Athlete Spotlight: Ben Theriault

Meet Ben!

"Our son, Benjamin, has always demonstrated a strong sportsman ability and a willingness to be engaged in any activity. At the early age of 5 he began to ride horses and after only 3 lessons, he was riding tall in the saddle.

As he grew, we engaged him in other sports, starting with Challenger Little League baseball. He never missed a game and always did his best. Through the Challenger Little League, he began to grow a tight group of friends that he is still close to today.

Then baseball lead to Special Olympics bowling, basketball, sailing, kayaking, bocce ball, track & field and swimming. Each sport he started off with a fearless motivation to do his best and if he placed poorly in the competition, he never demonstrated any disappointment. But he was always excited when he got first place. And with respect to his horseback riding, he as won many competitions and truly enjoys riding. Then came COVID-19...

During this time, Benjamin has done his best to cope with the lack of activities and staying at home. With Special Olympics on hold, he misses the activities and interaction with his teammates. Staying home with Mom and Dad just is not the same. But even during this time of social distancing, he still has some activities that provide some sense of normality to his life. He looks forward to having ZOOM sessions with his friends and playing BINGO. He continues to have speech therapy and drum lesson as well over the internet. And he works 2 mornings a week at Walgreens where he unloads trucks and stocks shelves.

To fill in some of his time while we all remain home during this difficult time, Ben has taken up a hobby of creating Christmas signs. He started this about 5 years ago and picked it up again during his time at home. He makes two sizes (small and large) of a “JOY” and a “HOPE” pattern. And this year he started a new pattern for building a Poinsettia flower. He continues to experiment with new designs and products. He also helps his Dad with other woodworking projects and yard work.

Ben is looking forward, as we all are, to the end of this pandemic and getting back to his Special Olympic competitions."