In 2022, a new branch of the Special Olympics program, a sports organization dedicated to helping children and adults with intellectual disabilities participate in sports through year-round training and activities, opened in the South Hills area and was hosted at the Upper St. Clair High School pool. Aptly named “South Hills Splash,” the team is open to people of all ages, from young children to adults. The volunteers running the swimming program are self-selected from the High School’s swim team, as well as various individuals from the swim club PEAQ (Pittsburgh Elite Aquatics), which also practices at the High School. In just one year, the team’s ranks have swelled, both in terms of athletes and volunteers.
The journey starts with one special girl. Megan, now 23, is the daughter of the founder and Team Coordinator John Lynch. She has been swimming since she was 8 and loves the water. When she was still swimming with the Special Olympics at the Pathfinder School, talk of a new pool at the Upper St. Clair High School was starting up.
Mr. Lynch said, “My dad, her grandfather, actually hand-sketched a design for the pool. He only got one thing wrong.” Megan’s grandfather worked with Dave Schraven, head coach of the Upper St. Clair High School swim team and PEAQ, and Myrtha Pools, a pool contractor company, to bring the vision to life – and he did it with the Special Olympics (and his granddaughter) in mind. The plans had been in the works when the pool opened, but as with many things, the COVID-19 pandemic put a wrench into things, and the plan fell apart. In the summer of 2022, John Lynch found himself at a swim meet – his son was coaching, and his daughter was swimming. There, he met Alex Hardwick, then a swim coach for the High School and PEAQ. Special Olympics was mentioned, and Mr. Hardwick, who had worked as a volunteer for the program in his college years, was enthusiastically supportive.
Mr. Lynch came with his son for a tour of the pool, and just like that, the plans started right back up. With Mr. Hardwick’s help and the eager volunteers on the St. Clair swim team, it was easy for Mr. Lynch to set the program into motion – parents were excited to find such a program for their kids, and there was more support from all the communities involved than he had ever expected.
In the 2022-2023 swimming season, the first year the South Hills Splash participated, there were 28 athletes signed up. Split into two sessions, one from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and the other from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., there were enough volunteers for each athlete to be with at least one if not two volunteers. Bonds formed quickly between swimmers and volunteers, and soon volunteers could be heard anxiously hoping for their buddy to show up or recounting stories about their sessions, while athletes visibly lit up when they saw their partners and eagerly greeted them and the friends they were making amongst themselves.
At the first meet the team had last year, athletes and volunteers could be seen on the sidelines cheering fervently for their teammates and buddies, respectively, with palpable excitement. Many swimmers placed several times over, but it did not matter to them – they were more proud of themselves for swimming, for cheering their teammates on, and for their improvement: the kind of atmosphere good sports organizations around the world strive to create.
It was truly a one-of-a-kind experience and one that every volunteer said they were grateful to have attended. The athletes did not need to be asked – the smiles on their faces said it all.
This year (2023-2024), there are 42 athletes signed up – already 14 more! – with 6 more on a waitlist: an excellent increase for such a relatively new program. The number of volunteers, despite the loss of several high school seniors at the end of the 2022-2023 school year, has only grown, maintaining the 1:1 athlete-to-volunteer ratio. Many of the athletes are still even partnered with the same buddies – consistency is important for the athletes just as much as it is becoming for the volunteers: many were anxiously awaiting sessions with their buddies after a summer apart.
Mr. Lynch noted, “It’s successful beyond my wildest dreams. Now, I’m just trying to figure out what we can do.” Michael Densmore, the Head Swimming Coach, said, “I want to see if all/most of the athletes can compete in a meet this year – a goal we’re well on our way to.” Last year, more than half the team participated in at least one event in the singular meet the team attended. “There’s a lot of room for improvement, but I’m confident that just means we’re going to get a lot of new records for our athletes.”
Coach Densmore, in his interview, was direct. “It’s an absolutely great opportunity for the athletes to come swim, and it’s a great benefit for the high school students to be involved as well. It gives them [everyone] a sense of accomplishment and involvement with [through] the program. The athletes are getting a good workout and physical development. It can be not easy, but it’s something that they enjoy, which is important. But the volunteers are the ones who make this program a success. We’re the only program in the area with a 1:1 volunteer-to-athlete ratio, which is impressive on its own. But seeing how the athletes trust and enjoy working with their volunteer partners means much more.”
The sentiment was echoed by Bailey Wells, a volunteer from the Upper St. Clair High School team and PEAQ: “I love it. It’s so fun to come here and work with my buddies; I love seeing how happy they are in the water.”
Mr. Lynch was just as affirmative. “This program is definitely a benefit to the community – 1000% on a scale from 1-100. All these different people and athletes come together, and the familiarity and trust formed between the athletes and the volunteers is indescribable. It brought me to tears at the first [swim] meet, and any time I think about it… and now, actually-” After taking a moment to collect himself, he continued. “It’s so important that the athletes get to interact with others who are relatively the same age as them [the volunteers, many of the swimmers]. They have a 360-degree bond with the volunteers, coaches, and each other – the support is incredible. It really allows for interactions and connections in a way that not many other things can.”
Upon further reflection, he added, “And everyone really gets a new sense of life. In life, you’re given a deck of cards. Everyone’s deck of cards is different. Some of the cards will always represent challenges, but they’re different from person to person. It’s [the program/the resulting interactions] eye-opening, and it brings awareness.”
The message he so eloquently articulated rings true with everyone who has interacted with the program. From the athletes to the volunteers to the parents to the coaches – no one who has witnessed the interactions, the emotions, and the relationships intertwined in the South Hills Splash Special Olympics program can say, truthfully, that they have