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Anna’s Special Olympics competition

Anna competed in her very first Special Olympics competition last Friday and she did great and had a ton of fun! For her age group, she entered the individual skills soccer competition which is comprised of dribbling, shooting, and the run and kick. Many school districts were represented and the individuals were separated into heats so Anna got to compete against other girls from other districts. Daddy, Jenny, Chris (Jenny’s boyfriend), Nana (my mom), and myself were all present; Dominic was at school since it was around noon on a Friday. It was an unusually windy (and very bright) day!

Here we are waiting for the rest of the team to arrive. Anna was so happy to have Jenny and Chris there.

She literally jumped up and down when Nana arrived, it was so cute! Here they are walking toward our waiting area. Anna is getting so tall!

The first event was the run and kick. Basically there are 4 balls arranged in front of 4 small goal areas marked by cones. Each child runs from the center of the square, kicks the ball between the cones, then runs to the next ball, and so on. Their effort is timed.

While we were waiting for the next event to start, I caught Anna in her classic stance. She stands like this all the time.

I know her posture has deteriorated. I’m hoping it’s a result of the hypothyroidism and once the medication starts taking effect, her posture will improve. I bet the mommies on the iVillage Child Hypotonia board would appreciate this photo.

The next event was dribbling. Anna dribbled a ball down a long lane as fast as she could, then stopped it with her foot on top of the ball within a red zone.

She was putting forth her best effort. Here she is getting a “way-to-go” hug from big sister, Jenny, with Daddy and Chris watching nearby.

Quick group shot! Chris, Jenny, Anna, Nana, and Daddy. 🙂

This little girl’s name is Rose and she was competing before Anna on the last event. Love this shot!

Here Anna is finishing the last event, shooting. She had to kick 5 balls into a goal as hard and as quickly as she could.

Jenny is so proud of her little sister!

The head of the Special Olympics for the district wanted to get a shot of Anna too. There’s that stance again!

As we were heading over to the judging area, we ran into Sam and his mom. He is an adult that sometimes practices with our team and Anna is quite fond of him.

Anna has just heard her name announced as the silver medalist!

Getting her medal…

All the girls are so happy. There were 2 bronze and 2 gold medalists in addition to Anna.

We were all leaking tears at the end. Anna was bursting with pride and happiness, it was wonderful to celebrate that with her. She had to show Nana the medal first.

We couldn’t be more proud!!! Way to go, Anna!!! We’re looking forward to more sports with the Special Olympics in the fall. Thanks for sharing our day with us!

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