Area Special Olympics softball team, fresh off national win, looks for state championship

From turning double plays to fielding hard-hit ground balls, members of the Southeast Missouri Storm know where to position themselves -- not only to field the ball but to also make an accurate throw consistently. Those skills helped the Storm win a gold medal recently at the Special Olympics National Games.

The softball team will also compete in the Special Olympics State Outdoor Championships, being held in Cape Girardeau from Friday to Sunday. The softball tournament will start Saturday with all games being played at the Shawnee Park Sports Complex softball fields.

The Storm, made up of athletes from their early 20s to their late 30s, play in the slow-pitch unified division of the Special Olympics. Coach Bill Mack said that division is the highest-functioning level an athlete can play at the Special Olympics and is played according to coed slow-pitch softball rules. Each Special Olympics athlete is paired with a male partner on the field.

"It's people without mental disabilities playing with people with mental disabilities," Mack said.

The Storm competed at the National Games from July 18 to 23 in Nebraska, where it beat the South Carolina Kings for the gold. The National Games are played every four years. To advance to the national level, Mack said, the team had to go through a two-year process. The team had to win a gold medal at the state level and then attend a sports camp for a week.

"We were the only softball team to qualify [from Missouri], but that didn't guarantee we would go to nationals," Mack said. "We had to show them we wanted to go and we were capable. You have to worry about behavioral issues, handling the weather, being away from family."

Mack has been with the Storm for 12 years, as a player and now as a coach. He said getting an entire team to nationals was the toughest thing that he's had to do helping with the Special Olympics.

"We went to four training camps throughout the year and had to raise $1,000 each," Mack said. "The partners had trouble because some of them couldn't get off work. It's a big undertaking trying to get 18 people together."

Not only do the athletes compete, they interact with other athletes from all over the country.

Lucas Blattel of Delta, one of three Storm players with a Missouri Athlete of the Year award, said the Storm's skill level was high enough to force several other teams to forfeit against them during the first day of competition.

"It was pretty good," Blattel said. "It would have been a lot better if we could have played a lot more than four games. We were just a little too strong the first day. Nobody else wanted to play against us because we'd hurt them or something."

Mack said the current Storm team has been together for five or six years. Some players have been with the team since 1999.

The team plays in a coed city league in Cape Girardeau during the summer and tries to meet once a week during the softball season. The league that they play in also serves as practice for the team.

"We work on fundamentals and skills," Mack said. "We work on catching the ball, throwing it properly, hitting the cutoff man and double plays."

Not every Storm athlete has a physical disability, but the ones who do have practiced enough to play at a high level.

"Chris Miller mainly has the use of his right arm," Mack said. "In the national tournament, I think he was 10 for 15. He hits the ball one-handed. He's a great player but can't run real fast. He handles his disability really well."

Mack said the upcoming state tournament allows the athletes to not only compete but to meet other athletes from the state. There is bingo and a dance during the weekend as well.

"Meeting different teams," athlete Scott Wright said about his favorite thing about the state tournament. "Having different players coming. We're going to try to win state."

Mack said the Storm usually have to travel to compete in the state tournament. Several of the athletes are excited to finally get to play in a tournament close to home.

"Everybody gets to come to our neck of the wood," Blattel said, "and we get to show them what Cape's all about."

While the goal of the team is to play to the best of their ability, Mack said his team is extremely competitive. He said the team does a great job with sportsmanship even with their competitive attitude.

"We want them to have fun," Mack said. "We want them to compete, play hard and do their best. Now if they don't win, that's OK."

All of the athletes compete in several sports throughout the year, from basketball to bowling to power lifting. They also tend to play together so they can be on the same team.

"I've been doing it since 1999," Daniel Fultz said about playing with the Storm. "I love baseball. Special Olympics is in my heart. I won't stop until I die."