With an invitation to the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games in Orlando in their hands, the Pflugerville Falcons can’t be blamed for being excited.
The Falcons, who are the Pflugerville Independent School District’s Special Olympics team, were selected in a lottery to compete in the event, Austin ABC affiliate KVUE reported.
While the Special Olympics football season has been over since December, the Falcons are soldiering on and can be found practicing at “The Pfield” every Wednesday afternoon.
For Falcons team member Benji Garcia, the agenda is simple.
“We’re getting ourselves in shape and we’re getting ready to go to nationals on June 4,” Garcia told KVUE. “Yeah, we’re going for that big gold medal.”
The Falcons are representing Texas as the lone traditional flag football team at the national games, a fact not lost on Garcia and his teammates.
“When you make a mistake, you got to own it and fix it,” Garcia said, according to KVUE.
Fellow Falcon Ezra Elizondo has lots of faith in the program. According to him, they’ve been “training very hard.”
“They mean a lot to me,” Elizondo told the station. “They’re like my closest family.”
Leman Duggan is a seventh-year Special Olympics athlete.
He also considers the Falcon his family.
“My teammates, I don’t know how to explain it, but they’re pretty much like family,” Duggan told KVUE.
The Special Olympics USA Games will commence with opening ceremonies on June 5.
