PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Players of all ages and abilities from across the County joined together at the field to flex their soccer skills on Thursday morning at the fall Special Olympics event.
For the last 23 years, MMG Insurance has hosted the Special Olympics soccer game at the University of Maine at Presque Isle field with help from college-aged soccer players and other community members as a way to offer people with disabilities a chance to play the game.
“We’ve had quite a lot of success,” said Spencer King, who has coordinated the event for the past seven years. In recent years, King said, participation has almost doubled as word spread about the event.
Staff photos/Nina Mahaleris
For some people with disabilities, this is their only chance to play a sport, King said, an event which many practice for. “They really look forward to this,” he said.
Volunteers in the community helped the players warm up for the game by running drills and cheering from the sidelines. In addition to the UMPI varsity teams, high school students with the National Honor Society also volunteered to help, King said.
In the coming years, King said he hopes the community will get even more involved with the program. “My goal is to get as much of the community involved as possible,” he said.
The event is more than just fun for the players, it’s also a chance for them to socialize with others.
Julia Bergeron, the Special Education coordinator for Van Buren schools, said the olympics lets the students have fun and interact with others without worrying about their behavior.
“It’s just all about sportsmanship and acceptance,” she said. “They get more out of this than people realize.”
