Special Olympics swim meet makes Jefferson County students ...

HOOVER, Alabama - Salest Alexander said she had never been swimming until a couple of months ago, but the 18-year-old special education student from Pinson Valley High School beamed as she held a first-place ribbon after participating in the Jefferson County school system's Special Olympics today in Hoover.

Alexander was able to overcome her initial fear about getting in the water, thanks to the help of a physical education coach who worked with her at the Hueytown Boys and Girls Club, where Jefferson County students prepared for today's Special Olympics over the past four to six weeks.

"I was a little nervous and a little scared," Alexander said about her first time in the water. Her coach agreed to put his hand under her stomach to help guide her, she said.

"He said to kick my legs up and down and don't let them touch the ground, and I did," she said.

The rest was history. Now, Alexander feels comfortable getting in the water, and she enjoyed competing today, she said. "It's wonderful."

Alexander was among nearly 200 middle and high school students with disabilities from Jefferson County schools who participated in today's Special Olympics swim meet at the Hoover Recreation Center.

Some of them swam freestyle, while others did the backstroke. Some of them used a flotation bar as an aid, and some of them had the helping hand of an adult to assist them in getting across the pool. Others managed the swim fine by themselves.

Each student competed with others who had similar skill levels and abilities, said Pam Rush, an adaptive physical education specialist with the Jefferson County school system who coordinated today's event.

"A lot of our kids don't really have the opportunity to go swimming," Rush said. "The more kids we can teach to swim and to be more comfortable around water, if they do ever find themselves around water, they can get out safely ... It's unreal the improvements some of the students have made from day one until now."

McKenzie Mayfield, a 15-year-old freshman from Mortimer-Jordan High School, has been swimming since she was small but had never swam in a competition like this before today, she said.

"I thought it was great," Mayfield said after winning her first heat. "It was exciting."

Her mother, Candie Mayfield, said she it's great that students with various disabilities can come together with kids from other schools who face similar issues.

"It's giving them something to do every week," she said. "I think it helps with coordination and to not be afraid of the water."

C.J. Larry, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Clay-Chalkville Middle School, screamed and cried his first year of swimming two years ago, "but he swims really well," his teacher, Kay Mickel, said.

Now, Larry has no problem getting in the water. "It was great. I'm a grown kid," he said.

On Friday, about 200 Jefferson County elementary school students with disabilities will be at the Hoover Rec Center for a similar "swimming extravaganza," Rush said.

Kelly Rowell, an occupational therapist who works for the Jefferson County Board of Education, was in the water today, helping some of the swimmers make it across the pool. In between races, a broad grin came across her face.

"If this doesn't make you smile, then nothing can make you smile," she said.

For more news from Hoover, go to www.al.com/hoover

Source: http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/10/special_olympics_swim_meet_mak.html

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