The Commercial Appeal -- Aug 22, 2004 --

Author: Special to Cordova Appeal   Edition: Final Section: Cordova Appeal Page: CR4   Article Text:   The race including some fast-moving Elviis lookalikes, a platoon of chanting soldiers, several stroller-pushing parents and a few thousand recreational runners.   It was the 22nd annual Elvis Presley 5K Fun Run benefiting United Cerebral Palsy. The event's diverse participants ranged from spectacularly athletic to some spectacularly Elvis runners wearing jumpsuits, capes, sunglasses and sideburns.   But for one 9-year-old Cordova runner, the race was a special achievement.   Sydney Bolen weighed just 2 ½ pounds when she was born in 1995. She was 12 weeks premature. Sydney was diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP) when she was 16 months old.   At first Sydney's family wondered what the diagnosis would mean for her.   Fortunately they were led by a school therapist to a program of sports and motor development for challenged youth. This program provided therapeutic benefits to Sydney in an enjoyable, playful way.   Just as importantly, it allowed her parents to meet other families with challenged children and the kids excelling in athletic ways - something that they had come to believe would be impossible for their child.   Since that time, Sydney's family has seen her and other children with labels like CP succeed.   They have seen increased confidence and motivation stem from this success.   They have seen friendships form.   And they have the concept of physical limitations ripped apart and thrown aside on the way to personal goals and successes.   They have seen all that can come from a program that unites youth with physical challenges and shows them "all that they can do before they learn that they cannot."   When Sydney's family moved to Memphis in 2001, they left behind a program in Baltimore that had shown all these benefits for Sydney and children like her.   The Baltimore program had provided competitive athletics to over 100 physically challenged children.   However, a Memphis counterpart to the program was nowhere to be found. With a taste for sports participation, Sydney maintained her love of athletics and participated in church leagues and able-bodied camps over the nex t three years.   Unable to find a local program to compete in, she rejoined her old teammates, the Bennett Blazers of Baltimore, to compete at the National Junior Disabled Games in Phoenix, Ariz., last month. Her team won the large team championship and Sydney won the 20 meter, 60 meter, and 100 meter sprints and finished second in the 200 meter race in her divisions.   More than 400 athletes from 35 states and as far away as Sweden competed in the games at least three of which will be representing our country in the Paralympics this year.   However, Sydney was the only athlete competing from Tennessee, Arkansas or Mississippi.   Sydney believes there is a need for a similar program in the Memphis area. She used the Elvis Presley 5K Fun Run as a platform to raise money for United Cerebral Palsy in hopes of starting a physically challenged youth sports program here in Memphis. She covered the 3.2 mile course in 46:47 and with a smile of accomplishment on her face.   "Sports are fun," she said. "We all like to play."   According to Sydney's mother, Tammy Bolen, "Athletics have given Sydney a sense of personal accomplishment unlike anything else she has attempted. Without a cognitive challenge, she knows she is different than the other kids. But she is OK with it because she knows what all she can do. It may not be the same thing they can do physically . . . but she knows she can contribute and she knows she can compete."   The Baltimore program of challenged sports has taught her, and us, that she has those strengths. Without it I don't know if we would have looked past her CP label to find out all she is capable of doing."   "It is an underserved segment of the community" comments Tammy Bolen. "I know there are children in the Memphis area with physical challenges that want to play sports with children that are similarly challenged. We are looking for physically challenged children age 2 to 14  who want to have fun playing sports. With the help of UCP of the Mid-south, we hope to start a program and grow it into something that will give families of young children the same support and encouragement that we received when Sydney was first diagnosed."   If you have a child who would like to participate, contact Tammy Bolen at tnbolens@yahoo.com .       Sydney Bolen of Cordova recently ran in the Elvis Presley 5K international. Sydney, diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 16 months old, shows her competitive spirit through racing for United Cerebral Palsy. She began running in Baltimore with the Bennett Blazers of Baltimore, a program of sports and motor development and has continued her love of sports by competing with different organizations in the Memphis area.photo(2)