There are few stories as inspiring as those of Special Olympics New Hampshire athletes. Whether excelling in their chosen sport, building skills and strength through training, or gaining confidence through community involvement, our athletes are consistently challenging perceptions about individuals with intellectual disabilities. At Special Olympics New Hampshire, we celebrate our athletes everyday and with our Celebration of Athletes series, we are excited to bring their inspiring stories directly to you.
SONH Athlete Spotlight
Meet Ellie Coe: a determined 26-year-old athlete from Hopkinton, NH, whose journey with Special Olympics has been one of resilience, friendships, and breaking expectations. Ellie has been competing as a Special Olympics athlete for over 12 years, mastering sports like basketball, snowshoeing, and track with the Concord Golden Eagles Local Program. This year, she is adding softball to her athletic portfolio, showing her commitment to growth and challenging herself.
Growing up, Ellie was shy and struggled to feel included. In middle school, she tried joining the basketball team but left discouraged by an experience that lacked the warmth and camaraderie she was seeking. “I wasn’t bullied,” she recalls, “but I felt invisible.” Despite her efforts to connect with her peers, simple greetings often went unnoticed, and Ellie felt overlooked.
But everything began to change in 9th grade when Ellie joined her high school’s Unified basketball team, where athletes with and without intellectual disabilities play together. For Ellie, it wasn’t just a team; it was an opportunity to be seen and respected. Unified Sports introduced her to friends, including her best friend, Emmy. Emmy and her friends rallied around Ellie, sparking a ripple effect of acceptance and inclusion. Suddenly, high-fives in the hallways became routine, and Ellie and her peers started to feel like part of the community.
Do you have a story of how Special Olympics New Hampshire has impacted your life? Let us know!
Previous Athlete Spotlight Features:
A Brief History of Special Olympics
The Special Olympics movement began in the 1950s and early 1960s when Eunice Kennedy Shriver noticed how unfairly people with intellectual disabilities were treated. Shriver believed that people with intellectual disabilities could accomplish more if given the same opportunities as everyone else. In 1962, she hosted a summer day camp in her backyard called “Camp Shriver” for young people with intellectual disabilities. She also directed the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation and was a driving force behind President John F. Kennedy’s White House panel on people with intellectual disabilities.
The first Special Olympics competition was held in Chicago’s Soldier Field in July 1968, and was intended to highlight ability, not disability. The event is described as “daybreak”, which marked the beginning of a global movement for people with intellectual disabilities.
Today, the Special Olympics World Games take place every two years and alternate between Summer and Winter Games, similar to the Olympics and Paralympics. These World Games can be the world’s largest sporting event of the year, attracting as many as 350,000 volunteers and coaches, plus several thousands of athletes.
We, at Special Olympics New Hampshire, signal support, respect and inclusion for our athletes. Our athletes have voices and individual choice in how they choose to identify. We are a sports organization, our participants are athletes, through sports, our athletes thrive, find success and feel included.
Yeah, I am Special!
Special:
EXCEPTIONALLY GREAT. IMPORTANT. UNIQUE. SPECIAL IS SOMETHING TO STRIVE FOR. THE ULTIMATE COMPLIMENT. A WORD WE CAN ALL HOPE TO BE CALLED. NOT FOR THE THINGS WE CANNOT DO. BUT FOR ALL THE THINGS THAT WE CAN.
What Does Special Olympics New Hampshire Mean To You?
We asked some of our athlete leaders and parents how Special Olympics New Hampshire has impacted their lives. Read on to see what they had to say.
Special Olympics has helped me be the person I am today. I have become a better leader, friend and athlete. What I like most about Special Olympics that we all became family. As a result of being part of Special Olympics, I have been able to keep myself active, and advocate for myself and other Athletes.
We were looking for a sports program for our son to feel welcomed and valued as an athlete and through SONH we found a community, a community where the whole family has found belonging, friends and support.
Special Olympics helped me get through grieving my brother’s death and helped me to trust people again after being bullied. Special Olympics gave me the confidence to even apply to be an athlete representative on the Special Olympics New Hampshire Board of Directors. Because of Special Olympics New Hampshire, I am proud of who I am today. I am so thankful I got involved and because of Special Olympics, my quality of life has improved. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for me!
Special Olympics New Hampshire helped my son grow so much that the now lives independently, is employed at two jobs, drives his own car, and shares his life with a partner. He now says he is “living the dream. Special Olympics New Hampshire changed his life. Special Olympics New Hampshire helped him find his dream.
Special Olympics has empowered me to feel confident in myself and to set and achieve goals I never imagined possible. My next goal is to become the first female long-distance runner for SONH at a national or international competition. Special Olympics has provided me tremendous amounts of independence and growth. I am proud to say, last year at 36 years old, my parental guardianship was terminated and I am now my own guardian. My parents and I are so proud. I am so unbelievably grateful for this organization and what it has provided to me. I can’t wait to see how my future unfolds.