`They kept going and going'; Special Olympics sponsors event.

Byline: LaTrina Antoine

WORCESTER - Corralling a dozen excited 2- to 7-year-olds for a group picture proved to be a formidable challenge for parents Saturday on the lawn outside the gymnasium at Worcester State College.

As children scurried, parents and Special Olympics volunteers hurried to put them back in their places, while children who stayed in line fidgeted as they waited for the chaos to calm enough for cameras to click.

The Kodak moment came at the end of the first Young Athletes Day held by the Special Olympics of Massachusetts. Young Athletes is a new program started by Special Olympics to introduce children with intellectual disabilities to sports.

"Young Athletes brings families and athletes into Special Olympics," said Jonathon W. Muskrat, section director for Special Olympics. "It allows the families the chance to network and meet other families."

Other goals, according to the Young Athletes brochure, are to help with the children's physical development and self-esteem. "This program helps children prepare for playing organized sports when they get older," Mr. Muskrat said.

Ursula Kubrynski, a nursing student from Connecticut who volunteered for the session, spoke with admiration about the program after the picture-taking session. Children had a positive reaction to the activities, she said. "Once they started, they just kept going and going."

Terri K. Taylor, a Special Olympics parent from Marlboro, said she started taking her son to a gym when he was very small. "Conor has been in the gym since he was 21 months old," she said. "Sports help Conor to do better in paying attention, gives him strength, balance and helps his brain function."

She added that children's disabilities become more significant as they age, but the program can help them to feel less excluded from such activities because of their disabilities. "The difference between the normal kids and the kids with intellectual disabilities gets bigger at (age) 5," she said.

About 40 nursing students studying pediatrics at Worcester State College volunteered at the event.

Nursing instructor Debbie A. Benes of Townsend said, "We want our students to get involved in the community." Said Robyn C. Leo of Thompson, Conn., who is also an instructor, "It was a good match. We had the people, they needed the people. It's a win-win on everybody's end."

The student volunteers said they liked the program because it gave them the opportunity to use what they had learned in the classroom in real life.

Ms. Kubrynski called the event "self-satisfying. It was great to see whole families get involved."

ART: PHOTOS

CUTLINE: (1) Five-year-old Nicholas Fitzsimmons of Worcester swings at a balloon during Young Athletes Day held by the Special Olympics of Massachusetts Saturday. (2) Five-year-old Conor Taylor of Marlboro walks through an obstacle course Saturday during Young Athletes Day held by the Special Olympics of Massachusetts.

PHOTOG: T&G Staff/DAN GOULD