Coach says parents have big part to play in tapping athletes’ talents

Parents should encourage children with intellectual disabilities to be interested in sports from an early age, coaches of the UAE’s Special Olympics athletes say.

The journey is challenging and parents must commit to take their children to sports clubs for people with special needs, but the benefits for young people are immeasurable.

Nadia Messiidi, a national athletics coach, says making children comfortable with activities outside the home increases their confidence and helps to identify which sport is best suited for them.

“In the past few years, there has been a focus in schools to take care of people of determination and mix them with other children,” Messiidi says. “Some schools also have specialists to help children with sport.”

It is a struggle for parents to ensure that their children make regular visits to the coaching. A connection between the parents and coaches is also necessary.

“We have talent-identifying programmes and each club has different programmes,” Messiidi says. “When the child is very young you cannot know which sport they are good at, so we keep working and let the parents know what we are thinking.

“We start at the very beginning. Once they come to the club they can try all the different sports.

“Once we understand what the child is good at and the kind of sport he or she enjoys, then we can understand where to place them.”

She is confident that her current batch of athletes will respond positively to pressure in big events because of their track records.

“Most of them have experience in competing. They have got medals,” Messiidi says. “Many of them are champions not only in the country but also outside.

“For some it was difficult to leave home when they competed for the first time. Now they only want to know when the competition will start. They want it now.

“When we explain that it will start on March 17, they don’t understand so we just say the Games are very near.”

The Special Olympics are held every two years and alternate between the summer and winter games. Los Angeles was the host of the 2015 Summer Games and Austria was the venue for the Winter Games last year.

The international event will come to Abu Dhabi in March next year.