The University of Minnesota means a lot to Tinley Park’s Dillon Buschmann.
The Park Ridge native met Jocie Moustis on campus in the late 2010s and they later married.
Thus, he became a brother-in-law to Special Olympian James Moustis. James, a Frankfort resident, has participated in softball, basketball, track and field and volleyball for 20 years in the Special Olympics.
Buschmann started to partner with Moustis on Special Olympics unified volleyball teams with the Lincolnway Special Recreation Association.
The brothers-in-law tried out and qualified for the Team Illinois Unified Volleyball Aces and will compete June 20-26 at the Special Olympics USA Games.
Which will be held at … the University of Minnesota.
“This is going to be great,” Buschmann said. “I’ve taken trips with Jimmy before. He’s been up to Minneapolis several times. We’ve done camping trips together. But it’s nothing like this, where we’re going to be rooming together in dorms.”
Buschmann, 29, never played competitive volleyball until he got out of college and has been playing side-by-side Moustis for seven years.
Moustis, 27, said he is looking forward to the trip.
“I’m a setter and a hitter – all of the above,” Moustis said. “I love to hit.”
“I like setting him the ball and watching him slam it down,” Buschmann said.
More than 3,000 athletes from across the country are expected to participate in various sports in Minnesota, where 10,000 volunteers are expected to keep things running smoothly.
The area will be represented well.
On the volleyball team, Buschmann, Moustis, Mokena athlete Matt Reczek and Joliet partner Arik Sorensen make up a quartet from the Lincolnway Special Recreation Association.
Other Special Olympians on the Aces are Palos Hills’ Becca Gehle and Marium Wahid.
Other area partners on the team are Oak Lawn’s Mia DiGiacomo and Orland Park’s Todd Mallo.
On the unified basketball team, Tinley Park’s Osaze Ikponmwosa will represent an athlete while Tinley Park’s Grayden Alexander is a partner.
In bowling, Oak Forest’s Lizzi Jorgensen is an athlete competing.
In swimming, Oak Lawn’s Christine Leverenz and Joliet’s Ryan Nash are athletes who will head to Minnesota.
Kathy Sievers of Oak Lawn will coach the gymnastics team.
The Aces volleyball team is coached by Julie Smith, of Hudson, which is close to the Bloomington-Normal area, and Dawn Williams, who lives in the Springfield area.
These two have been making long trips to the Oak Lawn Pavilion to coach the team’s practices in the past few months.
Williams said she has been coaching for 44 years and started her career in the area at Providence Catholic in New Lenox. She said the beauty of unified sports is pairing up a traditional athlete with a Special Olympian.
“That makes for a comfort zone because they know they have a partner on a team,” Williams said. “We see each other all the time at state games. We compete against each other.
“It’s cool that we can pull from all of these different teams and they play as one cohesive unit.”
It takes a little time to do that, but this group has been a quick study, according to Smith.
“These guys, with the exception of the Lincolnway players, have never played together,” Smith said. “They got pulled together on a team and we had to make them gel and we had to teach them an offense and defense.
“They just bought into it and the commitment for all of them and the way they go out of their way to help each other makes it special.”
The Lincolnway athletes have enjoyed success at the state level and are looking forward to showing their chops at state.
Reczek has never competed on the national level but has been a volunteer at a national tournament in Orlando and at world competitions in Los Angeles and Berlin.
He’s met former NBA stars Dikembe Mutombo, Glenn “Doc” Rivers and Sam Perkins in his travels.
Reczek’s father, Bob, is a hall of fame basketball official in the area who has worked national and international Special Olympic games and said he is proud that he will be working while his son will be competing in Minnesota.
Sorensen, 30, was a multi-sport athlete at Lincoln-Way North but did not make the volleyball team. However, since 2014, he’s been a partner to Reczek and is now going to the nationals.
“It’s great for us to go on the national stage and showcase to the world the inclusion and watching these athletes get better by playing with us,” Sorensen said. “We’re really the supporting cast and they are having fun.”
The opening ceremonies at Illinois Special Olympics events are considered spectacular and it could even be more powerful on the national level.
“It should be moving,” Sorensen said. “I’m sure everyone will have a tear in the eye.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing and to do it with these guys will be awesome.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
