Golfers Break from NCAA Prep to Train Special Olympians

Fresh off winning their 10th SCAC title, the Oglethorpe men’s golf team is prepping for the 2012 NCAA D-III Championships at the Mission Inn Resort in Florida. Following Sunday’s practice round, the squad took a break to spend time with members of the Lake County Special Olympics and help sharpen their golf skills.

The NCAA has recently partnered with the Special Olympics to help celebrate the uniqueness of Division III college athletics. The clinic was coordinated through the NCAA by Mary Adamson, Lake County Special Olympics Coordinator, and Oglethorpe Head Men’s Golf Coach Jim Owen (pictured far left). More than 30 members of the Lake County Special Olympics attended with 10 different teams and coaches participating at the 2012 Championships lending a hand with instructional advice.

The Special Olympians rotated through five stations of drills that were tailored to fine-tune their golf skills. The stations included 15 minutes of one-on-one instruction on iron play, driving skills, bunker play, short game situations and putting.

“The response to participate in this clinic was overwhelming,” said Owen. “We actually had to turn volunteers away to keep the instruction to a one-on-one basis. It was a thrill to work with the Special Olympians and I know our kids really enjoyed the experience.”

All five starters on the Stormy Petrel squad—Matt Rebitch, Eric Quinn, Anthony Amodeo, Hayden Jones and Anthony Maccaglia (pictured far right wearing white in the photo)—participated in the clinic as the team gets set for Tuesday’s first round.

“We’re really focused on bringing home the school’s second golf title so the break from our pre-tournament routine to help out with the Special Olympians was a welcome one,” said senior Matt Rebitch. “Now we’re hoping they can come back out later in the week to help cheer us on!”

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