feature story / 15 ing the ball.” He tried many tactics, including having her take three steps and then roll a tennis ball at a line of empty soda cans. Eventually she began to use a bowling ball and realized it wasn’t as heavy as she had thought. Clark’s greatest challenge has been putting multiple actions – walking, positioning her arm and throwing the ball – in one fluid motion. Neverthe- less, she has shown great accomplish- ment over the years and this past July represented Team New Jersey in the Special Olympics USA Games in Se- attle, scoring as high as 134 and win- ning some serious hardware: a silver medal in singles and team, and a gold in doubles. Tillman’s work with Clark extend- ed beyond that of a typical coach. He also acted as mentor and motivator. According to Tara Roberts, JESPY community relations and marketing supervisor, “He was very instrumen- tal in getting Jane focused” and often tracked her down and called her to re- mind her about practice. Time man- agement is one of the skills that Clark is working on. Reflecting on why she pursues her sport, Clark says, “I love bowling because it’s competitive and fun. I love having people cheer me on. I love getting a spare and strike.” It’s been 50 years since the Spe- cial Olympics was founded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver. As a pioneer in the struggle for global rights and accep- tance for people with intellectual dis- abilities, the organization has grown to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports. Its mission Jane Clark points to her name on the wall of Special Olympians in the USA Games in Seattle.