Lightning had flickered in a darkening sky, so practice was officially canceled at Old Mill Senior High in Millersville late Wednesday afternoon. But that didn't stop three longtime buddies from taking to the oval track and starting up their laps, just as they'd planned.
Andrew Rickard, 36, long-legged in a T-shirt and belted khaki shorts, set a fast pace. A cheerful Bobby Brick, 37, followed close behind, joshing with onlookers as he jogged along. Burly Marty Valaske, 39, unmoved by the excitement building around him, simply strolled in a lane all his own.
"These guys do like to push each other, in their own ways," said Adil Moutanabbih, a volunteer track and field coach with Special Olympics Maryland. Moutanabbih, 27, was helping the trio from Arnold train for the Special Olympics Maryland Summer Games, the annual sports extravaganza being held at Towson University this weekend.
Rickard, Brick and Valaske aren't merely three of the 12,000 competitors who were preparing to flock to the meet from all over Maryland starting Friday. In some ways, they represent what's best about the Special Olympics movement, 41 years old this year and more popular and more widely known than ever.
Along with another friend, Paul Day, 35, they've taken part in the summer games for almost three decades. They've been housemates in a split-level on Ternwing Court for seven years, a house as sports-friendly as anything you might find on a college fraternity row. Their camaraderie, nurtured since childhood, suggests how sports can foster teamwork, how teamwork can foster confidence.
"This setup has been so good for each of the guys," says Joan Raleigh, the special-needs counselor who lives and works with them during the week. "I call this my 'go-go' house. The guys just never stop. Sports, especially the Special Olympics, is a huge part of it."
In her job as a special-needs counselor, Raleigh, 59, is equal parts life coach, cook, mother hen, interpreter and comic foil for the group. She drives each resident to as many as six Special Olympics practices a week year-round. Offering a guided tour of the house, she shares her reflections.
Valaske, who lives in a room festooned with sports posters, has Down syndrome. He also has "a wry sense of humor" and "the sexiest legs in the house," Raleigh says, adding that the stocky swimmer and runner can never be hurried - usually because he's deep in thought.
