They may not be playing in the FIFA World Cup, but the Special Olympics Unified soccer team came, saw and conquered at the 2014 Special Olympics USA Games.
The Orlando Special Olympics soccer team took home the silver medal at the USA Games in New Jersey.
Olivia Marincov, a 20-year-old UF applied physiology and kinesiology junior, has been involved with Special Olympics since she was in the eighth grade, coaching soccer at a summer camp to children with autism and playing in this year’s Olympic games.
Marincov was a Unified Partner, someone without an intellectual disability, for her team, which practices three times a week.
“Just like a regular soccer practice, we do conditioning and ball-control drills,” Marincov said. “They’re just like us, but sometimes you just have to break things up and find different ways to say things.”
In June, the Orlando team played against Nebraska, and although they lost 2-0, Marincov said it felt like they won.
She received a phone call on Tuesday from her coach that her team received a bid to go to the Special Olympics World Games in the future.
“It’s a huge part of my life, and it means a lot to me,” Marincov said. “I’ve seen the team grow up as players and as people.”
Danielle Spears, spokeswoman and public relations director for Special Olympics Florida, said the goal of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities by offering them a fair opportunity to demonstrate their skills and increase public awareness.
There were 180 Florida athletes and coaches who attended the games this year, she said.
In total, 3,500 athletes participated, and there were more than 70,000 volunteers and families present.
She said that the success of this team is a win for inclusion and acceptance for people with intellectual disabilities.
“We really believe in the transformative power of sports,” Spears said. “By sharing their abilities and successes with the community, we hope to shatter stereotypes about people with disabilities.”
The next step for Special Olympics Florida is to push forward with unified sports at high school and college campuses.
The Special Olympics is free for everyone to participate in, and it relies on volunteers to be successful.
"Athletes are the heart of our organization, but volunteers are the backbone," Spears said. "I encourage everyone to get involved."
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 7/3/2014 under the headline "UF student helps US Special Olympics soccer team win second"]
