10 · SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2019 TRIB TOTAL MEDIA
sit down to sort them into piles on
the floor.
They soon expanded to swimming,
wrestling, equestrian, cycling,
bowling, winter sports and many
other sports beyond track and field.
At its height, Claney said, they
had 427 athletes at the track-andfield
day at Latrobe High School in
the mid-1980s.
A chance to shine
Several years ago, Annie Essay, a
life-skills teacher at Norwin High
School, helped bring the annual
spring event to her school.
“It’s a wonderful program,” she
said. “It gives our kids a chance to
shine. And they don’t always get the
chance to be out on the track and
field. There are some kids that do
unified track but other kids don’t
feel comfortable enough to be in
that structured setting, and this
gives them the opportunity to just
have fun and shine.”
Nineteen Norwin students competed
this year, and more than 100
served as volunteers, including athletes
from the swim, track-and-field
and football teams and members
of the peer mentor buddy support
group.
Many Norwin teachers, coaches
and parents also volunteer, Essay
said, and they get additional community
support in the form of businesses
donating baskets and buying
banners and police and EMS helping
with things like passing out
medals.
“We have so much support,” she
said. “And it’s really important to
support something that’s so meaningful.
Just to see the joy this brings
to the kids and the parents who are
excited for them. They don’t always
get to do fun things. Some of those
kids don’t feel good about doing a
structured activity, and especially
the adults here. This is one facet
where they have an opportunity to
have a good time and be the stars.”
It’s also a chance to help facilitate
inclusion.
“It’s what’s important in life, it
really is,” Essay said. “Even though
this population is less than one percent
of our population, they truly
need to be valued.”
Joe and Marie Nickle, of Jeannette,
have been involved with
Special Olympics for years as both
parents and coaches.
Participating in Special Olympics
gives Marie’s son, Alexander, 30,
something fun to do, she said. Plus
it’s a chance to see his friends and
get some exercise in the process.
Participating in Special Olympics
also teaches good life lessons, she
said.
“They understand that they’re
working for something, and they’re
getting rewarded for something
they’ve worked for,” she said.
As a coach, Marie said, she’s seen
athletes do 180s after becoming
involved in Special Olympics.
“It makes them very proud that
they can accomplish something,
and it instills self-confidence and
self-esteem,” she said. “A lot of
them when I first met them were
very shy, and they’re completely
different now. Very outgoing, easy
to talk to. It really helps with those
things.”
Compassion,
understanding and
acceptance
Claney is still greeted by athletes
and family members around town
who remember him from Special
Olympics.
Just the other day, he said, there
was a mother and son who stopped
and spoke to him, and the day before
that was a father and son who
did the same.
He’s also heard from countless
caregivers and family members
what an impact Special Olympics
has made over the years, not only in
personal growth and development
but in how children and adults with
special needs are viewed, and how
they view themselves, in the world.
“They also learned that there were
people who could be nice to them
and were interested in them,” he
said.
“That was probably one of the
biggest, best things to come of the
program because before that (the
public attitude) was often, ‘Be quiet,
sit over there, keep your mouth
shut, be seen and not heard and
most times not even be seen. Just
Justin Miklos sprints for the finish line during the Westmoreland County Special Olympics
track-and-field day at Norwin High School on May 4.
Autumn Clawson competes in the softball toss event.
SPECIAL OLYMPICS
PHOTOS: KAREN PRICE | FOR TRIB TOTAL MEDIA