Special Olympics Ohio Portage County makes a difference in athletes' lives

At any given Special Olympics Ohio Portage County cheer practice, coach Ashleigh Lawrence and the athletes can be seen goofing around and dancing, but most of all, working hard.

The cheer squad averages around 15 cheerleaders at a time, with athletes ranging from young teenagers to women in their 50s. Even with the age differences, the team gets along really well, Lawrence said.

“It is just so awesome to see the older girls take them under their wing and be like, ‘OK, we’re going to show you how to do this,’” Lawrence said. “If anyone says anything to them, they’re like, ‘Don’t even mess with her. This is our cheerleader, we got her back.’”

The cheer squad is just one of the many sports and opportunities that Portage County’s delegation of Special Olympics Ohio offers athletes and coaches. 

The delegation was first established in 1978 with 19 athletes in one sport. Today, there are over 120 athletes in the program participating in nine sports, including softball, flag football, basketball, cheerleading, swimming, athletics (track and field), bocce, bowling and power lifting. In the upcoming year, local coordinator Colleen Brown said the program is looking to add cornhole and pickleball.

The program offers year-round training and competition in Olympic-style sports for athletes aged 8 and up who are eligible for Portage County Board of Developmental Disabilities services.

Lawrence has been the head cheer coach since 2019, and she said she stays because of the athletes. She said the best part of the program is how brave the athletes are.

“It’s not easy to get out there and cheer in front of a crowd or to do a 2-minute and 30-second routine in front of judges and the audience and all that — it’s really nerve-wracking,” she said.

The squad cheers at basketball games and competes at two or three competitions per season, including states in February.

At their first states competition, the whole team was excited and nervous.

Lawrence knew they had worked so hard preparing, so she wasn’t surprised when they rocked their dance and cheered loudly.

“They could get first place, they could get 27th place, and they just don’t care. They went out there, they did it and that was the accomplishment,” Lawrence said.

Jackie Menge, an athlete with Special Olympics Ohio Portage County, has been involved since 2017.

“When we moved to Portage, I called up the local coordinator … and we just talked about how I like sports, and I thought I would give it a try,” she said.

She started out with basketball, and she still plays it today along with track, softball and flag football. She said she comes back every year because she enjoys sports.

“My favorite sport, I would have to say, I like softball,” Menge said. “I really like baseball, and I go to a lot of baseball games, and I like to play second base.”

She enjoys being out on the field, and the program has come to mean a lot to her. She said the coaches are really nice, and her dad even coached basketball in the past.

“Try it, and see if you like it. And if you don’t, then you keep trying, and don’t give up,” she said.

Menge also serves on the Special Olympics advisory committee as an athlete representative, which meets once a month to talk about finances and what’s happening in the delegation.

This is just one of the outside opportunities Special Olympics provides to athletes. Brown said there is athlete leadership training, and participants can speak at different events. There are also athlete leader positions where participants can get paid to help out in sports.

“We look at an athlete as a whole person, not just a sport athlete,” Brown said. “There’s other opportunities for growth and community inclusion.”

Athletes compete at no cost to them, and the program is funded through fundraising.

“We are covering those costs for those athletes, and they are experiencing courage and joy and just feeling that accomplishment,” Brown said. “They’re working hard, and then they get to show the skills that they’ve learned throughout their season, and then they feel accomplished for what they did.”

Currently, Special Olympics Ohio Portage County is looking for volunteers.

Lawrence said that as a coach, her athletes are very protective of her.

“You really think that you’re showing up to give the athletes so much, but the athletes just give so much back to you,” she said. “The athletes are going to keep you on your toes, but at the end of the day, it is just the most rewarding thing to do.”