Swim coach finds Special Olympics a labor of love

Woman headed to China for international Games

July 23, 2006

By MARY AMES/Frontiersman

MAT-SU - Jackie Smith has been a volunteer with Special Olympics since she was 10 years old.

&#8220I was a tag-along buddy,” Smith said. &#8220I'd makes sure the athletes got to the start.”

Smith moved to the Wasilla area with her family at about that time, and her mother decided to start a Special Olympics program to help Smith's younger sister, Kena Pugh.

&#8220There wasn't much in Wasilla geared toward people with disabilities,” Smith said. &#8220I don't know how my mom did it.”

Smith was a competitive swimmer with the Wasilla Waves, swimming year-round. She swam all four years she attended Wasilla High.

&#8220I made it as far as Junior Olympics up in Fairbanks one year,” she said. &#8220When I got to UAA, they dropped the program.”

Her college career was short: about one semester.

Smith married another competitive swimmer, Jeff, her high school sweetheart. Their 16-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son didn't take up swimming, but they play soccer and baseball. That means Smith takes them to practices and games when she isn't volunteering for Special Olympics.

&#8220Our normal season is from March to June,” she said. &#8220We swim two hours every Saturday.”

In the first hour, Smith teaches athletes who are new to swimming.

&#8220They haven't mastered swimming the length of the pool yet,” she said. &#8220The second hour is fine-tuning experienced swimmers. When I took the athletes to Iowa, we kicked up the practices two more days a week, an hour each day.”

In a normal summer, Smith and her family visit her parents on the Kenai Peninsula and fish in Kasilof. But this summer isn't normal. The Smiths are building a new house.

&#8220We just started raising the wall on the ground floor,” she said. &#8220We'll probably be in by October.”

Smith laughed as she agreed it is un-Alaskan to live in a finished home.

&#8220My builder promised me a completed house,” she said.

Meanwhile, Smith has packed away many items in preparation for the move, keeping their home ready to show to potential buyers. Even this deal is a little more complicated for Smith than it is for most people.

Pugh and her best friend from high school, Melanie, live with the Smiths, so their home is a licensed assisted living home. Their new house has to be built and inspected for a license before the family can move in.

&#8220They've moved around so much, and I can't imagine life without them,” Smith said. &#8220In the new house, they will have the whole basement to themselves, with their own kitchen.”

Special Olympics doesn't have any paid positions in the Valley, but Smith remains dedicated to helping athletes in the water.

&#8220It is them,” she said. &#8220They are the ones that charge me. I'm ecstatic when they learn something new. That's what brings me back year after year. They will have to drag me out.”

Another reason for Smith's dedication to Special Olympics may have to do with the results she saw in her sister.

&#8220Kena was really shy,” she said. &#8220But working with the same people every year gave her great socialization skills.”

Smith, who also enjoys photography and scrapbooking, just heard she was nominated to coach for the upcoming Special Olympics games in Shanghai, China.

&#8220It's very exciting,” she said. &#8220I don't think my life is crazy, but when you lay it out, it sounds like it is, sometimes.”

Contact Mary Ames at 352-2284 or mary.ames@frontiersman.com.