Salem Soccer Wins $500 for Special Olympics Event

Salem Soccer Wins $500 for Special Olympics Event

Winston-Salem, NC-The Salem College soccer team won a NCAA Division III national contest that earned them $500 to spend on an event with the Forsyth County Special Olympics soccer team. Salem collected an impressive 1,128 votes in the poll, which was good enough to defeat Houghton's (NY) entire athletic department and the LaVerne (CA) softball team. Last month, the winning program had less than 800 votes. 

The Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) initiated the partnership at the 2011 NCAA Convention and officially launched the partnership on August 1, 2011.  The purpose of the partnership is to enhance the lives of Division III student-athletes and Special Olympics athletes through a mutual learning experience; provide a platform for recognition of Special Olympics athletes and Division III student-athletes within their communities; and raise awareness of Special Olympics, its programs and services.

Through this partnership, Division III student-athletes across the country are encouraged to participate in existing Special Olympics events, create their own events, or otherwise serve to support Special Olympics organization. The activities pursued by student-athletes will vary in each state and region, tailored to best utilize the student-athletes' time and local resources.  

October 2017 Special Olympics Spotlight Poll

Results:
Voting for this poll stopped on October 25, 2017.
La Verne softball hosts Special Olympics softball clinic:
79/2290
Salem College soccer hosts clinic for Forsyth County Special Olympics team:
1128/2290
Houghton SAAC hosts Special Olympics:
1083/2290
 
Here is the original story that won the poll for Salem soccer:
 
 

The Salem College soccer team hosted the local Winston-Salem/Forsyth County adult Special Olympics soccer team for a clinic this week. The Spirits trained the team with drills focused on passing, shooting, and dribbling.

Special Olympics Forsyth County is a year-round sports training and competition program for individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities. Their program is the 3rd largest Special Olympics program in the state, with more than 1,600 athletes training and competing in 15 different sports. Throughout the season, athletes grow by demonstrating courage, experiencing joy, engaging in new friendships, and enhancing their skills.

"We had a great time with the Special Olympics program," said Head Coach Jay Callahan. "Our student-athletes did an excellent job interacting and teaching their team some new soccer skills. I was very proud of the team, and we made some great new friends through hosting this clinic."

The Spirits split into groups after warm-ups and played games like soccer bowling, soccer red light green light, and power and finesse shooting. Afterwards, the Special Olympics team creamed the Spirits in a six vs. six scrimmage.