– Mary Garrison/Tribune-Courier || The Marshall County Special Olympics team was honored for their winning performances at the State Special Olympics Bowling competition last week.

Marshall County Special Olympics team competes at state

Team honored at
MC basketball
game Friday

By Mary Garrison
Tribune-Courier Features Editor
mgarrison@tribunecourier.com

MARSHALL COUNTY – “What may seem like the smallest step to you or I, may just be the biggest to them,” said Brian Collier, Special Olympics coordinator for Marshall County and life skills teacher at North Marshall Middle School. And no one takes more pride in helping his kids reach such an accomplishment than he does.

Collier said he knew what his life goal was as a freshman in college.

“I was a peer tutor for a classmate with Down Syndrome,” Collier said. “We were paired up, and we had gym and lunch and some other stuff together. He was my buddy.”

But more than that, his companionship lit a flame to work with other children.

Three years ago, Collier and his wife Melissa initiated the Special Olympics program in Marshall County, and today it continues to grow.

“In the spring we have soccer and track,” Collier said. “In the fall we have soccer and bowling, and in the fall and winter we have cheerleading.”

And last week, the Marshall County group got the chance to shine at the state bowling competition. Of the 11 competitors and six non-disabled peers assisting in competion, all 17 earned medals. Collier said there were approximately 1,100 participants at the games.

“They worked hard, and they did really well,” Collier said. “I couldn’t ask for a better group of kids.”

The group began their bowling instruction in September, working each Thursday for six weeks at Corvette Lanes in Murray along with the Murray-Calloway County Special Olympics team. Once the team had a cumulative 10 day average, they competed in regional games.

“We had 25 go to region,” Collier said. “And everyone who competes at the regional qualifies for state.”

The Marshall County group took 17 to compete in three events in three different age divisions over a two-day time period.

“There is singles competition,” Collier said. “Doubles — which pairs two special olympics athletes together — and Unified pairs competition, which pairs a special olympics athlete with a non-disabled peer.”

From Marshall County High School, nine athletes were honored in competition: Lauren Dill, John Atkinson, Brittany Pierce, Mark Lofton, Kali Fountain, Casey Clark, Tony Cottone, Cheyenne Byrd and Alex Wiley. From NMMS, Jacob Cox took home two medals, and from Central Elementary, Nick Hoover took home two medals, as well.

Collier said Special Olympics games are open to all ages, however.

“We had two from the county compete in the 22 to 29 age division,” he said.

More than anything, Collier said he’s proud of the accomplishments of the group, and that he hopes to see the Marshall County chapter continue to grow.

“It’s been a pretty neat experience,” Collier said. “We’re just trying to spread the word that Special Olympics is here.”

Collier said the program is a non-profit group, largely volunteer driven. He added that the program could not succeed without its volunteers, and those who do volunteer don’t necessarily have to be parents or family.

“We’re always seeking sponsorships,” Collier said. “They’re crucial, because they help pave the way for the kids to get to go and participate in something that gives them as close to a real chance of fitting in.

“A parent made a point to me that I’d never really thought of before,” he said. “They told me that they’d kind of missed out on this sort of thing — going to the ball games and following the caravan. You know how when someone would win the world series or something they used to say ‘I’m going to Disneyland?’ Well, this gives those families that little piece of Disneyland.”

Seeing those kids enjoy themselves, is what Collier said he loved and appreciated the most.

“It was the best trip I’ve ever been on,” he said. They got to have a pool party and a dance, too. They really enjoyed it.”

And upon their return, they received a hero’s welcome. Sheriff Kevin Byars met the group for a personal escort back into town, and at Friday evening’s Marshall County boys’ basketball game, each student was recognized for their achievements at half-time.

Next in the cards is the Polar Bear Plunge fundraiser in February.

“It’s a little like Relay for Life,” Collier said. Participants form teams ,just as those for Relay, and raise funds for the program, and on Feb. 20, the event will take place at Kentucky Dam Village, where teams will literally plunge into the frigid waters of Kentucky Lake.

“There’s a ‘too chicken to plunge option, too,” Collier said, smiling.

The Marshall County Special Olympics board meets on the second Tuesday of each month from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Woodmen of the World building in Benton.

“The program will only go as far as volunteers will take it,” Collier said. “It’ll change you from the inside out.”