McALLEN — As the temperatures rose, so did the athletic intensity of the Rio Grande Valley Special Olympic flag football and softball area competitions at a park here.
Approximately 50 athletes from across the Valley competed this on year Friday morning.
Ytszel Trinidad, program associate with Special Olympics Texas, Rio Grande Valley Sector, said that this was her first year as a Special Olympics staffer and this sport has already grown by one team.
“Last year was only individual skills and we didn’t have a game last year,” Trinidad said.
“This year we got a game because of Mr. (Alfredo) Cancino from Ideal HCS reached out and got on board and now they’re having a great time.”
Ideal HCS, based in Brownsville, was already holding recreational competitions in the Lower Valley. “That’s how Mr. Cancino got in contact with our office and get involved,” she said. “So they’ve already had their practice with their guys.”
Since all the athletes were adults, the age range was from late teens up to 50- and 60-year-olds.
“Our delegations are growing,” Trinidad said. “We added equestrian this year. We had it last month.”
Brownsville resident Michael Gehris, 20, is part of Ideal HCS and said he enjoyed being in the competition.
“I liked the running; being out in the field and hitting the ball.” Gehris said.
Gehris said learning to play softball was easy because he had played baseball and the two sports are similar.
“I know the rules and stuff, so it wasn’t that hard to learn,” he added.
Javier Rangel, 23, of My Options ADC, said that he had never played softball before and thought the game was OK, and was willing to play game.
Along with the players, many families and other team members gave their share of encouragement through cheers and applause when a team scored.
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Health and Kinesiology Club members volunteered their help with the event, making sure the players followed the rules and making sure the games ran smoothly.
The RGV sector of the Special Olympics serves more than 5,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities within the four-county region.
