Student group UCLA Special Olympics hosts games to exercise body and mind
By Steven Breazeale
March 30, 2010 6:15 a.m.
It’s midday and the sun is directly overhead as the athlete settles in behind home plate, staring down the pitcher and checking on his teammate on base.
He’s greeted with enthusiasm from his teammates and heckled by opponents out on the field. In an immediate answer to both groups, Oscar Sanchez boots a speeding kickball headed his way into the outfield, driving in a run and giving his team the lead.
Sanchez, an L.A. native, is one of the many Special Olympians who compete at sporting events organized by the student group UCLA Special Olympics.
Founded in 1979 by an architecture student on campus, UCLA Special Olympics gives developmentally disabled members of the L.A. community a chance to compete and play sports on the weekends. By using UCLA’s facilities, the group is able to provide the athletes with a wide range of games including basketball, soccer and gymnastics.
On this particular day, the game of choice happens to be kickball. UCLA Special Olympics student coordinator Jacob Quan stressed the importance of the game as a means to help keep the athletes in good physical condition.
“Our main goal is to keep our athletes’ bodies and minds sharp,” said Quan, a fourth-year political science student.
With weekly events that usually consist of up to 30 athletes at a time, UCLA Special Olympics achieves just that and incorporates game basics into a free-flowing format.
While the mood during the kickball game is lighthearted, a designated coach makes sure all the athletes on the field are focusing on the game situation at hand.
Shouts of: “Where’s the play?!” can be heard coming from the coach’s mouth before every big at-bat, and the question is always answered in one unanimous voice. Actions like this ensure that, aside from the physical exercise, the athletes are engaging themselves in the game mentally.
Kickball provides the group with plenty of action for the day. Competitors sprint through the base paths, catch pop flies, and like on any other team, there are those who are determined to have fun.
Sanchez, caught up in the moment of his big hit, immediately raced over to a nearby observer taking pictures after the inning was over to see his glorious kick caught on film. Friends joke around and try to block each others’ way when rounding the bases, with a few legs being “accidently” tripped up.
The camaraderie in the group is plain to see after just a few minutes of observing. Quan described how most of the athletes are not newcomers, and in fact, many of them have been with the program for years.
“You keep seeing the same people every year,” he said. “You get to know them very well and you really begin to care for them.”
The coaching staff that makes up UCLA Special Olympics is a group of student volunteers who come out every weekend to help. They do everything from monitoring and refereeing the games to setting up the snack tables afterward.
Some even participate in the games, such as first-year medical student Wesley Kerr, who set an aggressive example and drew a round of applause after he slid feet-first into second base to beat a throw. But all of them are there for the same reason: to help out with the athletes and have fun.
The images of fair play, teamwork, bonding and communication, regardless of one’s ability, stand as a sharp contrast to what sports fans are accustomed to with many professionals. And for Special Olympians like Sanchez, the games are more about the journey than the outcome.
For information about becoming a volunteer coach or getting involved in UCLA Special Olympics, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/specialolympics/main.html.
