It was a rock-star kind of morning for the Special Olympics team at Victor H. Hexter Elementary School: adoring fans cheering them on, a blitz of media interviews and a victory parade to set the tone for the day.
The entire school lined the hallways to give the seven competitors a warm sendoff before the district Special Olympics meet on Thursday, March 6, at Wilmer-Hutchins High School. There were handmade signs, high-fives and the school’s cheerleaders showing their support at Hexter before the students got on the bus.
Heidi Zeko, who coaches the Hexter Special Olympians, said the organization is a great one for athletes of all ages and abilities.
“It gives them confidence, it gives them a chance to participate in something they would normally never get to do, and it makes them feel like they could do anything,” Zeko said. “(The sendoff is) wonderful because these are their friends and their classmates and their peers all year long. To see this support from their friends they see every day, it just means a lot. It’s terrific.”
Other schools that participated in the meet were Bryan Adams High School, Robert T. Hill Middle School, J.L. Long Middle School, W.H. Gaston Middle School, Harold W. Lang Sr. Middle School, Bayles Elementary School, Edwin J. Kiest Elementary School and Highland Meadows Elementary School.
