Billy Leech didn’t want to pick just one sport when he joined the Lewisville ISD Special Olympics team at 6 years old. His favorite was and still is basketball, though, in the years that followed, he happily made time for bocce, swimming, and even bowling. All these years later, Leech, now 34, still competes for the organization against many of the top special needs athletes in the state — he’s just a little more selective with which sport he plays.
“He doesn’t swim or bowl anymore,” Bonnie Leech said with a laugh as she listened to her son, who has Down syndrome, sing joyously at the top of his lungs in the background. “He says the water is too cold, and bowling is too loud.”
Billy is clearly a man who knows what he wants out of life and the playing field. He is also one of 240 athletes and 150 or so volunteers, coaches, and parents (past and present) who recently celebrated Lewisville ISD Special Olympics’ 40th anniversary. The organization is among the Top 5 largest delegations of its kind in Texas. It is also one of only a few that has never charged its athletes to compete, instead relying on fundraising to support athletes with intellectual and physical disabilities as they build camaraderie and social skills and, of course, compete at the highest level in local, state, national, and international competitions.
While Billy and his parents, Bonnie and Bill, have been mainstays for nearly 30 years, 10 athletes started on Day 1 in 1983 and are still active in their 50s and 60s. All of them, including the original four teachers and parent volunteers who began the program (Jim Domer, Debbie MacMullan Rath, Amelia Dye, and Janet Carson), were honored at a banquet on May 13.
“The opportunity Billy and others have had to compete with their peers and other athletes has been great. But it’s more about the friendships and camaraderie they have with each other,” Bonnie Leech said. She and her husband are also regular volunteers. “These kids love each other. They are family, and they’ve never met a stranger. Even when they are at Texas A&M competing, they will see someone they know. LISD has been so great about supporting us. And, in turn, our athletes have made the district proud.”
Domer, a former head track and field coach at Lewisville High School, agreed.
“What I get out of Special Olympics is watching how the athletes mature — not only in the sport they play but in their day-to-day lives,” he said. “I truly believe that Special Olympics helps the whole family by giving them opportunities to learn from each other and that they are not alone. Watching the athletes compete to the best of their abilities and to see the reactions from parents is priceless.”
Domer had just graduated from the University of North Texas in 1983 and was an adapted physical education teacher at DeLay Middle School when Rath and Dye approached him about the glaring need to give special needs students within the district an additional outlet beyond what they had at school. Until then, the kids would go to school and be around their classmates, but they were limited in going beyond school grounds. Activities and social efforts were also limited or non-existent. Domer, Rath, Dye, and Carson, a mother in the district whose son also has special needs, saw sports as the quickest way to affect real change moving forward.
And as it turned out, everyone else agreed. Parents and volunteers came out in droves to help the “Founding Four” get the program off the ground. Lewisville ISD Special Olympics started with 20 athletes and one sport — track and field. By 1984, they had added gymnastics, and kids were competing against similar delegations in area tournaments at Loos Stadium in Dallas. Twenty athletes qualified for the state track meet that year, and five gymnasts also qualified for state.
Fast forward to today, and the list of available sports includes basketball, basketball skills, bocce, track, swimming, soccer, bowling, cycling, flag football, golf, gymnastics, ice skating, softball, and tennis.
Additional sports and events on the horizon include unified ice hockey, robotics, and disc golf.
Teams are created based on ability rather than age groups, so there could be athletes in their 30s having fun alongside teenagers. Lewisville ISD Special Olympics athletes compete locally against districts such as Highland Park, Argyle, and Plano while also traveling to national events in Seattle, Orlando, and Milwaukee.
International events have included stops in Greece, China, Ireland, Dubai, and Turkey.
“[My son] Jason can’t make friends like his sister and other regular ED children do. Special Olympics allows him to have friendships with his peers,” Renae Carson said. Her son has been with the program since 1991. “Especially when he aged out of school, he would not have a social life if not for Special Olympics. His face lights up just to mention that we are going to a Special Olympics event. As all parents, it’s priceless to know that our children are with people that make them so happy.”
Joey Cummings is one of those athletes.
“I get to play sports, hang out with friends, and I get a chance to travel to the state games with my team,” he said.
Another Special Olympics athlete, Shelby Carr, added, “I like Special Olympics because it’s amazing. I love to play tennis, swimming, bowling, and basketball. And I love to see my friends. I also like Bonnie because she is sweet.”
Jackie Buford, a volunteer parent since 1992, echoed those sentiments by saying that despite all the competitions and trips across the world with her son, Special Olympics has never been about sports or being better than anyone else.
“It was never about how fast James could swim or run but more about his ability to do his best,” she said. “I’m not sure where we would be today without LISD Special Olympics in our life.”
As for the future, Lewisville ISD Special Olympics has established itself as a leader in the community and a beacon of hope for other districts that might be interested in giving their children more opportunities to compete in life and on the field.
To learn more about Lewisville ISD Special Olympics, including ways to volunteer, get your child involved, and donate, visit lisdso.org.
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