All Kids Have a Chance to Play

After writing about my son's volleyball teammate, the boy with Down's Syndrome, I got to thinking about kids who probably will never have the chance to excel in mainstream sports and the opportunities that are out there for these kids to continue in sports.

Special Olympics (http://www.specialolympics.org) immediately comes to mind. My brother was a participant of the Special Olympics while he was in school. I'm a firm believer in that there is a lot of good that comes from competing in sports, and every child who wants to should have the chance to play. Special Olympics covers a wide spectrum of athletes, from the severely retarded to kids like my brother, who physically was an above average athlete.

But Special Olympics is the tip of the iceberg. There are sports and competitions for almost any kid. My son's best friend is a dwarf. Two summers ago, his family went to Atlanta for the Little People Games, where the boy competed in a number of events. His parents were thrilled that their son, who lives for sports, could finally compete with other kids on equal footing.

For kids in wheelchairs, there are a number of sports-related options and a number of websites to get more information. They include World Wheelchair Sports (http://www.efn.org/~wwscoach/index.html) and a site for Wheelchair Sports Camps (http://www.uww.edu/conteduc/wheel.htm) and the Sports on Wheels newsletter (http://www.users.kih.net/~dkblank/sownew....

Little League baseball also has a special division for special kids, their Challenger Division (http://www.littleleague.org/).

No kid should ever have to be turned away from competition, for any reason, but especially because they "can't keep up" with the other kids.

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