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Special Olympics Young Athletes® is an early childhood play program for children both with and without intellectual disabilities. The program is for children ages 2 to 7 years old and teaches basic sports skills such as running, kicking, and throwing. Children learn how to play with others, share, take turns, and follow directions. These skills help them in family, community, and school activities. Young Athletes is a fun way for kids to stay active and establish healthy habits. The first community-based Young Athletes program in Connecticut recently started up in Plainfield. The team’s leaders, Tami Beaudoin and Klansi Kelly, were kind enough to give us their insights on starting this program!

Special Olympics Connecticut created the Young Athletes program curriculum and offered it up for various local teams to adopt. Once Team Plainfield applied, they were given a start-up kit. Caitlin Daikus, the Director of Health and Wellness for SOCT, ordered supplies and equipment and created flyers. Tami and Klansi posted flyers in schools, churches, other places local families frequent, and on Facebook to recruit participants. They also reached out to local places with halls to hold meetings and the Sterling Fire Department gave them the use of their hall free of charge. The team currently has 11 registered pre-athletes (the children aren’t officially athletes until they join a team at age 8). 

Tami and Klansi put a little extra pressure on themselves to ensure the program’s success. “We want other areas to see the benefit of the program and how much fun our families have,” said Tami. The pair unofficially launched the effort in the summer of 2024 with a couple of get-togethers that spread the word. They officially started the program in Spring 2025 at a set location.  

The Young Athletes program strives to spread the fact that Special Olympics is for everyone, challenging the idea that the organization is only for people with disabilities. The program in Plainfield has a few typical peers, two being Tami’s grandnieces and one being a sibling of a pre-athlete. 

Tami and Klansi hope to increase awareness and participation in Special Olympics as a whole by working with younger kids. They also hope to increase Unified participation and teach the fundamentals of participating in team sports. 

We wish the Young Athletes program in Plainfield the best of luck as they continue to carry out the mission of Special Olympics!