I ONCE heard my good friend Jamie MacDougall, past chairman of Special Olympics Nova Scotia, say that the Special Olympics has a certain “stickiness” to it. That is, many who get involved stick with the organization for years.

As chairman of Special Olympics Nova Scotia, I frequently refer to Special Olympians as having pure or unvarnished human nature. There are no hidden agendas. What you see is what you get. It’s quite refreshing in a world that is increasingly full of advice on political correctness.

Minor soccer coach Peter McCormick of Bedford has experienced the stickiness and enlisted others to share in it. First, he had his under-12 girls’ team help at several recent provincial Summer Games. Now he has added a new dimension to the Special Olympics offerings here in the Bedford-Sackville area.

Through the recent efforts of the provincial Special Olympics youth development co-ordinator, Tom Fahie of Hammonds Plains, the organization has been building awareness and creating programs across Nova Scotia for children aged six to 12.

Fahie met with McCormick a while back to explore possibilities in the Bedford-Sackville area. This spring, McCormick started the first youth fundamentals program in the Halifax region, with help from Kem Simmons of Lower Sackville and eight soccer players in the 12 to 15 age range.

Seven special players initially signed up for this unique program. By the time it wrapped up last month, word had spread and 15 participants were attending weekly.

“Our motivation is to get the word out and let people know this program exists,” McCormick said. “We are the only fundamentals program in (the Halifax region) right now, and it was a huge success in its first year. We know there are many more kids in the Sackville-Bedford area that would love this program if they knew about it.

“We will start again with registration in September, so I encourage people

to contact Tom Fahie (tfahie@sport-

novascotia.ca) at (Special Olympics Nova Scotia) for further information.”

The program is based on the long-term player development model created by Canadian Sport Centres and successfully used by many sporting organizations across Canada. Starting with the fundamentals of running, kicking, throwing and catching, the primary goals are to promote lifelong enjoyment of physical activity and to provide a structured player development pathway.

It was observed that the young players in this program quickly experienced an increase in agility and healthiness.

McCormick described the first few sessions as chaotic, but with a lot of assistance from Simmons and his assistant coaches, things fell into place. He said one of his biggest lessons was learning how to communicate with children who have different disabilities.

“I want to recognize all the volunteers, especially Kem, who helped to put this program together,” McCormick said.

“We have many young teenagers from the community helping, which is great. We had wonderful assistance from the Bedford soccer club, who supported us and donated cleats, shin pads, soccer balls, nets and jerseys. Patti Snow and the Sackville Bedford Special Olympics club were also instrumental in our success.”

Beyond the athletes enjoying this experience, it was noted that many parents appeared to use the time to observe their children and share in insightful discussions.

Whether you have a child who fits the criteria or you want to assist with this or a similar program, contact Fahie. You will be glad you did, and that’s my sticky guarantee.

(community@herald.ca)