Covering All the Bases

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Cora Marshall
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Prince William Special Olympics Area 23 Jan 2014 This year, for the first me, Prince William Area 23 will be plunging at Virginia Beach! Want to guarantee a refreshing dip in cool water?

1 Prince William Special Olympics Area 23 Jan 2014 This year, for the first me, Prince William Area 23 will be plunging at Virginia Beach! Want to guarantee a refreshing dip in cool water? We have just the event for you! Now you can choose between the Atlan c Ocean on February 8th in Virginia Beach or the Potomac River on February 22nd right here in Prince William County at Tim's Rivershore. If you are wan ng to par cipate in or either or both events, please go the Special Olympics Virginia website and check out the events site for details. In order to plunge, you must have raised a minimum of $100. Located right here in Prince William at Tim's Rivershore, several hundred go for the challenge to raise funds for Special Olympics. It's a fun day with lots of good food to enjoy along the Potomac River. If anyone would like to plunge and have the funds go to Prince William Special Olympics (Area 23 PWSO), you need to all either sign up ahead of me for the Area 23 team on the website. At check in on plunge day, you need to make sure to indicate you are part of the Area 23 PWSO team. Those who want to plunge at Virginia Beach have to make plans to stay at a nearby hotel, if you want to stay over. Please Freezin for a Reason! AreaCoordinator@pwsova.org for details. ICICLES UNITE! Something new and something blue this year! PWSO council has formed a Polar Plunge commi ee and plans are underway to have t shirts. The Icicles of Prince William is the team theme selected for those plunging for Prince William SO (Area 23) team. All plunging on our team will receive a t shirt. Addi onal t shirts will be available for sale. There is a limited supply, so contact Area Coordinator or secretary@pwsova.org quickly to place your order. TOO COOL TO DIP? To support one of our team members, go to Click on the Event on the right hand side: either 2014 Tim s Rivershore or 2014 Polar Plunge Virginia Beach. Click on Team Area 23. If you don t see it, click on View All Then scroll down to any one of the plungers, click on donate to individual bu on to make a contribu on to their plunge effort. Several people have pledged to take the plunge. Let s cheer them on with a contribu on by giving to at the First giving website given above. This issue Freezin for a Reason 1 Newest Global Messenger 1 and Mentor Calendar of Events 2 Thank You 3 SOVA Volunteer of the Year Award Need Help and Cooperation Kid s Choice Our Choice Winter & Spring Training Program Council & Advisory Committee Members Newest Global Messenger and Mentor We have another Global Messenger (GM) and Mentor for the class of 2015! We d like you to know a little more about our newest messenger and mentor. We asked them to say a few words about themselves. Hi, my name is Jerry Holy and I have been a Special Olympics Virginia Prince William Area 23 athlete for the past 17 years. I compete in seven sports year round. I compete in Soccer (Football), Basketball Aquatics (Swimming), Athletics (Track and Field), Floor Hockey, Bowling and Bocce. I am a 2010 graduate from George Mason University with Bachelor s of Arts Degree in Integrative Studies with a concentration in Social Science for Secondary Education. One of my favorite hobbies is collecting pins and coins. My name is Craig Vitter and I have been volunteering with the Greater Prince William Special Olympics for a little over two years now. During the fall I help out with the soccer program and in the winter I help out with basketball. Recently I was honored to be chosen to be a part of the Global Messenger program with Jerry Holy and am looking forward to helping Jerry spread the Special Olympics message. Outside of Special Olympics I am father to one beautiful daughter Sophia (who many of you have met) and a software engineer (although I graduated from James Madison University with a BA in Art). Editor's note: Craig joined PWSO as a volunteer with his daughter Sophia. He organized a fun walk, guided tour, and picnic at Leesylvania State Park. He has been instrumental in helping the PWSO council and looks forward to being a mentor in the GM program. Jerry created the PWSO Facebook page. Jerry and Craig are preparing to Plunge for Area 23. Craig Vitter and Jerry Holy with their certificates after completing the Basic Training for Global Messengers and Mentors

2 Page 2 CALENDAR OF EVENTS: NOVEMBER JUNE 2014 For more information about any of these programs or events, please call the office at and leave a message or check our web site at All events are subject to change. Other events may be scheduled after release of this newsletter. November 9 Basketball practice starts at GMU Freedom Center, 4 5:30 PM 13 Basketball practice starts at Woodbridge MS, 7 8:30 AM 16 Bowling starts at Bowl America, Mathis Ave, 1 3 PM 17 Bowling starts at AMF Lanes, Dale City, 2 4 PM 17 Floor Hockey starts at Kid s Choice, 5 6:30 PM 21 Powerlifting practice starts at Potomac HS, 7 8:30 PM January 11 Winter Dinner Dance Woodbridge Moose Lodge. 6 9 PM 18 Area 31 Basketball Tournament Lee Davis High School West Virginia Winter games Canaan Valley, WV 25 Rappahannock Region Basketball Tournament Chancellor High School State Bowling Championships (2 Person) Northern Virginia February 8 Polar Plunge Virginia Beach 13 Swimming starts at GMU Freedom Aquatics & Fitness Center, 6:30 8:00 PM 17 James River Region Basketball Tournament Randolph Macon College 22 Tim s Rivershore Polar Plunge 23 Swimming Starts at Dale City Rec Center, 5 6 PM - Info Meeting March 1-2 Pennsylvania State Floor Hockey Tournament, State College, PA 8 Ice Breaker Classic Powerlifting Competition Chancellor High School State Basketball Championships Stafford 22 Track & Field starts at Marstellar Middle School, 10 11:30 AM 26 Track & Field practice starts at Woodbridge MS, 6:30 8 PM April 5 Bowling Tournament, Bowl America Lanes, Manassas 5 Tennis practice starts at Woodbridge HS, 10 AM 12 Fun Field Day at Quantico 13 Swimming Time Trials Claude Moore Recreation Center, Sterling 20 Area 27 Track and Field Meet Fauquier High School 27 Woodberry Forest Sports Festival Woodberry Forest School, Orange May 4 Area 11 Track and Field Meet Chancellor High School 17 Area 23 Track and Field Meet Hylton High School 18 Rappahannock Regional Swim Meet Warrenton Aquatic and Recreation Facility (WARF) June 6 7 SOVA Summer Games

Page 3 Those two words seem so small, but we could not have accomplished any to these programs in Prince William Special Olympics without the coaches, other volunteers, parents, and contributors.

3 Page 3 Those two words seem so small, but we could not have accomplished any to these programs in Prince William Special Olympics without the coaches, other volunteers, parents, and contributors. As you may know PWSO is a strictly volunteer program (no one is paid a salary) and no athlete has to pay for any sport or equipment. Thus, we have to provide the location rental and equipment for our athletes. Great news is we have such a wonderful community of helpers, whether it is the gracious acts of our volunteers or those organizations who help PWSO accomplish the programs offered or parents who transport our athletes to and from practice and competition, we cannot say THANK YOU enough. Next time you stop by to volunteer at an event or to watch our athletes in action, please smile as you can take pride in contributing to an extra special person s growth and development. Oh, and thanks for helping out! The generosity of the Prince William Department of Parks and Recreation, and the THANK YOU! I.J & Hilda Breeden Foundation have provided the much needed funds to purchase new equipment and uniforms for many of our sports training Programs. We also want to recognize individuals and groups who have supported our programs for Special Olympics Prince William (PWSO) in 2013: American Legion Auxiliary Unit 364 Braemar Blasters Swim Team Clarence & Nancy Hall Craig Lettofsky Dale City Lions Club Marine Corp Base Religious Offering Fund Montclair Lions Club Lake Jackson Mid-County Lions Club Lions Club of Montclair Charities Mary Baclich Shirley L. Orlinsky Ray & Karen Roberson Steve Margolies And other anonymous donors. Thanks to Lenny Codella, we did a bowling tournament as a fundraisier in June at the Bowl America Lanes in Manassas. Thanks to all who sponsored a team! We also participated in the Dulles Plane Pull and Tim s Rivershore Polar Plunge. Mary Baclich was our top fundraiser in the plunge! Our other plungers were Lisa Bell, Janet Manning, Brenan Gappy, and Mary Duncan. If you are interested in supporting PWSO, you can support one of our plungers at Virginia Beach or Tim s Rivershore. You can also make a direct donation to the Prince William Special Olympics (PWSO). If you do, please write checks to PWSO and mail to: P.O. Box 1073, Woodbridge, VA Special Olympics Virginia Volunteer of the Year Award Congratulations Mary Baclich. Mary has been selected as the Farm Bureau Special Olympics Virginia Area Volunteer of the Year. She has been a most valuable volunteer serving and supporting PWSO over 18 years. In commenting on the award, Chair Everett Willis wrote, Congratulations on your Farm Bureau award. It s people like you with no skin in the game that I truly admire. Your desire to help make the lives of our athletes more inclusive is a gift that is felt throughout Area 23. Mary has served on the PWSO council as our Medical Chair for several years and has done an outstanding job keeping records up to date and helping prepare paperwork for coaches. She started as a bowling coach and unified partner, coached softball, and helped with tournaments for Track and Field and Bowling. For 18 years in our fall and spring local/regional bowling tournaments she has been instrumental by helping check in over 100 athletes, scoring/award calculations, and award presentations. In the photograph she came in 1st place in a racing fundraiser for PWSO. She has served on planning committees, office and storage clean ups, polar plunge committees and many behind the scenes tasks as well as helping at SOVA Summer Games in Richmond. She has taken the plunge at the annual Tim s Rivershore Polar Plunge where she raised the highest amount for PWSO. Look for her again this year in her Red Wing hockey attire as she takes the plunge for Area 23 PWSO and she brings her nephew to also plunge for us. We will say a fond farewell to Mary as she prepares to make a major move out of state. We wish her the best and heartfelt thanks for all she has done to support our athletes!

Page 4 WE NEED YOUR HELP AND COOPERATION Athletes, parents and guardians, we need your help and cooperation! It is NOT safe for an athlete to be dropped off without a coach present.

If something were to happen to your athlete while no approved Special Olympics volunteer is present, you would be the first to be concerned.

4 Page 4 WE NEED YOUR HELP AND COOPERATION Athletes, parents and guardians, we need your help and cooperation! It is NOT safe for an athlete to be dropped off without a coach present. We have had circumstances where this has occurred and the coach for the sport has not arrived yet. If something were to happen to your athlete while no approved Special Olympics volunteer is present, you would be the first to be concerned. We have had instances where athletes have been dropped off more than 35 minutes before practice was scheduled to begin. This is not safe! When practice is over, athletes will be asked to exit the facility. The coach must stay until all the athletes have left practice. We have had incidences where a coach or volunteer had to wait 45 minutes for someone to arrive. It can be very upsetting for the athlete when they are left waiting. Likewise, it is best for parents and guardians to be present. This is also not the way to keep our unpaid hard working volunteer coaches happy. Our coaches and volunteers are a valuable asset. They give so much to PWSO and love working with Special Olympics athletes. A few parents/guardians have complained that they did not get timely information on changes in schedule for practice. These announcements are made at practice when known and notices may be sent through s and phone calls when feasible. If PWC schools are canceled, PWSO events or practices are canceled. If you want to know about other changes, please attend practice and keep in touch with the coach. It would be best before you leave after practice to check with the coach to make sure there are no changes to the schedule. PWSO is committed to the highest ideals of sports and sportsmanship. We strive to present excellent role models and sportsmanship to our athletes based on our code of conduct. We expect family and friends of our athletes to set a good example and provide positive feedback to everyone including our athletes by helping Special Olympics be the best. Let me win. If I can not win, let me be brave in the attempt! KID S CHOICE OUR CHOICE This year, we partnered with Prince William Athletic Club and Kid s Choice to have practice at their facility for several sports. During our Wednesday practices for soccer, we were able to practice from 6:30 8 PM without being concerned about when the sun iz setting. In the past, because we were playing soccer and bocce outdoors there were times that we had to limit practice due to the weather or getting dark early. Last year, we also played in the dark toward the end of the season, so moving practice to Kid s Choice proved very productive for the teams and participants. We are currently holding Floor Hockey practices at Kid s Choice on Sunday evenings from 5 to 6:30 PM in their basketball court. We truly appreciate all the hard work that Kid s Choice staff did to make this happen. We especially want to thank Marie Schweitzer of Prince William Athletic Club who worked with us on schedules and availability.

5 Page 5 Winter and Spring Training Programs Many thanks to coaches and other volunteers who have made all of these programs possible. See Calendar of Events for dates and times of practices and events. Please call or training@pwsova.org to register unless otherwise noted. Also, check our web site for up-to-date information on the sports training programs. We welcome new athletics. If you are interested in participating as an athlete AQUATICS PROGRAMS Our two swimming programs train in Manassas and Dale City. The athletes will practice every week starting in February. We also offer skills training which focuses on the athlete becoming comfortable in the water environment. Please contact Everett Willis at or chairman@pwsova.org for information. BASKETBALL Basketball started in November but it s not too late to join in the fun. The locations are Saunders Middle School (full court), Ferlazzo Building (skills and half court) and GMU Freedom Aquatics and Fitness Center where we offer skills, half and full-court teams. Please call the office at or basketballcoordinator@pwsova.org if you are interested in participating. BOWLING The Youth and Adult Training programs meet in Dale City and Manassas. If you are interested, please contact Lenny Codella or lenny.codella@msn.com for the Manassas program and Tom Conheady at or tconheady@verizon.net for the Dale City Program. FLOOR HOCKEY Floor Hockey started at Kid s Choice in November. Contact Mike Dahlkamp at or him at mike.dahlkamp@gmail.com if you are interested in the floor hockey program. GOLF We are interested in starting a golf program in the Manassas area. If you are interested, please contact Peggy Van Lowe at AreaCoordinator@pwsova.org or call the office and leave a message. POWER LIFTING Power lifting is a program for athletes over 16 years of age. Athletes must be able to stay focused and endure intense workouts. The team trains on Thursday nights. Please contact Jerry Stanphill at or Jerry.Stanphill@faa.gov for more information. SKIING Call the office at and leave a message with your name, interest in skiing and phone number where you can be reached. TRACK & FIELD This year, we have two locations; Woodbridge Middle School and Marstellar Middle School. If you are interested in the Woodbridge program please contact Mike Dahlkamp at Mike.dahlkamp@gmail.com or For the Gainesville program, contact Lenny Codella at training@pwsova.org or TENNIS Tennis will start back up in April. If you are interested in participating or volunteering please contact Mike Thorpe at or mtthorpe@comcast.net YOUNG ATHLETES Interested in your 2-7 year old participating in Special Olympics? Young Athlete Program (YAP) is a recreational program for children ages 2-7 with an intellectual disability. YAP in Manassas currently is on hiatus but we hope to start up again soon. We are also looking to start a program in the Woodbridge area. Call Darlin Cox or youngathlete@pwsova.org for more information about our Young Athlete Program and how to get involved. NEW PROGRAMS Check out our web site at to find out about programs within Area 23. Advance My Community Giveback Update Thanks to everyone who participated in this fundraiser. Stay tuned for the results. We did come in second with 35% of the vote. Many of us enjoyed participating in the competition that they presented to us. We want to thank them in advance for their financial gift. WE OUR VOLUNTEERS

6 Prince William Special Olympics Area 23 Area 23 Council Members P.O. Box 1073 Woodbridge, VA Phone: Fax: Inspire Greatness Chairman Everett Willis Area Coordinator Peggy Van Lowe Treasurer Rhoda Heller-Holy Training Coordinator Lenny Codella Medical Coordinator Mary Baclich Webmaster Leonard Van Lowe Volunteer Coordinator Vacant Fundraising Coordinator Jean Arnold Secretary Jean Zimmermann Athlete representatives Chantal Sicot Sarah Narburgh Public Relations Alberto Dominguez Advisory Committee D. Cox L. Trinh E. O Connor Carla Hart Check out our web site at: Prince William Special Olympics athletes are grateful for the support given by the Prince William Department of Parks and Recreation and the I. J. and Hilda M. Breeden Foundation Special Olympics Prince William PO Box 1073 Woodbridge, VA *

Covering All the Bases

Prince William Special Olympics Area 23 July 2013 Covering All the Bases IT RAINED BUT WE REIGNED The weather played an important role as athletes from Prince William gathered in Richmond to compete in