The New Trier High School Special Olympics program heads to Prospect High School on May 9 for the annual regional track and field meet. With 31 of 45 athletes participating, the Trevians hope to win gold medals that will send them downstate to Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, for the state championship on May 20. 

The Trevs will compete against other schools and organizations from around the Chicagoland area, including Prospect High School and Hersey High School. The events that will take place include running and walking races, and softball, tennis ball, and mini javelin throwing competitions.

“It’s a really cool experience, especially when the athletes go to state, they get the whole experience,” senior board member Avery Doblin says. “They get shirts and they get to stay in a hotel with their friends. They get to experience something that all other athletes on sports teams get to experience.”

The Special Olympics program has had nothing short of immense success this year, with record-breaking numbers of volunteers and athletes in the program. During the winter and fall seasons, they hosted and attended several events with schools, organizations, and sports teams from around the state. In the winter, the program participated in several different basketball games and tournaments, including the annual game against Lake Forest High School, which brings in a large crowd of students every year.  

One of their biggest achievements was a fundraiser in partnership with the New Trier girls cross country team, where they raised over $10,000 for new equipment and resources for the athletes. 

Each season, the 200-plus student volunteers are placed in groups of two to three volunteers and one athlete. These groups have been fiercely training with their athletes in anticipation of these state competitions. 

“I’ve been lifting weights and working out with the trainer,”  senior athlete Tommy Fritzsche, a four-year participant who went downstate with the team last spring, says. 

On top of practicing for the specific events, the program focuses on the little things that go into having a successful meet. 

“A lot of what we work on is following the plan,” Special Olympics program sponsor and Special Education teacher Lisa Loris says. “So, practicing the details like making sure that our feet are behind the line and that we’re waiting for the directions. 
All the components of an event that we can work on to support the athletes.”

Apart from the hard work that goes into their training, the program is focused on their core values. Before each practice, the leaders and student volunteers go over not only how they will train, but also social goals for the athletes. 

“We really drive home our core values in our practices and competitions,” Loris says. “We want to have joy, growth, connection, and competition in every event. We really want to live that. If we’re living that, then we’re following our goals.”

These goals are what have driven Special Olympics to the success they’ve seen this year, and the Trevians only look to keep their momentum into their final two events of the school year.

“Really the big thing is the culture of our team,” Loris says. “We want this to be a very positive experience for both athletes and student volunteers. By living those values, and really thinking through them during practices and in competitions, that’s really what’s all about.”