- November 25, 2024
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Bethany McClelland always knew what she wanted to do in life. McClelland, whose best friend’s brother had cerebral palsy, had a desire to work with people with special needs. She first got involved with the Special Olympics in 1996.
Now, McClelland is a special education teacher at Spruce Creek High School. But in all the years of the Special Olympics, no students from Volusia County had ever made it to the national stage.
Until now.
Spruce Creek unified sports is sending four kids (three athletes and one unified partner) and two coaches, Bethany and her husband Cameron McClelland to the Special Olympics USA Games on July 1-6 in Seattle. Curtis Fisher will compete in stand-up paddle boarding, Caleb Keirstead will compete in golf skills and Marina Shaker will compete with her unified partner, Hannah Harrison, in the youth leadership experience.
“It’s really amazing, and I’m really excited for these kids,” Bethany McClelland said. “The Special Olympics promotes independence, and it’s really been cool to watch over the past few years. These kids have worked really hard to get where they are.”
The journey to the USA Games started about 1 1/2 years ago. The students had to go to training camp with other nominated athletes, where they had to show they could handle the training, walking and itinerary demanded by the USA Games. The students have been training to compete for over a year — even during the off-season. Fisher made the 420- mile trek to Key West to compete in a paddle boarding competition even though the season had already concluded.
“They’ve been doing a lot of work to get ready,” Bethany McClelland said.
Cameron McClelland, who doubles as a physical education teacher and softball coach at Spruce Creek, got involved with the Special Olympics in 1998, while he was still in high school. He mostly helps coach swimming and stand-up paddle boarding for the Hawks.
But despite being the teachers and the coaches, the McClellands said they have learned even more from their special needs students.
“We learn from them every day,” Bethany McClelland said. “They’re always so happy, and the lessons we learn from them are priceless.”
Also, Harrison and Shaker are the only students in the state going to the USA Games for youth leadership experience. Harrison, in addition to serving as an aid in Bethany McClelland’s special education class, has been volunteering with the Special Olympics for the past two years.
Harrison, a senior, plans to study communication science and disorders when she attends Florida State University in the fall.
“I learn something from them every day,” she said. “They’re so real and they love you for who you are.
“I plan on doing this for a long time.”
