TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University swimming and diving team has partnered with Special Olympics Maryland (SOMD) to host five swim clinics for Special Olympics athletes at Burdick Pool this fall. The third clinic, held on Sunday, Nov. 10 was highlighted in the Baltimore Sun this week.

Coaches and members of the swimming and diving team have been paired with the 30 participating athletes to provide individualized instruction of swim safety and a variety of swim strokes. Each of the clinics focuses on a specific stroke; including backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle.

"[Head Coach Pat Mead] wanted to establish a program in which his young men and women developed coach-student relationships with the Special Olympians over a longer period," Jonathan Pitts of The Baltimore Sun said.

The Tigers will host exhibition races during the January home meets for the SOMD athletes who participated in the clinics, giving the athletes an opportunity to show off their skills.

"Our kids have really taken to this. They've learned compassion, humility and an appreciation for what they've got," Mead said. "They've also realized that people with special needs are much more capable than they probably understood."

"Towson and its athletic teams have been supporters of Special Olympics Maryland, which organizes athletic training and competition for the state's developmentally disabled individuals who are 8 years old and up," Pitts said. "The university has long played host to the organization's summer games."

Special Olympics Maryland is a year-round sports organization dedicated to providing quality sports training and competition opportunities to Maryland's children and adults with intellectual disabilities and/or closely related development disabilities. SOMD currently provides thousands of sports experiences annually for athletes statewide, and offers 24 sports, all at no cost to the athletes or their families.
 
Find the full Baltimore Sun article here.

For more information about SOMD, visit www.somd.org or call 410-242-1515.