Empire State of Mind for Athletes With Disabilities

When Massapequa first took part in the Empire State Games for the Physically Challenged six years ago, one athlete participated. Now the team has an entourage.

When students from from the 5th through 11th grades competed in the games on Friday, they were cheered wildly by about 150 boosters from around the district.

The number of competitors has gone up too.

"The thing we are most proud about is the fact that in six years we went from one kid participating to thirteen," said Ed Hoffman, a Berner Middle School Physical Education teacher, who was instrumental in putting the outing together.

The games are a three day event with a variety of activities, events and prizes for participants in several different divisions.

There  are competitions for those who are visually impaired; blind; hearing impaired; deaf;  or amputees. There are also divisions for those with Cerebral Palsy or spinal cord injuries as well as one for those who don't fit into the other categories.

Kate O'Callaghan, of the Massapequa special education program, thinks participation in the games has a number of benefits.

"It helps self advocacy, builds self esteem, gives them a challenge they can overcome and also develops social relationships," she said.

Having a large group of fans behind them is also a benefit.

The students cheering in the bleachers were part of Massapequa's "Athletes Helping Athletes" program. 

Kerri Regan, a physical education teacher at Berner, was in charge of recruiting the athletes and organizing the boosters.

"The elementary school students were nominated by their sixth grade teachers, middle school and high school students were nominated by their athletic coaches to be a booster and the children at Ames volunteered under the National Junior Honor Society," she said.

Hoffman handpicked many of the boosters.

"The main lesson is selflessness," he said. "Most of the students, who are here as boosters, are also athletes who are used to being cheered on. Now they have the chance to cheer on and support their peers giving a sense of community."

Brian Rath, another physical education teacher from Berner, jumped at the chance to be a chaperone for the trip.

"This was my first opportunity to come down to the games," he said. "I had heard so much about it from the students that I couldn't wait to come."

The lone athlete who pioneered Massapequa's participation in the games is Andrew Brannigan, who's now 20.

Andrew, who has spastic quad cerebral palsy, and is also deaf, had competed in the games before transferring to Berner and wanted to represent his new school.

 His mother Jean was thrilled when other children came out and watched her son nicknamed "Speed Racer" race his wheelchair.

"The first year there was just Andrew and only a few students came along. They all wore t-shirts that had Andrew's name on them," she said. "When Andrew graduated high school a friend of his gave him the shirt he made almost 7 years ago. That's the very definition of Athlete's Helping Athlete's."