With American flags waving, the Land O’ Lakes High School Unified Special Olympics Soccer team boarded a school bus in their first part of their journey to Los Angeles and the 2015 Special Olympics World Games.
Hopes are high for a 12-member team that is the sole representative of the United States in unified soccer.
(Kathy Steele/Staff Photos)
“It will be beautiful if they bring home the gold,” said Marie Lambert. But win or lose, she said, “That whole team, I’m so proud of them.”
Lambert’s 19-year-old grandson, Andrew Ahearn, plays fullback for a team with seven Special Olympics athletes, who are intellectually disabled, and five partner players. He has played on the team since its inception nearly eight years ago.
“Soccer is his love,” said his mother, Adelle Ahearn.
In addition to Ahearn, team members are Christopher Hale, Kyle Lufcy, Hassan Shehab, Ordray Smith, Rufus Smith-Jones, Joseph Tramel III, Samantha Frahm, Thomas Guglielmello, Cameron Hilgenberg, Haley Eckel and Kyle Townsend. Vicky King is head coach. Phyllis Crain and Meghan McLean are assistant coaches.
Lambert and Ahearn joined about 40 friends, family members and Land O’ Lakes High School faculty for an impassioned and patriotic send off on July 20. They lined the covered walkway outside the school, cheering and slapping high-fives as the team boarded the bus on their way to the airport and the world stage in Los Angeles.
The Special Olympics event will host more than 6,500 athletes from 165 countries from July 25 through Aug. 2, according to its website.
It is billed as the largest event hosted by Los Angeles since the 1984 Olympics. About 2,000 coaches and 30,000 volunteers will participate.
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are among the honorary hosts of the world games. Michelle Obama is expected to attend the Opening Ceremony.
About 80,000 spectators are anticipated daily at more than 20 venues in and around Los Angeles, including the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Southern California.
Lambert and Ahearn will be in the stands along with 9-year-old Inez Ahearn. But for those who can’t make the trip, they can stay glued to ESPN for live coverage. Updates and photos also will be shared at Instagram.com/usaunifiedsoccer and at Twitter.com/pascophotos.
Latanja Timmons will be watching her nephew, Rufus Smith-Jones, on all of the above.
He will be a standout, with a blond Mohawk streak through his hair.
“He wanted to be sure we could find him,” said Timmons, who is the athlete’s aunt and legal guardian. “It’s unbelievable. We are so excited for him and the team. This has afforded him opportunities that he would never have had.”
For the 14-year-old soccer player, simply competing on the field with his teammates is what matters.
“I don’t just stay home doing nothing,” Smith-Jones said. “Hallelujah!”
Special education teacher Geri Perchard came to the send-off, holding up a sign, reading “Good Luck,” spelled out in red, white, and blue. Many on the team are in her class and serve as peers to other students.
“It’s so exciting,” she said. “They’ve been practicing and sending pictures, and watching themselves on television.”
The team won the honor of representing the United States nearly a year ago after bringing home a gold medal in state competition, and being selected by Special Olympics Florida. Since then fundraising events, including a Breakfast of Champions, has helped collect an estimated $40,000 needed to pay for the trip.
Lambert and Ahearn helped with one event sponsored by the AmVets, Post 4. The Land O’ Lakes Moose Lodge, Pasco County firefighters and others also contributed.
Credit for dedication and hard work goes to the team, said their head coach, Vicky King.
“It’s not me,” she said. “It’s all about them. It’s probably the best thing that will happen in their lives.”
Valerie Lundin, Pasco’s co-director of Special Olympics, offered some parting advice for a team facing a few intense days of practice and hard play.
“Don’t forget the fun part of it.”
Published July 29, 2015
