Team Adams June Update
June 2026
We sent 46 people to Penn State University on June 4-6 to represent Team Adams at the state competition for spring sports, known as Summer Games! It was three wonderful days of making memories, building new friendships, battling the heat and sun, and showing everyone across the state what our athletes can do! We are extremely proud of the way our athletes competed, but we are even prouder of the great sportsmanship that was shown by all. Their enthusiasm for having fun and cheering on other athletes is contagious!
Thank you to our Heads of Delegation, Terry Stickles and Deb Bottomley, for helping to keep us organized and informed throughout the event. Thank you to our competition travel coordinator, Dorothy Bollinger, for filling out all the paperwork for registration, transportation, meals, and dorm rooms. And of course, thank you to all the awesome coaches who gave up 3 days away from families and jobs to accompany our athletes!
ATHLETICS
Competing at the track were Heide Glas, Sierra Miller, Alyssa Redding, Olivia Rife, Daniel Rudy, and Justin Sheppard. They walked, ran, jumped, and threw their way to 4 gold, 5 silver, and 3 bronze medals as well as three 4th place ribbons, one 5th place ribbon, and two 6th place ribbons. Thank you to coaches Mike Rife, Amy Russ, Susan Redding, and David Schanck!
(Missing from photo: Heide and Alyssa)
BASKETBALL 3V3
Our 3v3 basketball team consisting of Micah Chernock, Samuel Lease, Jamison Leese, Dustin Miller, and Trey Williams left it all on the court as they battled all day Friday to give themselves a chance to play in the championship game on Saturday. They played tough and brought home a gold medal to Adams County! Thank you to coaches Dylan Powell and Ryan Chernock!
BASKETBALL SKILLS
Congratulations to our basketball skills athletes who represented us well! Caleb Leedy topped everyone in his divison by earning a gold medal and Caleb Atherton brought home a bronze! Thank you to coaches Tina Young and Sherrie Myers-Wivell! And a special thank you to our adorable four-legged fan, Mack, for coming to support Caleb and all the athletes!
SWIMMING
TENNIS
Our tennis players showed up to Summer Games ready to play! David Miller and Olivia Scott competed in singles and doubles, while Amanda Bair, Alex Bair, Kayla Bixler, Jennifer Bottomley, and Jonathan Stoner competed in skills and short court. They all battled the sun and heat to bring home 8 gold medals, 5 silver, and 1 bronze. Thank you to coaches Jill Stoner, Joy Weikert, and Shannon Scott!
🎾 OLIVIA SCOTT 🎾
🏊 ELI ANDRADE 🏊
Congratulations to the 2026 Swimming Athlete of the Sport, Eli Andrade! Eli has shown tremendous growth in his skills over the past year. He had a spectacular year at the Capital Area Regional and Central Spring Sectionals Competitions, earning six gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze medal swimming the 25YD Freestyle, 25YD Backstroke, 50YD Freestyle and 4x25YD Unified Freestyle. He went the extra mile, by participating in additional training to improve his skills. He is always joyful and interacts with the other athletes and coaches with a positive attitude. Eli has been a joy to coach. Keep up the positive team spirit, Eli!
đź‘ź NOAH PREECE đź‘ź
Congratulations to Noah Preece for being selected as the 2026 Athlete of the Sport for athletics! Although this is Noah's first year with Team Adams, he never let "being new" affect his ability to give his all. He has grown not only in his form but in his confidence as well. Noah is kind and encouraging to his fellow athletes and demonstrates tolerance when his limits are tested. He is respectful to all and willing to ask questions if he needs clarification. Congratulations, Noah! We are happy that you joined Team Adams!
Long Distance Running/Walking (LDRW)
We are thrilled to announce that we are offering a new sport this Fall! This will be Team Adams' first year having a Long Distance Running/Walking (LDRW) team. Mandy Hollman, who is also our softball coach, is going to be the head coach for LDRW. Practices will be at Oakside Community Park in Biglerville on Sunday mornings from 10:00-11:30am beginning on September 6.
The events that are offered in LDRW are:
1500 meters (.94 miles) - Walk, Run, Unified Walk, or Unified Run
3000 meters (1.8 miles) - Walk, Run, Unified Walk, or Unified Run
5000 meters (3.1 miles) - Walk, Run, Unified Walk, or Unified Run
10,000 meters (6.2 miles) - Run Only
NOTE: Athletes must compete in TWO EVENTS. One can be a walking event and one can be a running event. Please look at the distances listed above BEFORE you sign up. We are also looking for volunteers to walk/run these distances alongside our athletes at practices. Training is supposed to occur on various terrains (such as grass, dirt, concrete, gravel, asphalt, etc.) with some small hills. It is not supposed to occur on a track because competitions will look more like a "cross country" course than running laps around a track.
LDRW will compete at two competitions in the Fall:
Central Fall Sectionals @ Juniata College - Sept. 27
State Competition "Fall Fest" @ Villanova University - Nov. 13, 14, 15
Depending on the athletes who want to attend these competitions for LDRW, we might be looking for some volunteers to go along to the competitions as unified partners. If an athlete is better suited for a "unified" event, that means they would be on a two-person team with someone who does not have an intellectual disability (called a unified partner). During the race, the athlete and unified partner would each run or walk as fast as they can. They do not stay side by side, but we would try to make the athlete and partner as evenly matched as possible so that they can stay near each other and encourage each other throughout the race. Their finish times would be totaled and compared against the total times of other unified teams in their division to determine their award. Both the athlete and the unified partner would receive a medal!
In order to participate at practices and/or competitions, volunteers would need to be a Class A Volunteer with Special Olympics. We can provide one-on-one help with that process for anyone who is not already a Class A volunteer! Any athlete or volunteer interested in participating in LDRW would need to sign-up during the Fall sports sign-up window of May 15 - July 15.
This is a great opportunity for people to get involved who don't have a lot of sports experience or sports knowledge. All you need to be able to do is WALK!
Fall Sports Offered by Team Adams:
Volleyball (Bourbon Mill, Wednesdays, 6:30pm)
Powerlifting (Hanover Family Fitness, Sundays, 5:30pm)
Bocce (Bourbon Mill, Fridays, 6:00pm)Roller Skating (Magic Elm, Wednesdays, 4:15pm)
Long Distance Running/Walking (LDRW) (Oakside Park, Sundays, 10:00am)
If you'd like to PLAY, VOLUNTEER, or COACH any of our Fall Sports listed above, you MUST SIGN UP during the sign-up window of May 15 - July 15. If you have not signed up yet, use this link to find the sport(s) you want and be sure the location lists "Adams County" if you want to play with Team Adams. (You may play for other local programs as long as you are willing to drive to that location.) Then click "Details and Sign Up" and then click "Sign Up".
Please note that the SOPA website lists the general dates for each season rather than the actual dates that each sport practices for each local program. Refer to our Team Adams 2026 Training Schedule for exact dates for our sports! Coaches should also be reaching out to everyone on the roster prior to the season beginning to provide a practice schedule as well as other important information.
Harrisburg Senators ~ Sunday, July 19 @ 1:00pm
The Harrisburg Senators take on the New Hampshire Fisher Cats on Sunday, July 19, at 1:00pm. Tickets are $20.68. Seating has been reserved for us in Box Seating Section 204, which is right behind home plate in the upper section!
York Revolution ~ Saturday, August 1 @ 6:30pm
The York Revs take on the Lexington Legends on Saturday, August 1, at 6:30pm. Tickets are $12. There will be fireworks in the stadium after the game! Seating has been reserved for us in section 5 along the first baseline so let's fill it up!
Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) has once again partnered with the Hanover Area YMCA to provide a “Special Olympics Membership Rate”, which waives the “joiner’s fee” and provides a “reduced rate membership” of 25% off to SOPA athletes and their families. If the athlete joins alone, they would receive 25% off the lowest individual rate. If the athlete joins with their family/guardian, they would receive 25% off the family rate or the rate that is appropriate to their family situation.
Athletes/families are entitled to a facility introduction and Fitness Center demonstration with an instructor with the same frequency as all YMCA members. YMCA will also offer participation in all health and fitness programs, group exercise, open gym, open swim and nutrition programs to SOPA athletes (as much/often as is available at location). YMCA membership gives you access to all their facilities which are located in Hanover, South Hanover, Littlestown, and Gettysburg. If you'd like to read the full agreement between SOPA and the YMCA, click here. This agreement runs from May 1, 2026 to May 1, 2027.
If interested in becoming a YMCA member at this reduced rate, please contact the Hanover YMCA at 717-632-8211.
Many athletes have Health Histories that are set to expire in May, June, or July. Keep an eye on your email. You are supposed to get an automated email 60 days and 30 days prior to the expiration date, reminding you to renew. However, there have been some technical issues where some athletes have NOT been receiving these reminders. Please sign in to the online portal and view the expiration date on your Health History Form! If you have forgotten your password, use the "Forgot Your Password" link to reset it. Do NOT create a new account!
Renewing your Health History basically involves logging into your online portal, going to your checklist, clicking on RENEW, reviewing your health information, making any needed updates, and electronically signing the form. You may need to answer some follow-up health condition questions or take a special form to your doctor, but that depends on your health conditions and the severity of them. You will receive an email if you need to do those extra things.
If you need any assistance with your renewal, email our Regional Administrative Manager, Jill Stoner, at jstoner@specialolympicspa.org. If you allow your Health History to expire, you will not be permitted to participate until it has been renewed!