Sports : Vinton Unified Golf Tournament held at Vinton Skate & Activity Center

Mindy McClintock with her golf partner Bo, the "golf king" for the day.

Area athletes compete at the Vinton Skate Center as part of the Special Olympics program

Last Saturday morning found a group of athletes at the Vinton Skate Center for the Unified Golf Tournament as part of the Special Olympics.

Several participants from the area met to enjoy a morning of friendly competition. The Special Olympics program has been available to the Vinton-Shellsburg students it is estimated for about 20 years. The program was started with the help of two area special education teachers, Nadine McNeal and Sandy Lyons.

Mindy McClintock first worked with McNeal at the school as they worked with the children in Mindy's Kindergarten gym class. McNeal had two students with delayed motor skills and they were able to join in the fun with the Kindergarteners. At the time that McNeal and Lyons began the program, there were students in McClintock's class that were old enough to participate in the Special Olympics. Seeing the need for coaches, McClintock began to help by coaching.

At first, McClintock began helping with the track and field athletes and with the bowling activities. During the summer both McClintock and McNeal began coaching in a Special Populations softball league. The team they lead was called the Cedar Rapids Park and Rec which played weekly and participated in a few tournaments. At the time, the team consisted mostly of male players with a few females. McClintock said that they were great ballplayers and that she had "a ton of fun!"

At the same time that this was happening, McClintock was also an assistant volleyball coach at Coe College so, through the Cedar Rapids Park and Recreation Special Olympics, aka Special Populations, McClintock took her college athletes over to help with the skills practices. McClintock realized that the college-aged kids would benefit from the experience of working with the Special Olympics. She knew that the college kids struggled to be good at everything that their lives were filled with, but this opportunity was a chance for them to experience something different that might have been a little intimidating to them before. McClintock knew that the experience would be to the advantage of both groups. The college students learned gratefulness and thankfulness for what they had, and McClintock hoped that through this experience her students would feel comfortable enough to take that experience and volunteer in their own communities as they left college. 

McClintock said of the nearly 50 athletes, they were regular attendees at the home matches and would cheer "loudly and proudly" but more importantly they developed great relationships. 

McNeal later moved on to the Spring Games Committee which is in charge of the spring regional track meet at Coe College after being involved in Special Olympics for more than 30 years. 

Passing the 10-year mark, McClintock continues to help the Special Olympics. She now coordinates the volunteers for the track portion of the meet. At the beginning of her new position with the athletes, she said they had over 500 athletes. Now she said that there are anywhere from 250-300 that participate. 

While McClintock still has volunteers from the former director, most of her volunteers now have a Vinton connection, she said, because, well, because she knows everyone in town! 

The high school track teams have helped, along with many of the teachers and coaches and friends. "In general most are happy to return and do it all over again. Many bring along their own children to help where they can. One of those has been Sarah Mathis whose son Connor is now a freshman in high school," said McClintock.

Whether she intended to or not, McClintock found a way to introduce her "regular" athletes to the Special Olympics and knew early on that it would be a great experience for both groups. 

When McClintock first began one of her students was John Larkin.

Brian, John's dad, said that John first became involved in the Special Olympics program when he was just 9 years old.  "He looks forward to every event with an excitement and exuberance that I wish everyone had in their life," Larkin said.  "John competes in Softball, Track, Soccer, Volleyball, Basketball, Golf, Mini Golf, Flag Football, and Bowling," said Larkin. 

"Special Olympics has had an amazing impact on our entire family.  It's introduced us to people we never would have met before, and given us such a new perspective on life around us.  My son has learned independence and sportsmanship, gained confidence and a solid work ethic, and made lifelong friendships with all types of people, whether they are differently-abled or have typical abilities.  They offer many other sports as well, swimming, snow skiing, and more," said Larkin. "There are over 11,000 athletes in Iowa and all athletes are welcome regardless of their ability. I would encourage anyone who has a child with a disability to get involved.  The local teams always need volunteers as well whether you have a child or not," Larkin also added.

"There will be another Unified Sports Day in Cedar Rapids on September 14^th All Special Olympic events are listed on our website," said O'Brien.  The link can be seen here. If you would like to become involved you can check out the link here for opportunities and the Unified Sports page can be seen here.

To view photos from the event last Saturday, click to view photos