Plant City-area Special Olympics athletes have been hard at work lately, with the Area Games fast approaching.
On Saturday, March 25, local athletes will test their skills in volleyball, bocce, soccer and track and field events. The Area Games are a precursor to the State Games, which will be held Friday, May 19, and Saturday, May 20.
With plenty of returning players on hand — including some teams with five years’ experience together — Plant City’s athletes and Unified partners say they’re ready to win some medals and have some fun.
VOLLEYBALL
Plant City High School is fielding three volleyball teams in 2017, down one from 2016. The teams will compete in divisions 2, 3 and 4, respectively.
The Division 2 team consists of eight players, while the others have 12 apiece. Of all three teams, the Division 2 squad has been together the longest. Its athletes and Unified partners have been competing together for five years now, and their chemistry leads to the team’s strong suit: teamwork.
“The partners take care of the athletes,” coach Lisa Goad says. “They’re a good combination.”
Goad, who has coached the volleyball teams for the past six years, says that Plant City plans to nominate the Division 2 team to go even further than May’s state games: all the way to nationals. While there are no guarantees for the team’s selection chances just yet, the players are optimistic that they will be chosen to play on one of the biggest stages in the country.
“I would be super happy,” fifth-year player Greg Hawkins says.
BOCCE
Coached by Shelbea Houston, Plant City’s bocce athletes are ready to show the competition how good they’ve gotten.
Of all the athletes to put in hard work on the high school’s softball diamond — maybe even of all the athletes in every sport — no one has more confidence in the team than Jade Curran. Curran, who has recorded three first-place finishes in her time at Plant City, is looking to add another gold medal by Saturday afternoon.
On a scale of one to 10, Curran says her confidence level is at 10.
“The most fun thing is winning first place,” Curran says.
SOCCER
Plant City’s soccer teams are all about teamwork.
“I want them to work as a unified team,” coach Sandy Denham says. “If they’re passing back and forth and the athlete has the shot, then the athlete needs to take the shot. If they’re passing back and forth and their partner has the shot, then the partner needs to take the shot.”
It shows in practice, such as the Sunday, March 19, scrimmage between the Division 2 and Division 3 teams. Denham has the players feeling comfortable and confident in their roles going into the Area Games. It also helps that the Division 2 team’s members have been playing together for several years.
“Year one, you’re like, trying to figure out what everyone likes,” Unified partner Holly Eddins says. “Their style of play. Year four, you know it. You know what they’re going to do, you connect and mend better.”
The teams are looking forward to winning some medals and taking their games to the next level. But, no matter the end result of the Area Games, the players are looking forward to making more good memories on and off the field.
“We just have a good time every time we’re together … it’s always a good time, whatever we do — especially going to states,” Unified partner Sammi Gutierrez says.
TRACK AND FIELD
Eleven athletes and two Unified partners are set to take on nine events in the Area Games’ track and field area. Coach Kim Levins says the team will compete in the 4×100 relay race, 50m walk, 25m assisted walk, 50m run, 100m run, running long jump, standing long jump, softball throw and tennis ball throw.
For some of the competitors, it’s going to be a return to familiar events and fun times. The fun of the Area Games is what keeps athletes such as Kaylee Varnum, who will compete in the 50m walk and tennis ball throw, coming back.
A three-year Plant City athlete, Varnum enjoys competing against other athletes just as much as she enjoys celebrating with them.
“My friends would dance, and then I would go ask them if they wanted a drink or something,” Varnum says. “They would say, ‘I want to dance, first!’”
For other athletes, such as Lonnie Coston, the competition is a stepping stone to new challenges.
Coston, well-known as one of the most versatile athletes in the program, has spent the last two seasons working on his running game. After competing in the 50m walk, using a cane to determine his location on the track and a bell to know where to go to, he decided that he wanted to try the 50m run in 2016.
Coston and running partner Kiyana Levins used a makeshift tether to run together, with Coston leading the way and Kiyana Levins occasionally guiding him on a straight path.
“He runs pretty straight,” Kiyana Levins says. “I’ll just move my arm a little bit and nudge him to be more aligned with the lane.”
After successfully running with the tether in 2016, Coston was ready to come back in the 2017 Area Games and give it another go. Next year, according to Kiyana Levins, the duo wants to take on the 100m run.
“He makes it so fun,” Kiyana Levins says. “We mess around with each other all the time … our bond, doing that, has gotten stronger.”
The games will be held at Jesuit High School, 4701 North Himes Ave., Tampa, and will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.