hold its
major track and field
meet on May 14 at
Madison Heights Lam-,
phere High School. The event will un-
doubtedly draw media attention,
perhaps giving the public an impres-
sion of a group of people enjoying one
fun day out of the year. But Special
Olympics is a year-round endeavor,
not only for the officials and
volunteers who make the organiza-
tion work, but for the athletes.
"All (Special Olympics) athletes
are in training programs," says
Nancy Joseph, director of the
Oakland County Special Olympics
program. "That's the thing that we
want people to realize, that Special
Olympics isn't like going to the fair
for the day, like they just come in
and do it. It's a program of which we
try to hit every angle . . . physical
fitness, health, sportsmanship and
socialization. It's all encompassed in-
to preparing to come for that day."
Many athletes, says Joseph, have
more than one "special day."
"Special Olympics is a year-round
progra.m. A lot of the athletes that
come out for track and field are at
winter games, are on a basketball
team, soccer teams, softball."
According to Joseph, individuals
from B'nai B'rith and the. Jewish
Vocational Service have been involved

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FRIDAY APRIL 8 1988

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as volunteer trainers. The Jewish
Association of Retarded Citizens is
not involved as a group, but some of
its group home residents participate
through schools.

Special Olympics held its county
swim meet last month. Chris Aple, a
special education teacher at Long-
fellow School in Royal Oak, has
several Special Olympians in her
class who partidipated in the swim
meet. In addition to taking her class
of educable mentally impaired chil-
dren to weekly swimming sessions at
the Royal Oak YMCA, she helped her
Special Olympians train for the swim
meet. Aple says her students trained
for about 12 weeks prior to the meet.
She adds that the young athletes look
forward to the competition.
"They're excited about it from
when school starts — 'Oh boy, when .
am I going, when is this, when is
that! "

Joseph estimates that there will
be 600-700 athletes at- next month's
track meet. The athletes will be at
least eight years old, with no upper
age limit. The events include 50 and
100 meter races, horseshoe and fris-
bee throwing, standing long jump,
running long jump, high jump
plus wheelchair and developmental
events. "Anybody, any age (above
eight years old), sex or ability can be
in it," explains Joseph. "We just set

up our heats accordingly, so every- other kids to try something, to go on,
thing is fair."
part of a team.'
From the reactions of the athletes,
Joseph, who was firs _ t involved in
it's apparent that the name "Special" Special Olympics as a volunteer in
suits these contests well. "For some 1979, most enjoys the involvement of
of them this is basically all they have, all the people who allow Special
besides school or work," says Josepl-
Olympics to function year-round.
"It's very important;' says Aple,
"The people aspect of it, the com-
"because it helps their self-esteem. munity support, I never expected so
They can achieve something (in many people to be able to give so free-
sports) that maybe they may not ever ly of themselves, as far as volunteers.
achieve at anything else. Especially I thought I'd have a problem getting
swimming. A lot of kids do very well volunteers to do things for Special
at swimming, because they have a lot Olympics. The people that I've met,
of competition. When they go to a having this job, have just been incredi-
meet they can compete and they're ble, as far as the parents, the
good at it. It makes them shine."
volunteers, the Special Olympians.
And when the athletes shine, You just can't participate in Special
volunteer trainers such as Aple also Olympics and not enjoy it."
shine.
So when you see the photos of the
"It makes me feel proud, proud of running, jumping kids, or the athletes
them. Proud and excited to be able to competing in wheelchairs next
see something that they couldn't do month, remember that they enjoy
and now they can do it. And they're many such days of enjoyment via
happy with themsleves when they do athletics, thanks to the dedicated
that. And they're happy with each workers and volunteers who also get
other because they're all kind of sup- more than just one day per year of
portive of each other, encouraging the pleasure from Special Olympics. ❑

Denver Nuggets' Star
Struck Gold Slowly

Denver (JrA) - Despite a famous
pedigree, Dan Schayes did not enjoy
an easy road to professional basket-
ball success.
Schayes, son of former National
Basketball Association 12-time all-
star Dolph Schayes, is currently the
NBA's only Jewish player. The
6-foot-11 center averages about 13
points and 7.5 rebounds per game for
the Denver Nuggets.
Schayes played high school
basketball in Syracuse, New York. He
attended Syracuse University on a
basketball scholarship after com-
peting for the U.S. in the Interna-
tional Maccabiah Games in Israel in
1977.
For three seasons with the
Orangemen, the big guy with the soft
shooting touch languished on the
bench behind Roosevelt Bowie. An in-
jury in Schayes' senior year, when he
finally became a starter, limited him
to 13 games. But in that time he
demonstrated his full potential,
averaging 14.6 points and 21 re-
bounds per contest. He was rewarded
for his effort with first team All-Big
East and honorable mention All-
America notices.

There was plenty of controversy in
the years Schayes was sitting — and
after, as Bowie never made the NBA.
Dan sidesteps the issue, noting that
"there were no 'twin towers' at that
time." Now, the pairing of two big men
on the front line is common in both
pro and college ball.

Schayes was selected by the NBA's
Utah Jazz, coached by family friend
Frank Layden, in the first round of
the 1981 college draft. He was a
starter, averaging 7.9 points per
game, when he was traded to Denver
midway though the 1982-83 season.
There he improved his scoring averge
to 11.1 points per contest.

Schayes says it took some time to
adapt to Denver's offense, which
keeps him close to the basket. "I've
gone from a high-post to a low-post
player and it's been an adjustment.
But I feel I need a lot of playing time
to improve and I'm getting it now?'
Schayes, three inches taller than
his 6-foot-8 father, entered college at
220 pounds and left at 235. The 7-year
NBA vet has since filled out to an im-
posing 270.
"But I've gotten faster and I'm