The Willow Glen Resident

Photograph by Skye Dunlap

And She's Off: Jane Heckbert, a 27-year veteran of the Special Olympics, says she enjoys the competitive aspect of the games.

Games are way of life for these spirited WG athletes, coaches

Special Olympics International has 30th birthday in '98

By Michelle Ku

The runners stand crouched at the starting line drawn in the sand of the track at Valley Christian High School. They tense in anticipation of the practice run. When the starter yells "Go!" they take off down the track.

A quarter of the way into the race, one athlete has taken a slight lead over the others. That athlete is 45-year-old Jane Heckbert, a 27-year veteran of the Special Olympics and a Willow Glen resident. This year, she will compete in the 200- and 400-meter dashes, the 400-meter walk and a relay at the track and field meet at Independence High School on May 16.

In the meantime, another veteran of the Special Olympics, Willow Glen resident Trevor Lucken, 13, is also preparing for a Special Olympics tournament. Standing atop the second deck of the Vista Oaks Golf Center, Lucken is working on his drives for the June 6 golf tournament at Pleasant Hills Golf Course.

Working with Lucken is Bill Gross, a first-time Special Olympics volunteer and Los Gatos resident, who learned of the games' need for volunteers at a recent tennis tournament. Gross' role is to ensure Lucken's safety while teaching him some of the basics of golf and how to have fun.

"I was a pretty good golfer in the past, and I thought I could have fun with it," Gross says. "Trevor's a good guy. He's receptive. He's willing to give things a try. I think he's going to be a pro."

Heckbert and Lucken are just two of about 1,200 developmentally disabled athletes who participate in the county's Special Olympics. But the athletes can't do it alone--they need the 2,500 volunteers who donate their time throughout the year at practices and events.

This year, Willow Glen is home to 30 of the SOSCC's athletes and 15 of its volunteers, says Catherine Brians, development director of SOSCC: "It's amazing how many people are involved."

For Heckbert, who describes herself as "a slow learner" and has been involved in SOSCC for almost as long as the Special Olympics have been in existence, it's a way of life. This year marks the 30th year of Special Olympics International, and SOSCC will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year, Brians says.

Heckbert first joined the Special Olympics because she wanted to try it and see what it was like. Now she participates in basketball, aquatics and track and field every year.

Lucken says he participates in whatever sport interests him. He was thinking of trying bowling this year, but the practice time didn't fit into his schedule. "I've played basketball, track and field and figure skating," says Lucken, who has Down's syndrome. "I run, I bicycle and I throw tennis balls. I also do shot put." Lucken was 3 when he participated in his first SOSCC event and says he enjoys every aspect--from the competitions to practices and meeting people to getting out of the house.

Another volunteer, Willow Glen resident Donna Hepp, first became involved in the Special Olympics in 1988 as the representative for the school where she worked. She was asked if she would be willing to take her three gymnastics athletes to the summer games. Hepp says she agreed, but did not know that by agreeing to chaperone for the games, she was agreeing to be a coach.

"I was shocked, needless to say," she says. "I didn't know anything about gymnastics."

Following Special Olympics procedures, Hepp, a rookie coach, was partnered with an experienced coach and eventually became the head coach for the program.

"When people want to volunteer with Special Olympics, they think they need to be this great athlete who knows the sport, and that's not true," Hepp says. "I tried gymnastics once when I was 8, and I was pitiful at it. I found out that I could still serve a role even if I don't have that aptitude for gymnastics."

Athletes and volunteers alike gain from their involvement in the Special Olympics. Heckbert says she's become heavily involved in the competitive side of the games. "I get first, second and third places," she says proudly. "I have nine medals at home and 206 ribbons." Every competing athlete is awarded a ribbon for participating in the program.

"I think Special Olympics is great for the activeness," says Jenny Lucken, Trevor's mother. "A lot of kids with special needs aren't active. I think it's great because it gives these kids the same opportunity as other kids to play sports."

The rewards coaches and volunteers receive while working with the athletes are immeasurable because of how much the athletes appreciate what you are doing for them, Hepp says.

"One of the things that keeps me coming back is the athletes," she says. "They are just amazing. It's the nicest feeling that you are that important to them and that they know and remember you."

For more information about the Special Olympics, contact the Santa Clara County office at 267-2734.

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