This past week the SPECIAL OLYMPICS CANADA 2014 SUMMER GAMES took place at UBC in Vancouver.
To celebrate, we asked Janice Low, a coach of Special Olympians, a few questions and to share a personal experience of working with Special Olympics.
Here we go…
Your name.
Janice Low
Born and raised where.
Born in Tahsis, BC. Raised in the Lower Mainland and Penticton.
What do you do?
I teach sports and life skills to people with Intellectual Disabilities. My mission is to use sport to give people with Intellectual Disabilities the experience that learning can be easy and fun so as to increase their self confidence, which can spill over into other areas of their lives.
What has sport given you?
Getting to an expert level in snowboarding made me realize that if I stick with something, I can become good at anything.
What is your hope for the future of Special Olympics?
I hope that more coaches will integrate sports psychology and expert training principles with the athletes so that they may reach their full potential.
What is your greatest concern for the future of Special Olympics?
The Special Olympics is run solely by volunteers, I hope that more people will offer 2 hours per week so that all of our programs can flourish.
How do you personally want to leave your world a better place through your involvement in sport?
I want people to not just set new sporting goals but to look back at themselves to realize how much they have learned and improved. So that they begin to see themselves as learners and be proud.
Thank you Janice. What follows is her story.
A story…People with Intellectual Disabilities show us how to be.
In volunteering to coach the Special Olympics, I always felt that it was me teaching them something, but what I realized is that although I may be able to teach them how to accomplish things in the world, they taught me how to accomplish being a good person.
Last summer I was chosen to be the Head swimming coach for 3 regions at the Special Olympics Provincial Summer Games. I was going to be travelling with a some coaches and teams that I had never met since I live in a different community than my team.
We all had to pack for the weekend and meet at the bus to go to the site but someone had told me the wrong time to meet so I was over an hour late. Everyone, 70 people, had been sitting on a bus, all ready to go, waiting just for me, for an hour.
I felt SO horrible, I felt sick and didn’t want to face everyone. The look on the coach’s faces said it all and although they tried to hide it, they still expressed a little bit of annoyance towards me.
The only seat left was in the middle of the bus and so I sat down admist a bunch of athletes. And then an amazing thing happened. I got a pat on the back and heard a, “Hey, how you doing?” and a “Hi, what’s your name?” and a “Welcome!”.
I immediately relaxed in this friendly atmosphere, I had never felt so accepted. I almost cried with relief. These athletes didn’t care about time, they were hanging out, enjoying each other’s company while they waited. They didn’t blame me for making a mistake, they understood. They didn’t shy away from me because I was new and they didn’t know me, they made the first move.
I realized that every person on this earth was put here to contribute to society and that people with Intellectual Disabilities are here to show us how to be accepting, playful and kind to each other.
Janice Low, Special Olympic coach.
More
To understand how heart-warming the Special Olympics are, definitely watch these videos. They certainly give you a boost.