In 2005, six athletes launched the Gahanna Special Olympics (GSO) team. Twenty years later, the organization has grown into a vibrant community, with 165 families proudly calling it home.
The GSO offers year-round sports to residents in Gahanna with physical or intellectual disabilities. Although the team has many competitive athletes, the organization’s mission goes far beyond athletics.
Building community
Gahanna Special Olympics
Players at the Special Olympics Ohio Stadium Summer Games
Whether on the court, at practice, or during social gatherings, GSO creates opportunities for athletes to connect with peers who understand and share similar experiences.
“The biggest perk for our athletes is the social aspect of it, the competitions and the practices,” GSO Co-Coordinator and Gahanna resident Karmen McCaslin said. “Now, don’t get me wrong, we do have some athletes who are very competitive and take their sport seriously, but our athletes don’t judge each other on their performances. They support each other.”
Eight core sports – basketball, bocce ball, bowling, cheerleading, pickleball, soccer, swimming, and track and field – are the foundation of GSO, but the program is constantly evolving to meet the interests of athletes. Cornhole, cheerleading, and pickleball are just a few of the newest sports available for athletes.
The Program is community-based rather than school-based, meaning that athletes are not restricted by age. School-based programs must stop accepting athletes above the age that they are allowed to be in the school system, which is 22. GSO’s athletes range from 8 to 80; in fact, their average age is 24.
GSO also launched a Youth Development Program, making them one of only two organizations in the South-Central Ohio area to offer such a resource. The Program serves both neurotypical and neurodivergent children between the ages 2 and 12.
“It’s really like an adaptive gym, learning to play together, learning about a team,” GSO’s second Co-Coordinator and resident of Gahanna, Liz Lonsbrough, said. “It’s a kind of feeder program into the Special Olympics Group.”
What it means to compete
Gahanna Special Olympics
GSO Swim Team
Joey Pritt resides in Gahanna and is a year-round athlete for the team. When he’s not on the field, he’s in the gym. He has many fond memories from his time with the team, including earning a gold medal in shotput at the Ohio State Summer Games. Although Pritt has earned many medals and trophies throughout his nearly ten years with the team, it’s the little things that he enjoys most.
“I enjoy being with my teammates, cheering them on and staying active,” Pritt said.
A six-year member of the team, Gavin Thoen, also a Gahanna resident, plays soccer and bocce ball, swims, bowls, and runs track - with swimming being his preferred sport. But no matter which sport he’s playing, Thoen most enjoys the camaraderie he shares with his teammates.
“I just love how everyone is so supportive,” Thoen said. “You really don’t see any negativity.”
Thoen is accomplished in his sports and credits much of his success to the support of his coaches and his teammates. One of his favorite sources of motivation during games and meets is the GSO slogan often recited before competitions: “Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”
Support beyond the sidelines
Gahanna Special Olympics
GSO Swim Team
When Lonsbrough moved from Cincinnati with her family, her daughter, Allison, was in the first grade. Allison came home from school, raving about a place where she could play free sports, and they decided to check it out. They started with bowling, and the rest is history.
“I think it’s the best thing that happened in our lives,” Lonsbrough said. “I felt lost as a mother of a special needs individual until I found Gahanna Special Olympics.”
While Lonsbrough’s friends and family outside the team are supportive, she finds a special sense of comfort in the GSO community, where parents who share her daily challenges and triumphs truly understand her experience.
The organization also brings in guest speakers to help parents prepare for the unique challenges of raising a child with special needs, offering guidance on everything from navigating educational systems to understanding legal and financial planning. For example, GSO has hosted a special needs attorney to discuss guardianship, benefits, and long-term care planning.
“My community came together, and it was so comforting and so reassuring to have the backing of them,” Lonsbrough said. “I just hope that that’s what we mean to all the other families.”
McCaslin’s daughter, Hannah, is also in the program, and she echoes the impact the organization has made on her family.
“It’s a community that has embraced us and has embraced Hannah and quite honestly, it’s just been life changing,” McCaslin said. “Hannah just thrives when she’s practicing her sport, when she’s with her fellow athletes. I don’t know where we would be without it.”
Funding the team
Gahanna Special Olympics
GSO Basketball Team
Although GSO is affiliated with Special Olympics Ohio, the organization generates all its own funding and relies fully on community support, whether through monetary donations or volunteer involvement.
“Volunteers are the heart of our organization, because without them, there would not be Gahanna Special Olympics,” McCaslin said.
From parents to teachers to members in the community, each coach is a volunteer who serves with devotion. Volunteers must be at least 14 years of age, and a recent campaign to draw more high school volunteers has increased youth participation exponentially.
“In swimming last year, three of our coaches were high school students, and our athletes especially love them, because it’s more of a peer interaction,” McCaslin said.
Gahanna Special Olympics
GSO Swim Team
The swim team even had an unified medley team last year, comprised of both GSO athletes and community members who swam together in a relay. This unified approach is something that GSO is looking to expand in the coming seasons.
The GSO hosts one major annual fundraiser, the Cash Drop, where volunteers collect donations on street corners and by the high school, strategically held during an Ohio State bye weekend. This event alone generates close to $10,000, roughly half of the $25,000 to $30,000 needed each year to sustain the program, with the remaining funding coming from private donations. The funds raised cover all expenses for the athletes, from uniforms to essentials such as shoes or sports bras if needed, ensuring that there is no cost for participation.
“I think that people would be amazingly surprised by how good it feels to be a part of this community and to work with the athletes and how appreciative they are,” Lonsbrough said. “The love that you get from them is so awesome.”
For information on volunteering or joining GSO, visit GahannaSpecialOlympics.org.
Megan Brokamp is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at mbrokamp@cityscenemediagroup.com.
