Team Adams April Update
April 2026
Bowling Coaches Harry and Jen Allison
Congratulations to bowling coaches Harry and Jen Allison on their retirement as they step down from their coaching roles. Harry undertook the role of Head Coach for our bowling program in 2004, where he remained for 22 seasons! Harry was adept at identifying ways to help athletes improve their bowling game while showing kindness, patience, and sensitivity to every athlete. He was awarded the "Janet Wallace Memorial Coach of the Year" Award in 2006, was named the "SOPA Volunteer of the Month" in 2014, and was recognized together with his wife, Jen, with a United Way "With Heart in Hand" Award in 2013.
When Harry first began volunteering with Special Olympics, he was a member of the Gettysburg Fraternal Order of Eagles 1562. At that time, he approached the Eagles about sponsoring a bowling tournament for our athletes, which they did, and the Eagles have been generously supporting our bowlers ever since! We extend our heartfelt appreciation to Harry for fostering the relationship between the Eagles and Special Olympics Team Adams, and we wish him and Jen many happy years in their "retirement" from Special Olympics.
Basketball
Our basketball season started in early January and gave 51 athletes and 31 volunteers a reason to get out of bed on many cold winter Saturday mornings. Our regular season concluded on March 15 with our annual weekend of March Madness, that included our Local Competition and our Basketball Invitational. Athletes competed in the Local Competition against one another to earn ribbons and then again on Sunday against atheltes from other programs to earn medals. It was a crazy but fun weekend of basketball for all! Now that our regular basketball season has concluded, some of our athletes are continuing to practice in preparation for Central Spring Sectionals to try to qualify for Summer Games.
Swimming
Our 36 swimmers are making waves at the North Hanover YMCA on Sunday afternoons as they work hard to improve their swimming skills. Our lane swimmers are working hard to perfect their arm strokes, kicks, and turns as they swim laps across the pool. Getting the proper arm stroke coordinated with the proper kick is super important so that they don't get disqualified at competitions. We are very excited this year to have the opportunity for some of our lane swimmers to participate on relay teams with some Unified Swimmers. Unified swimmers are athletes who do not have intellectual disabilities, but they can practice and compete on relay teams with our athletes with intellectual disabiltiies. In the warm water pool, our skills athletes are working on getting their faces wet, kicking their legs while holding on to the side of the pool, using their arms to move around in the water, and walking the width of the shallow pool with their hands on their heads. We have several swimmers who are gearing up for a Regional Swim Competition at Cumberland Valley High School as well as Central Spring Sectionals at St. Francis University this month.
Athletics
Tennis
Our 18 tennis players have been braving the chilly winds this spring in the early part of their season as they learn to hit volleys, groundstrokes, and serves, as well as how to keep score and play games. Our skills players focus on hitting balls that are tossed to them and playing short-court games using only the service boxes. Our singles players are working on improving their serves, returning to the "ready position" after hitting the ball, and hitting the ball to different areas of the court to make their opponent move around a lot. One way that we accommodate athletes at different levels is by using different types of tennis balls with varying levels of compression. Our skills players use red balls, which are a much lower compression, making them less bouncy and much easier to hit. Orange balls are a slightly firmer compression than a red tennis ball and we use those for athletes who are just learning to play singles games on a slightly shorter court marked by orange tape. Our highest level players use regular yellow tennis balls to play games on a full size court. Eight of our tennis players will be traveling to Central Spring Sectionals at St. Francis University at the end of this month to try to qualify for Summer Games in early June.
🏀 CODY TRESSLER 🏀
Congratulations to Cody for being named our 2026 Athlete of the Sport for basketball. His certificate reads:
Cody is a veteran player for Team Adams Basketball. He has become a great competitor on the basketball court. Cody has also become a mentor to the other athletes, teaching the younger teammates the correct way to run the drills. He is willing to do whatever is asked of him at practice and has a positive attitude. Cody has a great work ethic and is a pleasure to be around for the coaches and athletes!
🎳 MARY BETH STONE 🎳
Mary Beth was honored at our end of year bowling banquet as the 2026 Athlete of the Sport for Bowling! Congratulations Mary Beth! Her certificate reads:
“This year our athlete of the sport has participated in many different sports both in and out of the Special Olympics. It has been a true joy to know and teach her. While I know this person has her physically challenging days, she always strives to succeed in everything she attempts to do.”
Every year, our Basketball Invitational captures the hearts of volunteers, officials, and fans from all around! This year, our 30th annual invitational was no exception! After many hours of competing on the basketball courts, 172 athletes went home with a smile on their face and a medal around their neck. Congratulations to all the athletes who participated and thank you to all the people who made it possible!
A special shout out to the Gettysburg College Boys Lacrosse Team who runs our score boards for us every year, the Hanover Legends Cheerleaders for coming to cheer on the athletes, and the Knights of Columbus from McSherrystown for presenting the colors in our Opening Ceremonies. There were many local PIAA officials who donated several hours of their time to ref the games, members of the Notre Dame Club of Gettysburg who helped to serve lunches to all the athletes, and various volunteers from the community who helped at our first aid tables. Athletes Rachael Beard and Gavin Neiderer did an excellent job co-emceeing the Opening Ceremonies and long time athlete Brenda Wallace had the honor of carrying the torch. We can't wait to do it all again next year!
Gold Sponsor Sign on the Course
Gold Sponsor Banners at the Clubhouse
Hole Sponsor Sign on the Course
Sunday, June 14
Come to the Baltimore Orioles baseball game on Sunday, June 14th! Game time is 1:35pm. Tickets are $36.30 each. We will be in the upper deck, section 324, rows 3, 4 and 5. Please contact Dorothy Bollinger at 717-640-1330 or by email at dorothy.bollinger.soac@gmail.com and let her know how many tickets you want. Make your check payable to Dorothy Bollinger. You must provide your own transportation.
Time to Renew Your Health History & Release (Athletes) - Depending on when you originally created your athlete online portal account, you may have received or may soon be receiving an email that it is time to renew your Health History & Release. They are good for one year. The email will arrive 60 days prior to the Health History expiring.
The email will advise you to log into the online portal and go to your Checklist. (NOTE: The email inaccurately contains wording about "volunteering" and remaining an active "volunteer". SOPA is aware and has submitted a ticket to their vendor to have this wording corrected. Hopefully it will soon be changed to "athlete" to avoid confusion.)
SOPA's primary mode of communication is email, so please remember to check your email. We recommend checking it at least weekly so you don't miss important timely information.
Did you know that the SOPA website has over 109,000 photos, organized into albums, from the many events held across the state throughout the year? Visit the website, scroll to the very bottom, and click on this icon. Next, select the "Album" tab to choose the event you want to see. Check back often because it won't be long before SOPA's amazing marketing team will be adding more!