Hazlet Rockets: Clean up at Olympics, break for summer ALYSSA PASSEGGIO, Senior Staff Writer, The Courier, July 10 Posted:07/13/08
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After a season of work, practice and competition, the Hazlet Rockets are looking forward to summer break.
The group of seven athletes, all graduates of Raritan High School, competed during the summer games of the New Jersey Special Olympics from June 6 to June 8 at The College of New Jersey, Ewing.
As a team, the Rockets took home seven gold, two silver and five bronze medals last month.
“The medals make the practice worth it,” Greg Recco, 25, said.
Recco earned bronze medals in both the 50-meter dash and the softball throw. The training for the dash included running both sprints and distance on the track as well as practicing starts one or two times a week, he explained.
Lauren Bace, 23, won a gold medal in the 100-meter walk as well as fourth place in the softball throw.
Bace said part of her training for the race was walking her 10-year-old Keeshond, Missy, every day.
“She doesn’t listen but that makes it more of a workout,” Bace explained. “It was easier in the race because I didn’t have Missy.”
Bace said it took a lot of practice with her overhand softball throw to reach the 13-meter mark during the competition.
Heather O’Brien, 22, clinched second in the unified 4x100-meter relay, third in the softball throw and fourth in the 200-meter dash.
O’Brien said the Rockets had an edge due to their good handling of the baton. The team often practiced handoffs and the result led to a quicker finish, she said.
More than medals
The teammates have been together since their days on the high school Rockets team and said it is like a big family. The group is funded by a small parents organization, according to Coach Tony Recco.
“They practice once a week during the season, which includes bowling and weight training,” Tony Recco said.
The group practices with the athletes involved in the high school Rockets program, the coach said.
O’Brien said the older athletes help their younger counterparts during practice and cheer them on.
The high school coach, Mary Beth Stansfield, said the group is also accompanied by unified partners, which are high school students who participate in the Special Olympics training as volunteers.
“[The unified partners] are just another set of friends,” O’Brien explained. “We taught them how to hand off for the relay.”
Greg Recco said he really enjoyed meeting the different people at the various tournaments. Off the field
Regardless of the recent medals, Bace and Greg Recco said their favorite sport was bowling.
“Bowling is my favorite event because I have been doing it with my brother, Phil, and my dad since I was little,” he explained.
Bace said it was a fun form of exercise.
O’Brien said her favorite event took her the longest to learn: skiing. The athlete said she liked the challenge it posed.
The group said they also planned to keep in shape this summer by swimming.
Even though practices are on hold, the team will gather during the summer for BlueClaws games and a trip to Seaside Heights, Tony Recco said.
The group will also host a carwash on Saturday, July 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the North Centerville firehouse, Middle Road. The fundraiser will provide for the team T-shirts and trips, he said.
Come this fall, the Rockets will return to the high school weight room to work out with elliptical machines, treadmills and jump ropes.
For more information on Special Olympics organizations in the area visit the organization’s Web site at www.sonj.com.
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