Sports Camp for Special Olympics Missouri June 16-27 2019

June 16, 2019 (Sunday)

It's 2:40pm and we are on our way to Mexico Missouri for Special Olympics Missouri Sports Camp! It's 2 hrs and 2 mins away. Some things that I learned from packing:

~ Make sure to get my medications & the medications boxes is accurate date
~ Make sure I got all of the packing right. 

We arrived at MMA (Missorui Military Academy) at 5:18pm. Once we parked and got Jessse's and mine stuff unpacked we went into the MMA building and got in a line to get all of our information (Name tag, where we are sleeping at and which building,what group we are in,  and gave our medicine to the nurse and explain the medicine to the nurse). After that we went to our building where we would be sleeping. Jesse and I are in a different group this time. I was in the Jugglers group and Jesse was in Trapeze Artists group. We saw some of our Lee's Summit teammates and our coach! So, that was exciting! After we knew which group we were in, we split up to get settled in. After all of that, we went back to the gym and got into our groups. it was hard to say goodbye to my little niece and nephew, it wasn't easy when my little niece was crying for me. :( but grandma and grandpa was there to comfort her. For dinner and said goodbye to our families. For dinner we had chicken fajitas, corn, pinto beans, salad with tuna and 1 chocolate chip cookie. It's 9:19pm, and this evening we made team posters, introduced ourselves and went through the rules and what we are going to do at sports camp. Going to bed, wake up early in the morning. My group is called "the Jugglers and Jesse's team was called Trapeze Artists". I have one of my past group leaders, so that was exciting! 

Day One: June 17, 2019 (Monday)

This morning I woke up at 5:40 am. Got up, and got dressed, and get ready for the day. It's 7:34 am, just finished breakfast. I had English muffin, scrambled eggs, hash brows. Before we went to breakfast, we went to get AM medicine as a group, after we did that we walk a few laps.It's 1:27 pm, its R&R time. This morning we played soccer, tennis, golf, cycling, and health education. This morning after breakfast I lead the stretches. For lunch we had sloppy joes. I had no bun, cooked zucchini, (my fav), cauliflower, fries, salad with tuna. It was really good. After R&R time we went to hygiene from head and toe class, we learned a lot of information. After that session we went to fun games, then went to free time, in that session we played hangman while we took turns to guess what was in the box. We had guess without seeing what was in the box. After that session we played disc golf.  Our last activity for the day was pickle ball. It reminded me of tennis, but it was fun! For dinner we had sandwiches, apple, chips and granola bar. Evening activity was learned about the garden. How to make smoothies, compose. It was a fun activity. It's 8:39 pm, bed time!  I took 17,345 steps and stood up for 15 hours.

Day Two: June 18, 2019 (Tuesday)

It’s 6:55 am, we did the same things  that we did as yesterday. Plus fishing, I love fishing! I caught two blue gill’s. We also talked about our bodies, boys and girls was separated into two groups in the gym. After that session we session we went to dinner, I had a salad with tuna, corn dogs, tater tots, corn, and peas. After dinner we got ready for the talent show. It’s 9:11 pm, just got back from the talent show, it was really awesome! There was a lot of singing, acting, and dancing. Everyone did a great job! And the last acting was awesome! Two staff members dressed up as old woman and they did some dancing, it was prettt great! Time for bed. There was an eating contest as well! Everyone liked that one! I took 20,716 steps today and stood for 17 hours. 

Day Three: June 19, 2019 (Wednesday)

WOW! What a day! Today we played tennis, soccer, golf, cycling, kickball (that was my favorite) and disc golf. I had my normal for breakfast. For lunch I had broccoli, potatoes, a salad, and cheeseburger meat loaf. Today we went to a parade, everyone enjoyed that! After dinner we played board and card games because it was raining. I played UNO with a lot of people. That was so much fun! A lot of laughs! I looked around and I saw everyone smiling, and that made me smile! We also had ice cream sandwiches. For our evening snack.  And that was really good! Today I took 18,124 steps and stood for 15 hours. Tomorrow is the last full day. We also learned how to use weight lifting machines. Also played an awesome game with a SOMO (Special Olympics Missouri staff) the game was for two people who has a hat and gloves on and you had to try to get them off without using your hands. So we had to use each other to take each other hats and gloves off. That was really fun!

Day Four June 20, 2019 (Thursday)

It’s 4:11 am, and I don’t know why I’m up at this time of the day. But I’m quite so I don’t wake my room mate up, I tried to go back to bed a lot. But no luck! So I’m here and starring at my ceiling and writing in my journal for sports camp. I SO wished I could go back to sleep, and it doesn’t help when my stomach is making noises as well :( but the funny thing is that I’m not hungry. Okay maybe thst wasn’t funny, my bad. My day was good, I was tired, I wonder why lol. With al of the sessions we did today, we played games. So that was fun!! We also fished today. Caught another blue gill. When we played disc golf, we had a competition, so that was exciting! The evening activity was the dance!! Everyone loved the dance! I enjoyed seeing two individuals who didn’t go to sports camp but they decided to come just for the dance. It was really nice to see them! My favorite part of the dance was seeing smiles everywhere I went! During the day we played a game on the video game, the game was to guess the emoji, Disney style. I took 25,083 steps and stood for 17 hours. We also signed thank you post cards and we did an thank you video to MMA (that was my idea) :) 

Day Five June 21, 2019 (Friday)

This morning I woke up at 6:50 am, I did the rest of my packing (I mostly packed my stuff yesterday) we got to sleep in an hour this morning. We all brought our suitcaeses and our bedding beside our doors then went to the nurse to grab our medications. After we put our medications in our suitcases we all went to breakfast. Today will be a short day, it’s bittersweet, I have mix feelings, but everything has to come an end, the good part, there will be another sports camp. It’s so great to see old friends and make new friends and meet other coaches, athletes, volunteers and staff of Special Olympics Missouri! We had a kick ball tournament and that was SO fun!! 

*Things I’ll always remember*

~ meeting new people

~ making new friends

~ leading the morning stretches 

~ playing new sports 

~ learning new skills and new sports 

~ helping others and helping in my group

* A BIG thank you to MMA for allowing us to use your facility! Also a BIG thank you to Special Olympics Missouri staff, volunteers and coaches for giving up your time for an fantastic time week at Sports Camp!*

I took total of 81,268 steps at Sports Camp! 

My new friend Florica 

(Temporary Backup) Kansas City Metro Track and Field Meet 4-27-19

I woke up at 6:30, this morning is the day, Kansas City metro area track and field meet! I was a little worried because I’ve been watching the weather throughout the week, and hoping it wouldn’t  rain today. The tournament is still on, ya!! I wish everyone good luck and remember our oath! 

WOW what a day! It turned out to be a beautiful day! There was a little bit of wind, but it was still a beautiful day! When we got to the field, we went to see our team, Lee’s Summit, and got on our bips on. Then we went to be apart of the parade of athletes. After every team went through the parade of athletes, they announced the Kansas City winners for the outstanding of the year of 2018. And one of the Lee’s Summit families got the outstanding award!! So that was very exciting, and Allie Byrd got the outstanding athlete, so happy for her! It was a long day, but it was a fun day! It was so nice to see old friends and meet with volunteers! They were great! Everything time I saw a volunteer I made sure to say thank them for their time! Okay the wait is over, the results....drum roll please....Darion (first time doing track) he did very well. He got all GOLDS in 4x100 relay, running long jump, 100 meter run and 400 meter run. Jesse got 4th place in softball throw, 3rd place in standing long jump and 1st place in 50 meter dash. I got all GOLDS in 100 meter run, running long jump, shot put and 4x100 relay. Everyone did a GREAT job! Next stop is state which is on May 31 through June 2 in Springfield. Enjoy the pictures! 

Special Olympics Missouri old CEO to the NEW CEO

I had some questions for the old CEO and for the new CEO of Special Olympics Missouri. First up is Mark Musso. Here is the questions I asked:

1. Do you have any advice for the next CEO?

MM: Hire the best people on staff, move staff who aren't good fits off the team. Always work to make the games better each and every year. When considering various issues, always do what is best for the Athletes and do so by including Athletes in leadership positions throughout the organization.

2.  Are you planning to come back to some SOMO events:

MM: In the years to come you will certainly see me at some SOMO events, probably as a Fan in the Stands.

3. What are you planning to do with your retirement?

MM: Travel, fish, golf, attend many concerts, most of all spend time with my family- especially my grand kids.

4. When you first got this job, did you expect that you would be the CEO for SOMO as long you did?

MM: Great question, I promised the search committee I would stay 3 years. Needless to say I did so 9 times. While I had multiple offers to run other Special Olympics programs- I realized I wanted to be part of SOMO which I believe is one of the premier programs in the world.

5. What are your messages to all of the SOMO athletes, coaches, and staff?

MM: Remember SOMO is your organization- YOU can make it the best in the world if you all work together and agree to always improve on each and every event & programs. Most importantly- do what is besot for the athletes!

6. When was your first day of being the CEO for Special Olympics Missouri, and when was your last day?

MM: My first day was September 1, 1991 and my last day was March 31, 2019.  Exactly 27.5 years to the day.

And next up is new SOMO President & CEO, Susan Stegeman.

1. What does it mean to you that you are the new CEO for SOMO? And what does CEO stands for?

SS: It means a lot to me personally, because I want to do a good job for you and your fellow athletes.  I take responsibility very seriously. As CEO, I want to ensure our team has the resources, skills and training to do their jobs to the best of their abilities.  I want SOMO to continue to grow – we need to grow our family if we want to serve more athletes.  CEO stands for Chief Executive Officer

2.What are some of your goals when your job starts?

SS: Within the first 100 days, I will be on my “listen and learn” tour to determine trends, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.  I will visit with each staff person, and some volunteers to learn what we need to do to grow.  I will also be focused on learning about the inner workings of the board and how to support this important group of volunteers.  My job started on April 1, 2019

3. Is there something that Mark has said to you that is important to you?

SS: He stressed that he’s always known me to do the right thing and as long as it’s the best thing for the athletes, it’s the right thing.

4. Has Mark given you any advice? If so, what were they?

SS: Have fun.  Move into his office sooner, than later.  I did on Day #2

5.Is there anything you want to say to the athletes, the coaches and the staff?

SS: Thank you for being on the SOMO Team!

Athletes – you are our heroes; your spirit and determination make the world a better place.  Keep shining!

Coaches – thank you for your dedication and for being the best volunteers in the movement.  Keep inspiring!

Other volunteers – thank you for helping make our program and events possible!  Keep serving!

Staff – thank you for your commitment to carry the mission forward.  Remember to dream big!

Together Everyone Achieves More!

6. Are you excited? What are the most memorable moment that you have experienced in SOMO? 

SS: I am excited to learn and stretch my skills.  At the end of May I will celebrate being on staff for 29 years.  I never thought I would say that.  I’ve enjoyed the variety of my work every day.  Working with law enforcement to raise awareness and funds has taught me so much about teamwork, the human spirit, setting goals.   Being asked to carry the torch into the Opening Ceremony along with LETR Founder Ralph Biele and Athlete of the Year Lucas Blattel – was the best!  It is so cool what law enforcement does on a daily basis for our communities and then what they do for SOMO on top of that – to be given the honor of carrying the flame to light the cauldron.  It’s one of my most cherished memories!

My First Challenge I held on March 1, 2019- April 6, 2019 (Health Messenger)

I held my first step competition on March 1st through April 6th. The challenge was to see how many steps you could make for six weeks. It was a great turnout. I wasn’t expecting so many participants. I had athletes, coaches, mentors and one Special Olympics Missouri Staff did the challenge. I had fun doing the challenge, I’m excited to do more challenges in the future! I tallated all of the steps between Special Olympics Missouri, athletes, coaches and mentors. That took awhile because I wanted to make sure I got the numbers right. So, I did it like...5 times. So the results is...drum roll please...1st place goes to me..I took 709,786 steps in 6 weeks! 2nd place goes to...Jaime, she took 522,127 steps in 6 weeks! And third place goes to Pierce, he took 439,860 steps in 6 weeks! Everyone did a GREAT job! I hope everyone had a great time doing the challenge, like I did! I did have two Special Olympics Staff participants but only one gave me her step counts...and that is Kayla! Thank you Kayla for doing this challenge! The total participants: 35 (that includes 1 staff person, 26 athletes, 1 mentor and 5 coaches) *

Which areas participated?*

*Kansas Metro
*St. Louis Metro
*Southwest
*Southeast
*Central
*North

*What Would I do next time?*

 1.I would tell special Olympics Missouri participants a lot more notice about my challenge. I would also not remind the participants that I need their step count. I feel like it's their responsibility, if they need reminders, please tell me, and I sure will help you out!

2.The other thing I would do get some incentives for the 1st place, 2nd place and 3rd place winners, I think that will encourage the participants...well I hope!

*Why did I want to do this challenge*

I wanted to do this challenge, because I want to encourage all of Special Olympics Missouri athletes, but not just the athletes, I also wanted to include the coaches, mentors and the Special Olympics Missouri Staff. I thought it would be fun! I also did this challenge, because I feel like it's apart of my role as a health messenger for Special Olympics Missouri. I have a passion about Special Olympics Missouri and I want to encourage others to be healthy, I want to be helpful as much as I can. Also its a great opportunity to meet new people who in Special Olympics Missouri. 

Thank You's

I would like to say a BIG thank you to everyone who took part of this challenge, this challenge couldn't be more successful without all of you! I feel confident that we ALL can beat our step total next time! I'm planning more challenges in the future! If you have a challenge that I could do, I would love to hear about it! 

AND...

I wanted to share how many steps we ALL took together...we all took...7,771,742 steps!! 

Getting help from a personal trainer

Before picture 

Session one: 4-3-19 (Wednesday)

Today was my first day with my personal trainer. I came in earlier today at the gym and did some weight machines, but I didn’t push myself too much, because I didn’t know what we will be doing in our session later today. And I’m SURE glad I didn’t push myself. This evening I tried the rower for my first time, and I really liked it. MAN I sweated, than I would thought I would. We did some core exercises, they were hard but it felt good after! The names of the core exercises cracked me up! I have a good feeling about this journey I’m going on! 

Session Two 4-4-19 (Thursday)

The exercises I did today was called (HIIT), I did push ups, bicep curls, ice skaters, squats, lunges, sumo squats, mixed planks (I had difficulties with those) with that pattern for about 25 minutes, with a 40/20 split.  So my workout was like this “40 seconds then rested for 20 seconds.”

Session Three 4-10-19 (Wednesday) : I had my session this morning, first I got on my trainer’s scale, I wasn’t surprise about my weight, I’m excited to see the difference when I’m finished with the training. Today we did some weights, and planks, I learned a lot! Here’s a picture of my workout I did today. 

Session Four: 4-16-19 (Tuesday)

To start the session off, I did the rower machine for 5 minutes. Then we did some core and strength exercises. I really liked it! And I can tell a difference. I used some machines I haven’t used before, it was very exciting for me! 

Session Five: 4-17-19 (Wednesday)

This evening I did a HIT workout : for the warm up I did: , after that we did some kick boxing I was excited about that exercise! I did that about 10 minutes, while we did that, while I was doing the kickboxing we listened to “welcome to the jungle”. That song has a very good beat if you are exercising. Then went on the rower machine, I did that for 3 minutes, 2 minutes than another minute. Between the two set while I did the rower machine, I did some push-ups, weights moves and some ab moves, then did some stretching.

Session Six 4-18-19 (Thursday)

This morning I did the elliptical for 20 mins, for my warm up, did some exercise machines that would help with my leg muscles. I also did lunges. I also did a core exercise, I did Superman and planks.

Session Seven: 4-24-19 (Wednesday)

This evening I start with the treadmill, I walked them I sprinted on it. We did the HIT workout, I ran 2 laps on the inside track then did some core exercises then did another HIT workout again. For cool down we walked around a lap then did stretching. It was hard, but I really enjoyed it, I’m learning a lot.

Session Eight: 4-25-19 (Thursday)

For the warm up, I did the elliptical for five minutes. This morning we worked on the strength, I did the shoulder press machine, shoulder pull over/cable machine, single arm pull down cable, t-bar row, cable machine. For the core exercises I did, Russian twists, twist an machine and shimmies. For the cool down I did, walked 3 laps, stretch upper and lower body. 

*what I’ve learned*

- what machines I should use

-what nutrition I should eat 

- don’t have to exercise so long like I used too

-how to use machines

-learned how to kickbox (I really liked it)

Thank You Amanda

Thank you so much for teaching me how to use the exercise machines, guiding me what I should eat, guiding me what kind of exercises I should do,helping me, and giving me information about reading labels on foods that are in the grocery stores. I’ve really enjoyed the 8 sessions. Can’t wait until the fall! I can’t thank you enough!

After photo