A Notable Team Trio Heading to Ames From left, Douglass Hodges, Joshua Schubert and Emily Matlack pose for a photo amid preparations for the upcoming 2006 Special Olympics USA National Games, where they will all serve different roles in support of Special Olympics. [Photo courtesy Heidi Matlack] One of the goals of Special Olympics International is for the organization to become athlete-led in as many aspects as possible. At least one team in California has taken that challenge seriously, and as a result is sending an accomplished trio of athletes to Ames, Iowa, for the 2006 Special Olympics USA National Games, which will take place 2-7 July. Special Olympics Folsom Hills, one of the newest local Programs for Special Olympics Northern California, is proud to have three of its athletes scheduled to perform in a variety of roles at the National Games: Joshua Schubert, Douglass Hodges and Emily Matlack. Joshua Schubert competing at a Special Olympics Powerlifting competition in San Mateo, California last year. [Photo courtesy of Team Folsom Hills Web site] Joshua Schubert will compete in powerlifting. Sixteen years old, Schubert won his gold medal at a Regional Games competition in just his first year of lifting. Josh was thrilled to make a speech promoting Special Olympics at a South Lake Tahoe fundraiser (for the program serving Northern California and Nevada) and looks forward to competing in Ames. "I have been participating in Special Olympics since I was 8 years old," said Schubert, who enjoys a variety of sports, including softball. "I am hoping to win a gold medal with my family cheering me on." The Team Folsom Hills Web site answered the question of 'What do athletes do to stay fit when they are not practicing with the team?' with "If the athlete is Joshua Schubert, then the answer is more practice! To further his conditioning, Josh was part of our Snowshoe team, winning gold medals in the 200 meter and 400 meter events. Remember... this is running in the snow. Since then, he has been practicing powerlifting several times a month, and completed Track and Field training and competition, in anticipation of the National Games." Emily Matlack holds the microphone for Douglass Hodges as he speaks at the Opening Ceremonies for the 2005 Walk for the Gold at Raley Field in Sacramento, California. [Photo courtesy of Team Folsom Hills Web site] A second member of the team is Douglass Hodges. Hodges is himself a proficient athlete, having won his fourth consecutive gold medal in the track and field pentathlon at the Northern California Summer Games; he also was one of 16 Special Olympics athletes who took part in 100-meter exhibition races during the 2004 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials in Sacramento, California. But instead of competing at the National Games, Hodges will serve as an athlete official, assisting at the track and field venue. He received his certification as a track official last year and has officiated at high school and Special Olympics competitions. (Certifying athletes as officials is one of the many ways that Special Olympics Athlete Leadership Programs, or ALPs, allow athletes to explore opportunities for participation in roles previously considered “non-traditional.”) Hodges also serves as an ambassador for Special Olympics Northern California and makes numerous speeches at various fundraising activities. He recently shared the spotlight with Olympic Gold Medalist and renowned figure skater Brian Boitano when served as emcees for the Opening Ceremonies at the 2006 Northern California Summer Games. The third athlete from the Folsom Hills area is Emily Matlack. Matlack has participated in eleven different sports during her nine years in Special Olympics and also serves as an ambassador for Special Olympics Northern California. For the past two years, Matlack has served as a Sargent Shriver International Global Messenger, and it is in that capacity that she will join her teammates at the National Games in Ames. As a Global Messager, Matlack has had the opportunity to travel to Nagano, Japan and Panama and frequently speaks to large audiences to share how the movement has changed her life. Matlack was one of 67 athlete delegates from 35 countries who participated in the 2005 Special Olympics Global Athlete Congress, 6-8 June 2005 in Panama City, where the delegates worked behind closed doors in private, athletes-only discussions to develop a strategy that will set precedents and affect athletes for years to come. Because of her accomplishments within Special Olympics, Matlack was nominated by California Governor (and Special Olympics Global Torch Bearer) Arnold Schwarzenegger for the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities and is currently serving a three-year term on that council. She looks forward to helping with all the festivities in Ames and sharing with others her enthusiasm for Special Olympics. The entire Special Olympics movement can be proud of these three quality athletes from Northern California.