Longmeadow skier Kevin Greenberg wins medals at Special Olympics competition

AbiltyPLUS provides adaptive skiing programs at Mount Snow in Vermont.

LONGMEADOW - It was his first season skiing competitively, but Kevin Greenberg came home with three silver medals at the Special Olympics held at Mount Snow in Vermont.

Greenberg came in second place in slalom, giant slalom and super G at the Suicide Six ski area in Pomfret, Vt., as a member of the AbilityPLUS Bluebirds alpine race team based at Mount Snow.

“It was great; I really liked it,” Greenberg said. “It was my first time on a team, and I won three medals.”

Greenberg, who has had global developmental delays since birth, trained weekly during the winter season with the Bluebirds. The adaptive alpine race team is comprised of athletes from throughout the Northeast who aspire to both Paralympic and Special Olympics competition.

AbilityPLUS, based in Vermont, offers special programs and events in adaptive sports and recreation for people with disabilities all over the region.

Greenberg’s father, Elliot Greenberg, has been involved with Kevin’s Special Olympics participation since he was about 8 years old. Kevin is now 26, and lives in a group home in Leominster.

Elliot Greenberg said Kevin has participated in track, speed skating, and bocce with Special Olympics, and has partnered with his younger sister for their “unified partner program.”

“He had a really great time,” Greenberg, who is on the board of directors for Special Olympics in Massachusetts, said of his son. “One of the beauties of Special Olympics is not only is it competition, but it’s real competition.”

Competitors must complete the events themselves, without assistance, and they compete against others who are within 15 percent of their own ability.

“Everyone has an opportunity win,” he said. “They still have to try hard - those who are experienced racers to those that are new to skiing.”

The Bluebirds had eight athletes competing, ranging in age from about 16 to 26. Greenberg said, though, that the competition included athletes in a much larger age range. In all three of Kevin’s races, he was bested by a man in his 60s.

“He had a great experience skiing, and he really enjoyed the camaraderie,” Greenberg said.

Corey L. Robinson, Kevin’s volunteer race coach, said he was a great participant.

“He’s very enthusiastic,” Robinson said of Kevin. “He wants to be one of the team leaders, and he is, with his enthusiasm and his push and his drive. He is fun to work with and he knows what he needs to do.”

Elliot Greenberg said Special Olympics benefits his son, and other participants, in many ways.

“It gets children and adults with intellectual disabilities up and moving,” he said. “It gives them the ability to be active and to compete in sports they wouldn’t necessary have an opportunity to do. Maybe more importantly, it gives them the ability to interact socially with their peers, which is something that can be a challenge for them as they get older.”

Special Olympics encourages its participants to participate in as many sports as they would like to try. As the athletes improve in a particular sport, they compete against others with similar abilities. Kevin said he plans to compete in alpine skiing again next year.

“He likes skiing, and he listens well,” Robinson, Kevin’s coach, said. “He came a long way with us.”