PROGRESS: Blaine enjoys the camaraderie of Special Olympics

Nate Blaine of Greenfield keeps busy this time of year as recently he ran a big race he had to focus hard and do well in.

For every year that he’s competed in it at the regional competition, Blaine has made it on to state, which is at Iowa State University in Ames. His specialty race is the 1,500-meter run, and he also does the long jump within Special Olympics.

Blaine, the son of Jack and Linda Blaine, is 30. He first got his love for athletics when he would watch his sister, Mallory, compete for Nodaway Valley.

When he became old enough, the Blaines contacted then coaches Darrell Burmeister and David Swanson, who let Nate join their cross country and track teams.

Special Olympics exists to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for individuals with intellectual disabilities. It gives them continuing opportunities so they can develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendships with their families, other athletes, and the community.

Blaine qualified for the Summer Games through a win he earned in the race at a regional competition in Lamoni earlier this spring.

“I’m doing the 1,500-meter run, the standing long jump and two bicycle races,” Blaine said.

“We’ve got all three days going on,” said Linda, Nate’s mother, explaining he will ride the bicycle Thursday, do long jump Friday and run on Saturday.

Nate has competed in Special Olympics in a variety of capacities. He was once a part of a team Nodaway Valley had, then he was a part of the wider Adair County Aces team that has been on a hiatus during the pandemic. More recently, Nate’s parents have been his coach.

In high school, Nate was a part of the Nodaway Valley track and cross country programs. Nate has participated in every Nodaway Valley cross country summer camp since 2013, and the Blaines appreciate coach Darrell Burmeister for always making Nate feel like he is a part of the team when he participates.

Nate, 28, has gone to state in multiple events through the years, since he began with Special Olympics as a seventh-grader. This keeps a streak alive of him making it to state in track and field each year he’s participated.

Making it to state in the 1,500 is a really big deal for Nate.

“Only first place goes to state,” Linda said.

“I really liked winning, getting a gold medal,” Nate said. The entire Graceland University football team cheered him on around the indoor track at the regional event.

Others serve as guides at the meets for athletes because coaches like Linda, and Nate’s father Jack, aren’t allowed right in the competition area when the action is happening.

It’s the people, after all, that make Special Olympics such a good experience for Nate and his family. He is one of several from Adair County who have, over the years, taken part in the competitions the organization offers.

Nate, who has autism, missed the interaction with his Special Olympics friends during the pandemic and is glad these events have started back up.

“Getting a medal is nice, but that’s not really what it’s for,” Jack said. “It’s so they can get together, feel normal, and nobody judges them. They’re with people who understand and accept them for who they are.”

Throughout Nate’s life, Jack says that acceptance for those with special needs has gotten much better within society. He’s glad to see that happening.

“We don’t get near the stares we used to,” Jack said. “If you go out with four or five people with their quirks going on, there’s a lot more acceptance.”

The Blaines raised Nate just like the the rest of their children. All four of their kid are different, so they raised them uniquely from the other.

“With all kids, you have to go with what works for them. Nate’s just our youngest kid. The way we worked with him is the way we worked with the others,” Blaine said. “We knew we had a special needs kid, but we didn’t think we did. He was just maybe a little more of a handful than others.”

Jack Blaine says that opposed to how it was when he grew up, special needs aren’t hidden anymore, but are accepted.

“They’re trying to integrate special needs kids into classrooms and athletics,” he said. “You see a lot more special needs kids on high school and junior high sports teams.”

When Nate was on the high school teams at Nodaway Valley, his coaches treated him just like everyone else. As a result, sometimes he qualified to run on the varsity cross country team, but sometimes he ran junior varsity. He had a helper for the first year and a half, and then he was able to compete on his own.

“Those two coaches really, really worked with him. They made a good impression on him and on Linda and I,” Jack Blaine said. “He learned a little about how things aren’t always handed to you. They made him work for it, and he did.”

Over the years, the Blaines stress that the best outcome for Nate being in Special Olympics is the friendships he gains from it, and the fun that he has.

“That’s when we take our vacations,” Jack said. “He has state competitions and we have time off. That’s our vacation, and we love to see him do it. It’s great to see when he recognizes people and people recognize him. He can get together with people he only sees once, twice or three times a year. It’s nice for him to get the medals, compete and be happy, but it’s the camaraderie. That’s nice too, with no judgement on him.”