Stepping up to the plate, Special Olympics athlete Derek Sandbothe gripped his bat and eyed the highlighter yellow softball soaring his way.
He let the ball drop in the dirt and waited for the right pitch. Sandbothe practiced patience at the plate, allowing the ball to land in the catcher's glove several times. Fans cheered his name and his teammates on the Jefferson City Thunder softball team shouted encouraging words Saturday morning at Binder Park. With the right underhand pitch, Sandbothe made contact with the bat, earning a double and bringing home a runner to put his team up 3-0 in the first inning.
The team went on to win the game 16-6 at the Special Olympics Missouri (SOMO) Outdoor Games, a three-day event in which approximately 900 athletes compete in softball, bocce, golf and flag football. As a nearly lifelong athlete, Sandbothe looked forward to the event for Special Olympics, an organization he said bettered his life.
Sandbothe started playing ball at age 5. Since, he said he's loved sports and always wanted to make them a part of his life. After graduation from Blair Oaks High School, Sandbothe started working at Capital Projects, a sheltered workshop for adults with disabilities. There, he overheard someone talking about traveling sports teams and knew he would be interested in participating.
In 2001, he joined Special Olympics.
"I've loved every minute of it," Sandbothe, 34, said.
Before becoming a Special Olympics athlete, Sandbothe said he had limited opportunities to play sports and had a hard time keeping up with others.
"It really hurt that I couldn't compete at their level," he said.
Everything changed for Sandbothe when he joined Special Olympics. He faced hardships in high school as he was bullied by others who thought he was different. As an adult, he said he became complacent with his life, which consisted of going home and going to work. In Special Olympics, Sandbothe said he finally found a place where he was not only accepted for who he is, but embraced.
"Special Olympics has given me a reason to live, to be honest with you," he said. "When I was in school, I was never really accepted, but I'm just glad that's over and that I can actually have something to hold onto that has been a part of my life for a long time. ... and now, I'm at such a level in Special Olympics that not only am I competing in sports, but I'm also volunteering and helping others. I'm learning leadership skills."
He said the environment of the games is as competitive as it is friendly - something he first learned when entering the organization.
"When I first started, I didn't know that it was going to be as competitive as it was," he said. "It was competitive, it was great. I could actually compete and it gave me a chance to make something of myself. And, it made me feel good to do things outside of work and outside of home, where I could do more. I have grown in Special Olympics now. Looking back to when I first started, it was nice with a great atmosphere and wonderful coaches. I've made some of the best friends I could ever have."
Sandbothe is a six-year Special Olympics Global Messenger, authorized by the organization to give speeches on its behalf. He's also been honored as Special Olympics' "Outstanding Athlete."
In athletics, he's represented Jefferson City in the past at Iowa State University, competing in a Special Olympics basketball tournament and gaining a career highlight - a one-handed, three-point shot he made mid-air.
"I've never been able to make any shot like that before in my life," he said. "My coaches were all jumping up and down. That was such a high for me. I'm not a really good basketball player - I'm OK - but for me, that was phenomenal."
What the public may not know about Special Olympics athletes, Brandon Schatsiek, SOMO's public relations manager, said, is many lead independent lives. Sandbothe, he added, lives on his own with other Special Olympics athletes - Chris Mounts, 45, and George Richardson, 35 - and maintains employment.
"They are very much normal people - they just communicate differently and they just learn differently," Schatsiek said.
Like Sandbothe, he's also a player on the Jefferson City Thunder, a unified sports team. These teams mix Special Olympics athletes with athletes who don't have intellectual disabilities, Schatsiek said. Being Sandbothe's teammate and coach, Schatsiek said he's the "ideal athlete in every way," adding Sandbothe is teachable and willing to listen. While Sandbothe is also competitive, Schatsiek said his teammates always keeps in mind the goal is to have fun.
After the team's Saturday morning game, Sandbothe, wearing No. 8, greeted loved ones in the cool fall weather. The people are what make the experience worthwhile for him.
"I want people to know that it is a very friendly environment," Sandbothe said. "It's such an inspiration to others, to see how people with disabilities can act and participate in sports when they could not participate otherwise. They work so hard to compete."