A local athlete will compete in the national Special Olympics USA Games in early June.
NextStep for Life athlete Nick Boehm, 23, of High Ridge will attend the Special Olympics USA Games in Orlando, Fla., where he will compete in bocce ball, representing Missouri.
Bocce ball is a lawn bowling game and cross between croquet and bowling.
Boehm’s coach, Terri Dallas, 60, of De Soto, will accompany him on the trip.
“It’s a great opportunity for Nick to take his bocce skills to a new level. He will be competing against players from all over the United States, so he really does not know what he will be up against,” Dallas said. “That is why he has been training non-stop over the past nine months and polishing skills and learning new ones to be prepared for the uncharted waters of a USA National competition.
“And I am honored to be selected as the Team Missouri bocce coach so I can be by his side through it all. I am super excited.”
The Missouri bocce ball team is made up of 12 Special Olympics athletes and four unified partners (people without disabilities). The team plans to leave for Florida on June 4 for the games, which run from June 5 through June 12.
Boehm completed many steps before he was chosen to compete for the Missouri team, including earning a gold medal in the Special Olympics Missouri fall games in 2020 and attending the Special Olympics Missouri selection camp in June 2021, where he was chosen out of approximately 25 athletes.
“He is excited and anxious at the same time. But he has been focusing hard on his practices and conditioning himself for the intensity of it all,” Dallas said.
Boehm, the son of Gene and Mary Boehm, graduated from Northwest High School.
He began playing bocce ball about three years ago, after he got involved in NextStep for Life and gained an interest in the sport.
Boehm said he’s been working hard to prepare for the national games.
“Sometimes I play a game or two, and sometimes it’s just target practice,” he said.
While his trip to Orlando will be focused on the competition, Boehm will have some free time for fun activities.
“I heard I was going to Disney World,” he said.
Disney World will sponsor the USA Games.
The opening ceremony for the USA Games will be telecast on ESPN on June 5, and highlights from the games will be aired throughout the week.
“So yeah, you’ll get to see me on TV,” Boehm said.
NextStep for Life
Dallas, the NextStep for Life Leisure Services coordinator, has coached for approximately 37 years.
She said she and Boehm will join more than 4,000 people at the national Special Olympics competition.
NextStep for Life has sent numerous athletes to the USA Games over the past three decades.
“We actually have had athletes compete in national and international games over the past 30-plus (years),” Dallas said. “We have great Special Olympics coaches in Jefferson County who take training seriously, so our athletes are offered these opportunities. They take pride in the athletes and what they achieve, and they instill confidence in them to stand out as national and international athlete prospects. Over the course of the past 20 years alone, we have had athletes attend international games in Dublin, Ireland, (2003); and Athens, Greece, (2011); and USA games in Ames, Iowa, (2006); Lincoln, Neb., (2010); Princeton, N.J. (2014); Seattle, Wash. (2018); and now Orlando, Fla. (2022).”
Boehm also is a Special Olympics bowler for NextStep for Life, Dallas said.
She said he also enjoys taking part in the recreation outings the agency coordinates.
“One hobby he has is gaming,” Dallas said. “He has designed his own games for YouTube.”
If you or someone you know is interested in being a Jefferson County Special Olympics athlete, unified partner or volunteer, contact Dallas to enroll in NextStep for Life’s Leisure Services program by calling 636-282-1419 or emailing tmdallas@nextstepforlife.org.