From Athlete to Management Team, Salla Sees Both Sides of USA Games

2021 brought a surprise to me.

I learned I had been chosen to be an athlete in track and field for the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games in Orlando, Florida. It was exciting to think I’d be competing in a run, mini-javelin and something new that I had never tried before, shot put. I had to learn to throw shot put really quick. There was a lot of work doing practices, learning a new event at the last minute and attending all the training camps, but it was well worth it.  

As an athlete, I was mostly stuck with my team at the track; however, I did meet some amazing people from other states, some of whom I’ve made long-lasting friendships. I really didn’t get to see the rest of my teammates compete in their different sports. When we were not doing our own competition, we cheered on our teammates at the track and others we had met in what competitions were close by.  

I learned about trading pins. It was kind of hard trading the pins since I was mainly at the track most of the time with my teammates. When I did see someone from another state, it was fun to talk with them to trade pins.

One on my favorite sayings now is I got to go to the 2022 USA Games. I was really proud to represent Team Indiana and win a few medals for our team, something I never in my dreams thought I’d be able to do.  

Fast forward to the 2026 USA Games in Minneapolis, Minnesota, I wanted to go again, but this time, I wanted to go in a different role. I decided I was going to try out for the management team as a PR and media coordinator. I wanted to see a different side of things. I was beyond excited when I was accepted for this role. Being a PR and media person is a whole lot different than on the athlete side. This time, I wanted to highlight our athletes for their hard work and positive attitudes by taking pictures and doing stories about them. 

This time, I’m not just in one location the whole time. There is more freedom to move around and see the different areas of competition. I have the opportunity to meet a lot more athletes from all over the USA and make more long-lasting friendships. I get to see all my Indiana teammates, no matter what sport they are in, succeed in their competition and not just in one sport. Watching them grow from each training camp until now has just been amazing. My favorite thing is being able to not only take pictures, but I am able to be there cheering them on. It’s so exciting.

I will say there have been some challenges along the way, like trying to figure out what’s the best thing to post, when to post the pictures, what angle to take a good picture and how to capture the perfect moment to do my fellow athletes and team members the justice they deserve because coming to USA Games is not an easy task. It is a lot of hard work and dedication, especially on athletes in Unified competition. Some of the athletes have been training their entire lives to get to this point, and now, they’re on a national level of getting to see other people on their level. I can say Team Indiana is doing great.

I love to see the people who have been to USA Games before and getting to run into new friends and talking to them. I also love seeing the new athletes who have never gone to USA Games before, their reactions and seeing them make the friendships like I got to make.

So there is a difference between being an athlete and then on the management team, but yet, some things are still the same. I would love to be able to do this again in the future.