PEKIN – Keeping up with Pekin residents Larry and Barb Needham for the next couple of months might be difficult.
As long-time volunteers with Special Olympics, they are active on a number of committees set up by the organization that provides opportunities to participate in 19 sports to people with developmental disabilities statewide.
But as January makes way for February, the Needhams will be busy with two events – one involving Illinois athletes, the other involving athletes from around the globe.
First, beginning Feb. 3, Larry will be coaching speed skating at the Special Olympics Illinois State Winter Games, held at various venues in Galena and Dubuque, Iowa.
At State Winter Games, Larry will be coaching speed skaters. Local skaters going for gold there include: Speed skaters Drew Hawkins, Marquette Heights; Judith Rich-Smith, Marquette Heights; Philip Widmer, Metamora; Zach Leeper, North Pekin; figure skaters Emily Harms and Rachel Jones, both Pekin.
Then, just days later, the Needhams will travel to Salt Lake City to participate in a send-off ceremony for members of Team USA who will be participating in the Special Olympics International Winter Olympics. Competitions at World Games will take place at various venues in Boise from Feb. 7-13, 2009.
Larry, head coach of the Pekin-based Tri-County Independents Powerlifting team, will be going to Winter Games as a coach for Figure Skating; while Barb, who has coached speed skating at Special Olympics Illinois State Winter Games, will be Team USA’s head coach for Speed Skating at the Boise event.
Larry Needham will be coaching three male and one female athlete, while Barb will coach three female athletes.
The Needhams met face-to-face with their assigned athletes when they attend a three-day training camp in Colorado in December.
The athletes the Needhams will be coaching at World Games come from as far east as North Carolina and as far west from Arizona, each having had a rapport with coaches they know at home. Therefore, Larry Needham said, when coaching athletes he and his wife are unfamiliar with, a different style must be used to ensure the best performance from their new charges.
“What we do is, we see how they are performing, and then work with them on what they have already learned from the local coaches,” Larry Needham said. “From there, we try to enhance it or polish it, if we can in preparation for World Games.”
He said, in the case of figure skaters, for instance, that might mean helping them to get in rhythm with their music they are skating to, either by getting the athlete to speed up or slow down.
Application Process: Both Needhams had to apply to Special Olympics International to become coaches for the Boise event, Larry said.
He said he and his wife each applied to coach speed skating. But, he said, Special Olympics International contacted him and asked if he would switch his coaching specialty to figure skating, due to a lack of male coaches.
Larry said he agreed to switch, considering he coaches young children to figure skate.
The Needhams each have previous experience with international Special Olympics events. Larry was a speed skating coach at the 2001 World Winter Games in Alaska and a speed skating volunteer at the 1997 World Winter Games in Toronto, Canada. Larry was a Powerlifting coach at Special Olympics 2006 National Games in Ames, Iowa. Barbara was a speed skating coach at the 1993, 1997 and 2005 World Winter Games in Reno, Nevada; Toronto, Canada; and Nagano, Japan, respectively.
Up to 3,000 athletes from more than 100 countries will compete in seven Olympic-type sports: Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, figure skating, floor hockey, snowboarding, snowshoeing, and speed skating.
As if that sort of schedule wouldn’t keep most people busy just thinking about the pace that sets, Larry Needham has the Special Olympics Illinois State Basketball Tournament in Bloomington-Normal on his calendar for March 13-15, coaching one of two teams from Pekin Park District’s Illinois River Valley Special Recreation Association.
Two Snowshoers Going To State: Two Snowshoeing contestants who advanced in District competition in December will be at State Winter Games, representing their organization, Pekin-based Tri-County Independents, which is headed by Larry Needham. Gail Smith and Bill Wireman are the Snowshoeing coaches for the Independents.
Donald Hrivnak earned a fourth place ribbon in the 100 meter race last month to get to State, while Mark Johnson advanced to the State Winter Games with a gold medal in the 100 meter run.
Area Athlete Going To Winter Games: Chad Gatlin, 34, son of Jay and Carol Manthey, Peoria Heights, an athlete with Peoria-based Heart of Illinois Special Recreation Association, will participate in the Winter Games in Speed Skating.