Forsyth County’s Special Olympics softball program is expanding this year, but local coaches and athletes are hoping to continue their success on the diamond in 2010.

With two state championships in the past two seasons, the Forsyth County Golden Gloves (ages 15-21) have set the bar high for the coming season.

This season, the Golden Gloves will be joined by the county’s newest team, the Loose Cannons, open to intellectually disabled adults over the age of 21.

James Parks, coach of the Loose Cannons, says the adults he works with love having the chance to come out and practice softball once a week at Coal Mountain Park.

“[I’m] trying to ... teach them fundamentals and [help them] learn how to play the game of softball,” said Parks, who works as an athletic coordinator with the county’s Parks and Recreation department.

“We’ve got adult leagues for parks and rec for softball, basketball, flag football, and these adults don’t really have anything to do. ... [This is] just to give them something to do besides coming to watch people play.”

Wayne Hancock, who coaches the Golden Gloves, said the team is taking a competitive step up this season, from a coach pitch division to a division that puts an athlete-pitcher on the field.

“We’re real excited. We’re training three or four pitchers this year to see how it works out and they’ve been able to really step up to the plate, so to speak,” Hancock said.

Both teams will be taking part in the state’s Fall Games in Statesboro in November, where the Golden Gloves have won the gold medal in their age group for two years running.

“[We’re] going down to defend that gold medal, so we’re real excited about that,” Hancock said.

Coming up next month, the teams will host the Battle of the Bats at Central Park. It’s the second year Forsyth County has hosted the tournament, which will welcome 20 teams and more than 250 athletes from Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina. The tournament will take place Aug. 28.

Linda Fitzpatrick, assistant coach for the Golden Gloves and tournament chair, said the event has a two-fold purpose — raising money for the softball program and spreading awareness of the opportunities the Special Olympics offers.

“Our biggest message that we’re trying to communicate is that these young adults are capable of doing a lot more than what even we as parents and coaches think they can do, and we want to keep on challenging them and providing the opportunity for them to be challenged,” she said.

Fitzpatrick said the tournament netted $1,000 last year, and she hopes to double that amount this year.

Hancock said the experience of coaching Special Olympics athletes is a source of inspiration and gets him through challenging days on the job or in other parts of life.

“I tell people it’s contagious. It’s like a sickness. You get a little piece of it and it gets a little worse,” said Hancock, who got involved with Special Olympics through his job with Siemens and has been coaching the local team for four years.

He said the young people he coaches have been shut out of what he calls mainstream sports, and that he’s constantly gratified to see how they respond to challenge.

“I think we kind of do them an injustice sometimes [in that] we don’t challenge them enough. A child might be autistic or have an intellectual disability, but it’s just one of those things where it’s just miraculous to see the feats they’re able to accomplish when challenged. It’s a very inspiring part of my life as a coach,” he said.

Become a sponsor for the Special Olympics Battle of the Bats tournament at any amount. Sponsors will be recognized in different ways based on donation level. Call (770) 317-3562 or send an e-mail to lindafso@yahoo.com for more information.