By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Former Willamette University football player and recently-graduated student Kyle Martz '21 has helped Special Olympics Oregon by putting together a series of videos that the organization has used to stay in contact and motivate its athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to creating opening and closing ceremonies for a series of virtual Special Olympic Games, Martz also developed several workout videos for athletes in Special Olympics to follow while keeping in shape and preparing for virtual competition. Martz involved several Willamette student-athletes as performers in some of the workout videos.
"I got involved with Special Olympics Oregon through Mark Hanken '93, chief operating officer at Special Olympics Oregon (SOOR), who played soccer here at Willamette," Martz explained. "When COVID-19 shut down nearly all of SOOR's in-person competition opportunities last year, Mark reached out to me to help create a series of videos for their 2020 Fall Virtual Games. As a senior, this was a great opportunity to develop my videography skills, portfolio and resume. That fall, I shot and edited multiple demonstration videos for various athletic competition events. Within each athletic event (soccer skills, golf Skills, track and field skills, basketball skills, fitness as sport, etc.) SOOR athletes worked with virtual coaches via Zoom or FaceTime to train, compete, and record their scores. These instructional videos were designed to allow SOOR athletes to safely compete against other athletes in their own homes or at local parks.
"As the pandemic drew on through the winter, I was invited back to produce the 2021 Winter Virtual Games and 2021 Summer Virtual Games. Each project included an introduction video, a virtual Opening Ceremony, multiple demonstration videos for each sport offered, and a closing ceremony production with results, scores, and highlights."
After completing the projects for the various seasonal Virtual Games with Special Olympics Oregon, Martz was asked to help with videos for the Nike 2021 Youth Virtual Games. The videos he created for this project involved the Willamette student-athletes. Athletes from the University of Portland also participated in the videos.
"This is a Nike-sponsored event that usually takes place on the Nike Campus in Beaverton each spring," Martz explained. "Due to continued health concerns surrounding the pandemic, I was asked to create five demonstration videos designed to be privately streamed by Special Olympics Oregon. I gladly took this opportunity to showcase eight Willamette athletes who graciously helped us demonstrate each specific athletic skill (basketball, soccer, general workout, obstacle course). All five videos were offered in English and Spanish and are currently being streamed by SOOR athletes around the state."
Representing the Willamette women's soccer team during the workout videos were Isabel Duxbury (Sr., D, Seattle, WA/University Prep), Aanya Friedeman (Fy., M, Camas, WA/Camas HS), Paige Murray (Jr., D, Olympia, WA/Capital HS), and Sydney Wilson (Jr., M, Olympia, WA/Capital HS). WU student-athletes from the men's basketball team who participated were Will Huntington (Sr., P, Oakland, CA/Bishop O'Dowd HS), Ryan Peterson (Sr., P, Edmonds, WA/Edmonds-Woodway HS), Ben Sutton (Sr., F, Seattle, WA/Ingraham HS), and Jonathan Watts (Jr./So., W, San Diego, CA/Rancho Bernardo HS).
In addition, Willamette student-athletes hosted a mental health hangout for Special Olympics Oregon athletes this year on May 20. Martz organized the panel of student-athletes, which included Andrew Kibbee (Jr., Kenmore, WA/Bothell HS) from men's golf, Lacey Jones (Sr., F, Portland, OR/David Douglas HS) from women's soccer, Kelsey Wong (Jr., UT, Honolulu, HI/Punahou School) from softball, Sam Adams (Sr., WR/P, Sacramento, CA/Rio Americano HS) from football, Shelby Sawyer (So., GK, Marysville, WA/Bio Med Academy) from women's lacrosse, and Huntington, Sutton, and Peterson from men's basketball. The Willamette student-athletes and the Special Olympics Oregon athletics shared conversations and stories about things like self-care and their favorite part of being an athlete. They also discussed how difficult the past year has been and how they have found ways to focus on their mental health.
"It was wonderful to be on the call and to listen to all of the athletes share how they are able to prioritize their mental and physical health," Associate AD/Senior Woman Administrator Leslie Shevlin said. "The SOOR athletes have great leadership in Alix Wasteney, who encouraged the SOOR athletes to share some tips on how to focus with our student-athletes. The WU student-athletes also got to share why and how we use pronouns during our introductions. This was new for the SOOR athletes. It was a wonderful exchange of ideas and camaraderie."
"Special Olympics was something that I really enjoyed being a part of in high school as a partner in both soccer and basketball," Friedeman said. "This opportunity (workout videos) sounded like a fantastic way to continue being a part of a community that felt close to home playing the sport I love. Being able to be a part of this video was important to me because it allowed me to stay connected with Special Olympics in a COVID-safe way."
"We have worked with Special Olympics Oregon yearly through various service opportunities," Huntington said regarding the Willamette men's basketball team. "So our program has developed a nice bond with the kids and adults who compete and participate in this program. We want to keep that relationship strong by helping in any way we can, and this video was a great way to do that."
"I just really thought it was a good opportunity to do something to help the community and also to just see behind the scenes of something as complex as this project," Sutton commented. "It was really cool."
For the Willamette student-athletes, getting in front of the camera and being part of a scripted video was a new endeavor. They knew how to perform the various skills they were teaching, but doing the project on video along with the desire to create a quality learning experience for Special Olympics Oregon made it an exciting, yet unusual experience.
"I have never had to be an actor and a basketball player at the same time," Huntington noted.
"It was a fun challenge because I'm not totally used to performing in front of a camera with lines and everything, and the knowledge that it was gonna help a good cause made the whole project that much better," Sutton said.
The video project allowed each student-athlete to focus on their specific sport while sharing their knowledge with Special Olympians.
"I enjoyed explaining drills and activities that pertain to the sport I enjoy the most, soccer," Friedeman confirmed.
"Anytime you are playing the sport you love with the people you love will always be fun," Huntington said. "The added bonus of helping Special Olympics Oregon was a cool cherry on top."
There were challenges to explaining each of the drills and figuring out ways to have young athletes master those skills during a pandemic and within social distancing protocols. Willamette's athletes were glad to work through those issues in order to interact with Special Olympics Oregon.
"I've always really enjoyed having the opportunity to help out with other Special Olympics events and this seemed like a really unique way to give the athletes a similar experience to the clinics they've enjoyed in the past," Peterson said. "I got to instruct a drill about passing, a skill that might get put on the backburner amidst social distancing, to a bunch of athletes who might be doing the drills individually. I found myself having to emphasize that the skills will be super important once we have teammates again."
"It was pretty difficult to keep the videos short and succinct, but also explain all the basketball drills in a way that everyone watching them could understand," Sutton recalled. "I really just want everyone to get the opportunity to compete in athletics as much as they want to because for me it was such a pivotal part of my childhood. Any chance I get to help kids do that is well worth it to me."
For Martz, working as the producer, director, and videographer for the project forced him to accept the challenges of COVID-19 protocols and find a way for everything to go as smoothly as possible while making the workout videos.
"A few challenges I faced while creating these videos were time management, social distancing, and scheduling," Martz commented. "First, I was a busy Willamette senior leading a full class schedule and multiple videography projects at the same time. In fact, while creating these Nike Youth Games videos I was also working hard on a 140-minute film production for the Willamette Dramatic Vocal Arts Department and Theatre Department. Juggling these two projects, while simultaneously preparing for graduation, was a time-sensitive endeavor.
"Also, completing a project like this amidst a global pandemic had inherent challenges," Martz continued. "Other than the obvious challenges that are associated with COVID-19, this project ran extremely smoothly. The eight athletes I worked with were timely, attentive, and focused on providing the best instruction possible.
"In addition, tailoring each video to an expansive age group of athletes provided a challenge in the editing process," Martz said. "Lastly, I found it difficult to schedule shoots around eight student-athletes' schedules. As college athletes with full course loads, it was hard to schedule everyone together for a 1-2 hour shoot. I separated shoots into four different sessions. When the athletes did find time out of their busy schedules, they were focused and excited to demonstrate their skills in front of the camera.
After working on the videos, WU student-athletes who were involved in the process hoped that athletes in Special Olympics would complete the drills and enjoy the experience.
"I really hope that these videos make Special Olympic athlete's days and get them excited for when COVID is no longer a barrier to continue playing sports that they enjoy!" Friedeman said.
"When it is all said and done, if just one kid finds love in basketball in the middle of their living room during a global pandemic, then our work here is done," Huntington noted.
Peterson added, "I hope that the videos have helped them remember that the Special Olympics community will still be there to support them when we get to the other side of this pandemic."
"By far the most enjoyment comes from seeing SOOR athletes of all ages use my videos to train, compete, and stay connected," Martz said. "I have the pleasure of piecing together athlete highlight videos after each season. I try my best to make these segments feel as much like the 'ESPN Top 10' highlights as I possibly can. These highlights are then viewed by SOOR athletes around the state. I enjoy watching my work bring smiles to SOOR athletes' faces. It's an honor to create content that keeps Special Olympics athletes excited about sport, competition, and leading healthy lifestyles."
