Nassau County games for the physically challenged: Uniting athletes, volunteers and the community

Uniondale has much to boast about, and one of its assets is Mitchel Field.

The Nassau County-run athletic field sits across Charles Lindbergh Boulevard from the Long Island Children’s Museum. One of its yearly events is the Nassau County Games for the Physically Challenged, which occurs the weekend after Memorial Day

More than a thousand athletes from 5 to 21 competed this year, coming from schools all over the metropolitan area.

Transporting the athletes and supporting them on the field requires a cohesive team effort, a team to support the team.

“We work as a village,” said Nancy Lincoln, who for 29 years has acted as head coach for the troupe from P.S. 229 in Woodside, Queens. “We’re all volunteers. Some of our team members also come from Long Island.”

About 20 percent of the P.S. 229 student body is classified as having a limitation, Lincoln said, such as cerebral palsy, auditory or visual impairment or severe asthma. Erin Pinto and Maegan Walter-Garvey also serve as coaches.

“Often, the families of students that used to participate come back to help us coach the younger kids,” said Lincoln.

“It’s like a family reunion thing for us,” Walter-Garvey said.

“My son Owen is participating for the seventh time,” Pinto said. “He has scoliosis and low muscle tone. Last night he represented PS 229 in swimming and the high jump.”

This year, P.S. 229 brought 39 participants on a big Coach bus.

“These games instill confidence,” Lincoln said. “Some of our alumni athletes come back now as coaches because they loved the experience so much. They film everybody.”

Walter-Garvey said her, Marek, 27 has been coming to the games since he was in first grade.

On a semi-circle of chairs, seven participating and alumni athletes sat talking about the just ended the two-day event.

Isaiah Roman, 36, holds a master’s degree. He has been coaching at the games for a decade and a half.

“It’s the highlight of my year,” he said, “helping the kids and giving back to the people who gave so much to me over the years.”

Aahil Ahsan and his twin brothers, Yazdaan and Ahad, will attend Queens High School for the Sciences at York College in the fall. Yazdaan still competes. He won the archery contest this year.

“I like helping by taking videos,” Aahil said.

“It’s bringing people out here and motivating them,” Ahad added, “and it’s relaxation.”

“I like what it offers people,” Yasdaan said. “You don’t let your physical challenge define you. Instead, you define how much you let it impact your life. That’s the best part of it.”

Brian Firners, 30, once represented P.S. 229 in swimming, archery and field events.

“Now I’m on the video team,” Firners said. “I helped design this year’s T-shirts with a little butterfly on the back. It’s in memory of my mother, who passed in 2020 from Covid.”

KeVaughn “K.E.” Plunket, 20, still participates.

“I have been doing this since 2005,” K.E said. “This weekend in the races I did the 1200 and the 1500 meters. What I’m doing now is help record, using the camera.”

“I’ll put their videos together and create a film that we’ll watch during the medals ceremony on June 15,” said Victor Barangan, the physical therapist for P.S. 229.

The pandemic diminished the number of competitors, Lincoln said, but the uniting spirit of the event remains the same.

“It brings them together,” Lincoln said. “That’s what it’s about, the connectivity, not only of the volunteers involved — it’s really about the kids.”