Special Olympics Send Spirits Soaring

Their arms flew up in exultation even before the bus rolled to a complete stop.

“We’re here! We’re here!” cheered children and adults of the Tri-Valley team as they arrived at Cal State Long Beach this weekend for the Summer Games of the Southern California Special Olympics.

“They’ve been looking forward to this all year,” said Calvin Samuel, volunteer head coach for the team of mentally disabled athletes, most of whom hail from the San Fernando Valley.

As a few members of the Tri-Valley squad scampered off to sporting events across the college campus, others waited their turn under the shade of their canopy, laughing merrily, walking around or sitting in quiet contemplation. Across the athletic field, 31 other teams played out a similar scene.

“They don’t see themselves as mentally handicapped. They work so hard, their hearts are so big and full of love,” said Samuel’s wife, Cynthia.

The Summer Games are the largest such athletic contest in Southern California, this year drawing about 1,400 athletes ages 8 to 72, 2,000 volunteers and thousands of spectators. But over its 30-year history, the event has also become a social occasion and a rite of passage.

“It’s a first time for him--and for me,” said Wanda Graves, a hairdresser from Sylmar, her hand on the shoulder of her 17-year-old son, Mordeciah.

Mordeciah had played in smaller, daylong Special Olympics games before, but this was the first time coach Samuel had allowed him to compete in the weekend-long event, entering him in the softball throw.

To participate in events ranging from track to gymnastics to basketball, athletes must train at least eight weeks. They also have to stay in dormitories during the games. This means they must not only be physically fit but also have the discipline and social skills necessary for a weekend-long outing.

“He’s come a long way,” said Samuel of Mordeciah, whom the coach has known for many years.

At the softball event, Mordeciah revved up his arm in wide, swinging arcs, his face in tight concentration. He flung the ball high as a small crowd cheered.

The boy grinned, then high-fived a fellow athlete. Later Mordeciah was awarded a bronze medal, which he immediately hung around his neck.

For some, like Reseda brothers Sammy and Manuk Khanbekyan, it was the first trip on their own away from home.

On Friday, 17-year-old Sammy hung on to adults and kept asking for his mother, but on Saturday he seemed happier and better-adjusted, chaperons said.

But 14-year-old Manuk said he hadn’t been homesick at all. “It’s fun here,” he said. “I don’t want to go home.”

Felipa Nunez, 21, said she was looking forward to the Saturday night dance, and planned to dress up.

“It’s an opportunity that brings out the best in the athletes,” said Nancy Ward, vice president of marketing and development for Special Olympics Southern California. “For parents, it opens their eyes as to what their children can do.”