Special Olympics South Carolina (SOSC) athletes from across the state participated in a skills and drills tennis clinic on April 2 at the Credit One Charleston Open. The event featured 25 athletes from seven different Special Olympics South Carolina programs including Charleston, Columbia, Hilton Head, Aiken and Sumter among others.
SOSC has been partnering with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) to host the event at COCO for 22 years, according to Kevin Macfarland, a Special Olympics volunteer who coaches the Rockin Racquets tennis team based out of the Mount Pleasant Tennis Complex on Whipple Road. It started out small on LTP Daniel Island’s Club Court with only the Charleston area program and has now expanded to two courts and encompasses all Special Olympics chapters statewide.
Special Olympics North America has been working with the WTA to try and get the tennis clinics into all WTA tournaments. The event’s goal is to increase public awareness of Special Olympics adaptive tennis (focuses on accessibility and inclusivity in the sport) and inspire people to volunteer and potentially start a program of their own, he said. Macfarland cited one example of a couple from Michigan who came out and watched the demo one year, returned to Charleston during the summer to train with Special Olympics athletes and were then motivated to launch their own program back home.
The athletes encompassed a mix of skill levels and ages from beginner to a full tennis player, and they worked on a range of drills such as forehands, backhands and volleys. A highlight for the athletes was when special guests including recently retired WTA player and Charleston native Shelby Rogers and current WTA world No. 5 Madison Keys joined them on court. Rogers demonstrated proper swing techniques and form and helped lead net volley drills.
Keys showed up for the unified play portion of the event, in which a non-special needs athlete plays to a Special Olympics athlete’s level. “If your partner could have gotten to the ball, then you can,” explained Macfarland. “If they probably wouldn’t have hit it, then you would probably not. It’s so that you can play doubles, and do it an collective manner. And it gets our adaptive players and regular players together … It’s trying to be inclusive.”
The Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Its athletes participate in 23 sports, which all have a unified component. There are unified leagues as well, said Macfarland, whose daughter Kylie is special needs. Kylie, who participated in the COCO event, is also involved in bowling, sailing and kayaking. She has taken part in the Special Olympics for 35 years and has gone to the World Games for tennis and the USA Games for both tennis and sailing.
“They are just as competitive as you and I are out on the court,” stated Macfarland of the Special Olympics athletes. “But one thing that they probably do better than you and I is that they are outstanding sportsmen. And they are so sincere.”
Following unified play, Rogers and Keys played a fun racquet game with the athletes where the object is to hold the racquet with one hand while one person calls out a body part. You then must touch that body part with the same hand holding up the racquet without letting it drop to the ground.
A lot of smiles, laughter and cheering ensued and Keys and Rogers graciously signed autographs and posed for pictures with athletes and their family members.
But it wasn’t just the Special Olympics athletes who had a blast. “The clinic was so fun,” shared Rogers. “One, it brought a smile to my face—but just to see their skills as well and how much they love the sport of tennis and how they are able to be active.”
She added that athletes shared stories with her about participating in the USA Games and talked about their trips and gold medals and how the sport of tennis has influenced their life in such a positive way.
“And it’s so inspiring to see them and being able to hit back and forth and rally with them, it’s just so awesome,” beamed Rogers. “And we got some really fun pictures, you know, shared a bunch of laughs out there. Honestly, the best way to start my day.”
If you would like to get involved, Mount Pleasant Tennis Complex will be hosting a unified play team concept tournament called Bandana Team Tennis the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend featuring approximately 50 athletes.
For more information, call the MPTC at 843-856-2162.
By Colin McCandless
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