THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 4, 1996 TAG: 9602040181
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 134 lines
Seconds before Tallwood swimmer Ian McCullough plunges into his lead leg of the 200-meter freestyle relay, coach Barbara Bonney instructs: ``Ian, swim hard.''
What might be casual words of encouragement for other high school swimmers are critical for Ian, a freshman sprinter with Down syndrome. Easily distracted, Ian needs Bonney's last-second guidance to give him the direction and focus that can easily be lost in a churning pool full of teenagers.
``I always tell him right before, and I mean right before, then he can retain that information,'' Bonney explains. ``If you let him stand there too long, he'll treat it as practice.''
Bonney regards McCullough as an integral part of the team, although his role has not so much to do with times or championships.
``The kids look at him as inspiration,'' Bonney says. ``A lot of them look at him and are amazed at what he can do. They look at him and say, `If he can do it, what's my excuse?' ''
It's not cold inside the McCulloughs' Kempsville home, but Ian is wearing a jacket. It's mostly purple with gold trim, and the cursive letters on the front read: ``Tallwood swimming.''
Ian glides his fingers lovingly up and down the jacket's long sleeves, much like a child who is smitten with a woman's mink coat. The jacket was a Christmas present.
``It's all he wanted,'' his mother, Nancy, says. Then, to Ian, she says: ``You can take it off now. Done modeling.'' Ian heads back to the closet.
Pleased as he is with it, he's waiting for the one addition that will make it complete: the letter T.
Bonney's criteria for awarding a varsity letter includes points a swimmer has earned, best finishes, attitude and attendance.
``I want a big one, just like my sister's,'' Ian says. His older sister, Lorisa, earned her letter playing basketball at Tallwood.
Lettering in a high school sport is important for Ian, but it's meaningful for parents Nancy and Larry, too. They were unprepared when Ian was born 15 years ago in Norfolk General Hospital. Larry McCullough was out of town on business when his wife went into labor, and Ian Paul McCullough was born via Caesarean section.
``I don't do well with anesthesia, so I was basically incoherent,'' Nancy McCullough recalls. ``The only thing I remember is the doctor coming in and saying to me, `When your husband gets here, we need to see him.' ''
The next morning all Nancy knew was that she hadn't seen her son, and she feared the worst. ``I thought he was dead,'' she says frankly, and she admits to feeling relief upon learning he was alive but afflicted with Down syndrome.
Down syndrome is the most common genetic condition associated with mental retardation. The mental and physical abnormalities develop due to the presence of an extra chromosome - 47 chromosomes instead of the normal 46. It occurs in about one in 800 births.
Much like his wife, Larry McCullough wasn't shaken by the news. When he arrived at the hospital, he was told, ``Dad, it's time to feed your son.'' So he did. ``He looked like a baby,'' Larry says. ``There really wasn't anything different about him.''
The McCulloughs enrolled Ian in a program that ensured he was learning the same skills as other babies his age. ``We also had water therapeutics, which is where I think he got started in the water,'' Nancy says with a laugh.
As Ian grew up, his parents stressed what he could do, not what he couldn't. Nancy wanted Ian to be comfortable with the other kids in their neighborhood and vice versa, so she'd invest a little extra and buy the most desirable toys. She points to the basketball hoop out front, the mini pool table upstairs and the above-ground pool in the backyard. ``I tried to get things that the other kids didn't have so they would have to come here and play and learn to accept him,'' she says.
Acceptance was on her mind again when it was time for Ian to go to Tallwood. He has attended eight schools in Virginia Beach as his parents have searched to find the right special education program for his needs. Tallwood was the natural choice last fall. Nancy volunteers there, and Lorisa is a senior this year.
``A lot of the kids already knew him,'' Nancy said. ``I felt like a lot of the kids would stand up for him and look out for him.''
Nancy and Larry McCullough have done most of the talking, but that's not because Ian is shy. He listens intently and finally he jumps in. ``Let the kid do the talking,'' he says playfully to his dad. ``And don't interrupt.''
While Ian's speech is noticeably distorted, he is easy to understand. He speaks in short sentences, often glancing up to his parents for direction. Academically, he reads at the level of a first-grader. Socially, he has few problems and his interests are wide. He ice skates, skis, plays tennis, golf, basketball and street hockey. Much to his mother's chagrin, he's even had a few driving lessons with his dad. He loves to snap pictures and he's good at it, attested to by a second-place award plaque on his bedroom wall for a 1991 Earth Day photo that he entered in a local contest.
But swimming is what what Ian enjoys most.
``I like the breaststroke best,'' he says to his mother's surprise.
``Not the butterfly?'' she asks.
Ian shakes his head. ``I can't get my arms going,'' he says.
As an 8-year-old, Ian competed in Special Olympics, and a lighted trophy case in his meticulously kept bedroom showcases the dozens of honors he's collected through the years. Also in view are speed skating and skiing medals from Special Olympics. Ian continues to train three Sundays per month for the state games in swimming in Special Olympics.
``Heavy, heavy, heavy,'' he says as he lugs in the large picture frame that hangs in the den. Displayed in it are the two medals he won at the International Special Olympics in Minneapolis when he was 11. The gold is for the 25-meter backstroke. The silver is for the 25-meter free. He was the youngest member of the Virginia delegation.
Ian has put a scrapbook and a photo album together dedicated to his time in Minneapolis, and on the front of the album is a shot of him showing off his medals. Only he's not crazy about that particular photo.
``Messy hair,'' he says, pulling his reddish-brown bangs toward his eyes to show his displeasure.
At Tallwood, Ian's not looking for medals. Being part of a team is reward enough. He had the team's fifth-fastest 50-meter freestyle time (43.78 seconds) on the first day of tryouts, but is well below the top times in the district. At Friday's Beach District meet, he'll compete in the 50 and 100 free.
``I'm very proud of Ian,'' says teammate Matt McKee. ``I have a cousin who is handicapped, and it takes a lot of courage to come out. He's obviously able to keep up because he's still on the team.''
Adds Bonney: ``Ian is very comfortable just being on the team. Ian has enough on the ball. He doesn't want to be treated any differently.''
Nancy McCullough wants it that way. She's always been frustrated by the labels that others put on Ian.
``Just don't let anyone put any limits on you,'' she says when she gives advice to other parents of special-needs children. ``If you know your child is capable of doing something, don't let any professional tell you otherwise. Always try something new. Treat your child as a normal person.'' ILLUSTRATION: MOTOYA NAKAMURA COLOR PHOTOS/The Virginian-Pilot
Ian McCullough swims freestyle at meets, but likes the breaststroke
best. Being a part of the team is the main thing - he hopes to earn
a varsity letter to put on the ``Tallwood swimming'' jacket his
parents gave him for Christmas. by CNB