Blog 18: 2-Hour Meeting Answer #3

1. What is your essential question?
What is the most significant way that Special Olympics can help a person with a intellectual disability gain social competence?

2.What is your third answer to your essential question?
By giving the athletes self esteem they can do anything. When someone has self esteem can do and conquer anything.

3. What are three details to support of justify your answer?
At Special Olympics coaches and volunteers praise the athletes. After they compete a task we like to tell them they did a good job and give them words of encouragement.
Coaches help athletes remember that the sports game is not just about winning. Many athletes forget the moto of Special Olympics. Which is to build friendships, have a good attitude, be positive and have fun. It hurts a lot of the athletes feelings when they do not win, so we as coaches have to remind them why we are here. Even some times we have to ask the athletes questions for them to realize that they did have a good time. For example: If an athlete is mad, a coach might say you tried your best and that's all that mattered. Did you have a good time? Did you throw any good balls? Did you try your best? And remind them of their accomplishments they have made.
When a higher functioning athletes can assist a lower functioning athletes, their self esteem is boosted. They feel like their being a coach, mother/father or caregiver.
"Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt." -Special Olympics athletes oath.

4. What source helped you prove this answer is justified for your essential question?
"Coaching Guides." Coaching Guides, Special Olympics, Web. 01 Nov. 2012<http://sports.specialolympics.org/specialolympics.org/Special_/English?Coach/Coaching

5. What do you plan on studying next and why?
Next I plan on studying self help skills because self help skills are important in every ones lives.

Blog 17: Fourth Interview Questions

1. Do you ever discuss with other coaches ways to increase social competence?

2. Do you believe it takes multiple people to help an athletes become socially competed?

3. What do you think the coaches roles are?

4. What do you think volunteers roles are?

5. What do you think the administrations roles are?

6. What skills outside of sports do you help athletes with?

7 . Why is fundraising so important?

8.What types of fundraising is Special Olympics involved with?

9. How do athletes help in the process?

10. Are the athletes asked to help or do coaches nominee them?

11. Are families and caregivers of athletes involved?

12. Does the community get involved with Special Olympics fundraisers?

13. Does fundraising help the athletes gain social competence?

14. Do you think athletes teach volunteers and coaches social competence?

15. What is social competence to you?

16. Is non verbal communication happening at Special Olympics?

17. Is social competence essential to successful program?

18. How do YOU increase social competence at Special Olympics?

19. What would be the impact of Special Olympics if social competence was not taught or important?

20. What kind of trainings does Administration offer regrading social competence?

21. Do you ever give advice to families or caregivers on how to increase social competence at home?

Pomona Valley's New Logo! Senior Update 4.

All coaches attended a Special Olympics meeting. The Area Director, Russell Evans had informed us that Pomona Valley Special Olympics has a brand new logo. Our ares colors are now red, black and white. These colors are fairly new to Special Olympics. Before the main colors were a turquoise. Slowly the colors started to change with red, black and white. The new colors re very nice. Along with the new colors has come a brand new logo. Now the logo is red with a globe of people. It is located at the top of the picture. I thought this information was really cool because this is part of Pomona Valley's Special Olympics history. Also listed is all of the other topics we covered at the meeting.

 

Bocce Practice. Senior Update 3.

On Saturday, February 16, 2013 the first bocce practice started. Practices are held at Claremont High School from 9:00-11:30. All of the athletes we excited and ready to start a new season. Before bocce practice started all of the athletes had to warm up and stretch. Our bocce player stretched with the track athletes. About 40 people where in a huge circle stretching. It is nice that bot sports teams can come together and bond while stretching. After every stretched for about 15 minutes everyone went to either track or bocce. Bocce only has 9 players. During practices we really worked with the athlet4es feet positions. For example if you are right handed then you left should be in front, if you are left handed your right foot should be in front. Feet  position is very important because if helps the athletes perform better. We worked o this the whole practice and called it "foot forward". The otgher coaches expalined to me why feet position is very important and helps the athletes perform better.

 

 

Blog 16: 2- Hour House Meeting

1. What is the most significant way that Special Olympics can help a person with an intellectual disability gain social competence?

 

2. Me second answer to my essential is question is every single person who is involved with Special Olympics helps athletes become more social competent. These people include Regional Directors, Area Directors, coaches, volunteers, community workers, parents, and care givers from group homes.

 

3. Some examples of people who are involved with Special Olympics helps athletes gain social competence are:

When an athletes is at bowling practice and needs to get bowling shoes they need to communicate with the person behind the counter to get the correct size shoe. Sometimes the athletes speech maybe hard to understand and some athletes are non verbal coach practice with the athletes like holding up what size shoe they are. With more and more practice they are memorizing what shoe size they are and the person behind the desk gets familiar with athletes and build relationships.

 

Regional Directors, Area Directors, coaches, volunteers, community workers, parents, and care givers from group homes all help athletes with self help. For example they set boundaries, rules, repetition and guidance to do things on their own.

 

Special Olympics is empowering athletes with intellectual disabilities to be leaders in society by providing them opportunities to learn skills that transcend the playing field. Our athletes hold jobs, go to school, and are active members in their communities.

 

4. This source helped me the most to find my answer:                                                                                                                        "Special Olympics' Special Olympics Delaware. Web. 01 Nov. 2012. http://www.sode.org/

This helped me the mot because it gave a good idea on coaches and other people who are involved with Special Olympics help athletes in a big way.

 

5. I plan to continue my study of my 2 answer by completing my independent component 2. Also talking to coaches from other regions and volunteering.