YORKTOWN, N.Y. —North East Westchester Special Recreation is gearing up to send its floorball team off to Europe, and local athletes and coaches are part of the traveling party.
Team members Michael Bub and Samantha Frederick hail from Yorktown, while coach Nancy Bellini hails from Katonah.
They, along with other athletes from Will Smith (Brewster), Louis Jost (Hawthorne), Andrew Stawicki (White Plains), and Ben Stofsky (Poughkeepsie) have been selected to represent the United States at the Special Olympics World Games in Turin, Italy next month. The games will feature thousands of athletes from across the globe coming together for a common goal: to celebrate inclusion and sportsmanship.
Bellini, the coach and program director from Katonah, said the team consists of six players with developmental disabilities or intellectual disabilities with four partners, from Putnam, White Plains, Saratoga County, and Cortlandt Manor, without those disabilities.
“For many of the athletes, this is not just a chance to compete but also an incredible opportunity for personal growth and a demonstration of the abilities of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” Bellini said in a January press release. “What an honor this is for our team and coaches.”
NEWSR is a community-based therapeutic recreation agency that serves 12 towns across northeast Westchester. Programming is geared toward people with developmental and intellectual disabilities from children age 4 to senior citizens.
The team will have experienced coaches on hand when they travel abroad, including Bellini (who has been coaching with the agency for 40 years), her husband and program coordinator Joe Bellini (who has been coaching for 30 years), and Yorktowner Ellen Pikula, the New York Mid-State regional director for Special Olympics with 36 years of experience.
“Our agency is very involved with Special Olympics, and it came with the job,” Nancy Bellini told Yorktown News. “We have grown the program so much over the years.”
Nancy said that she and her husband Joe, along with two of the athletes, attended the World Games twice before, in Japan (2005) and China (2007).
Nancy said being selected for the Games is an honor for the athletes, who have been training and working hard to earn their tickets to Turin.
“I could not be more proud of this amazing team,” she said
In preparation for the games, the team has been practicing two to three times a week. Nancy told Yorktown New the team is “tight-knit,” and they work “well together.” She added that the focus has been on both skills and scrimmages.
Ellie Arnemann, the executive director at NEWSR, said in a press release she is so proud of the floorball team.
“This opportunity reflects the dedication, teamwork, and spirit that our athletes bring to every practice and competition,” Arnemann said.
The team will head to New York City on March 5 for a sendoff dinner with all the athletes and coaches from the U.S. before flying to Italy the next day. Opening ceremonies are March 8 and closing ceremonies are March 15.
“The opportunity to represent your country is something every athlete dreams of. Now we get the chance,” Joe Bellini said.
“This is not just a competition for our athletes, it will be truly life-changing.”
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