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Friday,
August 6, 2010 |
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Wellesley
Stars
The agganis arena’s pool area at Boston University is roaring with noise. The Massachusetts Special Olympics is holding a statewide event. Barking announcements are made over a fuzzy loudspeaker. Thousands of voices echo over each other and feedback into a boisterous din. And Julien Gomez is feeling shy. Between the deafening clamor and his natural reserve, the conversation starts slowly. But after some pointed questions from a reporter, his reticence melts away. The eleven-year-old Wellesley resident chats into the mike like a seasoned pro. After all, it concerns a topic he loves: his swim team, the Wellesley STARS. As his father, Rafael Gomez says, “It’s given him a reason to stand up a little prouder and makes him feel like he is really good at something.”
In
towns like Wellesley
and Weston, town fields
are crammed with kids.
In MetroWest, children
can sign up for a
dizzying array of
teams and athletic
pursuits. But this
cornucopia of offerings
isn’t
available to everyone.
What if a child has
special needs? “The
resources just aren’t
there,” says
Karen Bernardo, Wellesley
resident and stepmother
to a daughter with
special needs. Fourteen
years ago, discouraged
about the dearth of
athletic services
for his twelve-year-old
daughter, Karen’s
husband and three
other friends ignored
the obstacles and
started their own
teams; Wellesley STARS
was born. Even
the acronym STARS
references the challenges
of finding appropriate
programming for the
area’s
special needs population.
It stands for Striving
To Achieve Recreational
Services. The Bernardos’ and
their resourceful
friends’ do-it-yourself
attitude was a godsend
for other parents
who were searching
for appropriate activities
for their special
needs children. “If
it wasn’t
for this, there would
be a big hole in these
kids’ lives,” says
Wellesley resident
Curtis Moore whose
son Max has swum for
the STARS team for
three years. During
the first years, STARS
was primarily a basketball
team, but soon after
morphed into a swim
team. Karen Bernardo
was the first coach. “We
had four kids sign
up, then six, then
eight,” says
Bernardo. “We
are now up to 25 swimmers
every week.” Recognizing
that this swim program
was unique in the
area, this Wellesley-based
team accepts swimmers
from surrounding towns.
Bernardo is now entering
her 15th year heading
up the swim program
and is an inductee
in the Massachusetts
Special Olympics Hall
of Fame. She is extraordinarily
proud of her swimmers.
“Over
the years, I have
had two athletes attend
the World Games,” she
says, “and
I have had seven kids
go to Nationals.” But
it is not necessarily
the superlative swimmers
who are most worthy
of her praise. It
is the small micro-steps
that her athletes
achieve that contribute
to their burgeoning
sense of confidence
and where she sees
the most critical
growth. “The
pool is a place where
they can succeed,” says
Bernardo. “It’s
not all about the
medal; it’s
about doing their
very best.” Parents
of STARS swimmers
are quick to point
to the challenge of “personal
best” as
being of particular
importance to their
children. “The
coaches are keeping
their times and always
making sure that they
are improving,” says
Moore. “Not
to win but to do the
best they can.” This
ongoing expectation
of perseverance is
a hallmark of Wellesley
STARS. Maureen Huddleston
of Wellesley has two
children on the team. “At
my son’s
first meet, he got
gold medal after gold
medal,” she
notes, “but
then at one point,
he just got a ribbon.
He had to deal with
that.” Athletes
practice once a week
from January to June
and compete in three
major events every
spring. Because these
meets involve genuine
competition, athletes
learn hard lessons
about loss and disappointment.
But this reality check
serves them well.
Says Moore: “They’re
not going to be cute
forever; they’re
not going to be small
forever. You want
to put them in an
environment where
there are expectations
they have to meet
and if they don’t,
they know the difference.”
At
their heart, team
sports have always
been about two things:
building trust and
building relationships.
Wellesley STARS’ gift
to its participants
is the strengthening
of these intangibles. “STARS
levels the playing
field,” says
Maureen Callahan,
mother of a twelve-year-old
swimmer. “It
makes them think ‘I
am part of a team.’” Most
of the athletes on
STARS have siblings
who are constantly
being ferried to various
fields for their sporting
events. STARS is something
the athletes can claim
as their own. But
there is another obvious
factor that connects
these kids to their
team. It’s
fun. “Swimming
is my favorite sport,” says
Max Moore. “It
makes me feel fast.” Both
Max and Julien Gomez
talk more about their
friends on the team
than the actual swimming. “I
like to see my friends,” says
Julien simply. Observing
STARS swim practice
at Regis College is
like watching a big,
noisy machine. The
swimmers slice through
the water at varying
speeds. Clumps of
athletes fiddle around
in groups waiting
for further instruction
from coaches who constantly
cruise up and down
poolside shouting
encouragement. A fair
amount of illicit
splashing is taking
place. Someone in
the corner is learning
to dive. Swimming
literally immerses
the athletes in a
different element.
The repetitive nature
of doing laps can
have a meditative
quality that is soothing. “Swimming
physically makes my
son feel good,” says
parent Maureen Callahan. “It
gives him a ton of
sensory input.” Another
parent, Marla Lucas
agrees: “My
son has a lot of sensory
issues and being in
the water calms him
down.”
What
else is palpable at
practice is the feeling
of kinship between
the swimmers and their
coaches. “Most
of the coaches do
not have kids on the
team,” says
Marla Lucas with admiration.
Indeed the very high
ratio of athletes
to coaches underscores
the ability of STARS
to attract volunteers. “I
have coaches coming
out of my ears,” laughs
Karen Bernardo. The
chance to work with
this population of
swimmers takes a certain
kind of coach. Many
have relatives or
friends who have special
needs. The rewards
of the coach/athlete
relationship can pop
up unexpectedly. “I
remember coaching
a sensitive boy who
came in first in his
event at our meet
in Connecticut. I
was so happy and telling
him what a great job
he did. Feeling
a little bad for the
kids who came in behind
him, he quickly said
to me, ‘We’re
all winners here. The
important part is
that we have fun and
support each other,’” recalls
coach and Weston resident
Maureen McCaffrey. “I
found myself wondering
which one of us was
the teacher.” In
the pool, swimmers
continue to refine
their technique. Some
work on stroke development,
others on stamina.
One coach is literally
standing behind a
swimmer holding his
arms and pinwheeling
them through the air
in a mock freestyle.
Another coach walks
slowly up and down
the pool in order
to closely observe
and comment on her
swimmers. Some are
in the pool one-on-one
with their athletes,
shadowing them in
the water to let them
know they aren’t
alone. But other coaches
stand back a little
and let their swimmers
go on ahead with the
knowledge that they
are right there on
the sidelines ready
and waiting should
they ever need them.
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