When we think of the Special Olympics we most often think of track and field events. While these events are a big part of the Special Olympics program, there is so much more available to Special Olympics athletes.

In Annapolis and the surrounding communities Special Olympics athletes also compete in skiing, road cycling, power lifting, swimming, and in the relatively new kayaking program.

In 2006, the program was started with a handful of athletes and four kayaks. That year Al Jank was approached to become an assistant coach for the Special Olympics kayaking team. He had only about 90 minutes of experience in a kayak, so he had his doubts about his abilities to coach the sport.

He quickly realized why this was not the case.

"What I have learned since 2006 is that the ability to communicate with the athletes is much more important than the knowledge in a particular sport," Jank said.

Each year one of the struggles Jank faces is that many of his athletes still struggle with left and right. In an attempt to make this easier for them in the kayak, he has developed a system.

"I have told them to think of the paddle as a great big double-sided ice cream cone. Chocolate is my favorite flavor so the right side is chocolate and the left is vanilla," he said.

Jank became the head coach for the program and responsible not just for the athletes but for creating the training courses they would use, the facilities and purchasing the kayaks.

Fortunately, he had some help with the last part. Between the staff at Annapolis Canoe and Kayak and Eastern Mountain Sports Jank was given enough advice based on his athletes needs to begin purchasing his kayaks.

With the help of some of the parents involved in the program, some fund matching through Maryland Special Olympics and a great deal offered by local retailers, the program’s original fleet of four has grown to 13.

With the kayaks in hand, Jank, with the help of a small group of committed assistant coaches, can focus his attention on the season ahead. The plan is to use the next several months to continue developing his athletes so they will be able to maneuver a course on their own in competition by the end of the season.

The athletes compete each August on one of three courses at St. Mary’s College in Southern Maryland. Two of the courses, the 100 and 200 meter sprints, are completed on courses with clearly marked lanes.

In the sprints the athletes will compete against each other very much like swimmers in a pool.

The longest and most difficult course is a 500-meter open course. In this course, the athletes have to make their way from buoy to buoy in a triangle-shaped course.

Because it is an open course the athletes will have a staggered start leaving room for each of them to maneuver around the buoys without the chaos of racing against one another.

“It helps that I am retired Army,” Jank said. “I learned to train like we fight. So, we set up the courses for each practice to replicate what they will face at the end of the season. It helps all of us to be more confident.”

Jank just shakes his head thinking about where he has found himself with this group of athletes.

“I am a skier—that’s my first love,” he said. “Before finding this group of kayakers I used to look forward to the next snow the moment the last snow melted. But now, the last snow falls and I am just wringing my hands, anxious to get back in the kayaks with these athletes. It has been an incredible experience.”

Whether it is in the coaching or just their ability to attract great athletes to the sport, Jank and his assistance coaches, must be doing something right as one of the area athletes, Samantha DiSanti, has been invited to compete this summer in the Special Olympics games in Greece.

Annapolis is an athletic community. It is also a community filled with people who are willing to lend a hand. With this combination it is the perfect community to offer and nurture programs like the Special Olympics Kayakers.

With people like Jank and businesses like Eastern Mountain Sports and Annapolis Canoe and Kayak, to support them, the programs and the athletes who participate are sure to continue to thrive.