16/05/2021
I received a phone call a couple of months ago from Charley's grandmother enquiring about about coaching for him in preparation for an upcoming golf event, and I would like to share the following story that she shared with me, as it is so heart warming:
Charley is turning 20 in June and he has Down Syndrome, qualifying him to compete in Special Olympic Sports, which caters for people with an intellectual disability.
He began swimming with Special Olympics when he was 10 years old as a competitor representing the Illawarra Region. He has successfully represented NSW on numerous occasions and was part of the Australian team at the TransTasman Games, bringing home gold and silver medals . He then added basketball to his agenda, also representing NSW on many occasions and was regularly part of the winning team.
Charley moved from the Illawarra 4 years ago, to the family farm in Jerrawangala where he began equestrian training and successfully competed on his horse at the local shows. He is aiming to compete at Special Olympic Equestrian events in the near future.
During the last 12 months he has taken an interest in golf. Playing regularly with family and support workers he decided to enter a Special Olympic Golf Competition. He begin training with Brad Wall at Mollymook's Hilltop Golf Club in preparation for ACT Regional Competition at Fairbairn Golf Club on May 9th.
After a nervous start, he found his Mojo and went on to win his division outright. With great enthusiasm, Charley is now ready to continue his coaching with Brad and prepare for the next comp at Sylvania Waters and then to Special Olympics NSW State competition in Maitland towards to the end of the year.
Brad and Charley are looking forward to working on reaching his goal of competing at State level in three different sports.
I will keep you all updated on Charley's progress!