Walton County kids practice motor skills at Special Olympics YAP event

DEFUNIAK SPRINGS, Fla. ( WMBB ) — The Walton County School District hosted a fun Friday on April 26 for special needs children with a Special Olympics event.

The Young Athletes Program (YAP) event introduces kids to sports at a young age.

Athletes with different mental and physical challenges rotated through activities that help motor skills. Things like kicking a soccer ball or using a baseball bat.

“It’s actually a lot about teaching them how to use their body parts and learning how to listen and learning how to, you know, prepare themselves for sports later on,” Michael Stone, Special Olympics Florida said.

The event marked 4-year-old Gryffin Schoeneberg’s second year at YAP. His parents say he is non-verbal but loves being a young athlete.

“They get to work on something together so that they get to, you know, get on the bus and come and do something fun and then also compete. And it just doesn’t hold them back, you know, and this shows him that he can do stuff as well,” Griffin’s mom Crystal said.

More than 60 pre-k school kids from Freeport, the WISE center, and Bay School competed in this Special Olympics.

The Special Olympics Florida said after this step, kids go on to compete at a bigger level.

“We have rising stars, we have little elites which takes them all the way through high school and beyond. We also have unified sports which starts middle school and high school,” Stone said.

The Schoeneberg’s say the organization and volunteers have allowed Gryffin to be like every other kid.

“The public should know that events like this are so necessary to make all the kids feel welcome and included. So we appreciate it through the school district just being invited and through, you know, their teachers working on it and everybody who hosts the event,” Crystal said.

At the end of the day, each student-athlete left with a medal and a full belly of pizza.

To support the cause and learn how to help, head to the Special Olympics Florida website.

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