Team Indiana develops bonds during first training camp

The Madison County Mustangs flag football team already was a brotherhood.

After spending the weekend together at the initial Team Indiana training camp for the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games, the bond between the nine team members and three coaches is even stronger.

“I think it’s been good for us,” team member Andrew Youngdale said. “It didn’t change too much because we’ve already treated each other like a brotherhood kind of thing. … I think, ultimately, it comes down to learning what weaknesses we have and trying to hammer out what we’ve got.”

Flag football is one of 10 sports Team Indiana will participate in during the USA Games from June 20-26, 2026, in Minneapolis. Special Olympics programs from across the country will compete in 16 team and individual sports during those Games, uniting more than 100,000 athletes, coaches, volunteers and fans.

Leading up to the event, Team Indiana is participating in five training camps. The first one was July 25-27 on the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology campus in Terre Haute.

The delegation of more than 100 people consists of athletes, Unified partners, coaches and management team members.

Each sport had its own practice time, and athletes completed physicals and interviews. They also came together as one group in team-building activities and meetings.

“This training camp was a powerful first step in building the camaraderie of Team Indiana,” said Katie Hilt, Head of Delegation for Team Indiana and Director of Sports and Competition for Special Olympics Indiana. “You could really start to feel that sense of family forming – something that’s essential as we prepare to travel and compete together.”

Click here to see photos from training camp.

For Team Indiana, flag football and basketball each feature teams from one county program, while the remainder of the sports – bocce, bowling, cornhole, golf, powerlifting, soccer, swimming and track and field – include individuals from different county programs.

The training camps provide an opportunity for athletes and coaches to get to know each other, whether it’s within their own sports or with other sports.

“This was more than just our first training,” Hilt said. “It was the first time all of our athletes came together. It marked the beginning of something bigger than sports. It was the start of building the Team Indiana family that will support one another over the next 11 months.”

Youngdale is among the Team Indiana members with familial ties. His brother, Dustin Jent, joins him on the flag football team.

Jent said the first training camp was a success.

“We were definitely tired and hot. It’s very humid outside, but I thought it went great,” he said. “One of the big things is nobody was injured. That’s always one of the things in practicing, you always hope nobody (gets hurt).”

Jent helped form Madison County’s flag football team nearly 10 years ago, and he is excited for the program to represent Indiana on a national level.

“There’s about four or five of us still on it that have been the core guys that have been on the team, even if we moved up and down a level, so we’ve been pretty close,” he said.

Having an opportunity to practice on the artificial turf field at Rose-Hulman was a plus for the team, Jent said.

“We usually practice on grass, so it was good to practice on the artificial turf because at state games, that’s what we use,” he said. “I think at nationals, that’s what’s going to be used, so that was a neat thing.”

The team also had time to bond on the sideline and outside of practice.

“It’s good to just sit down and talk, too,” Jent said. “We had that a little bit. We were starting to overheat. We went over to the tent and just had some time. You don’t get that all the time. It’s a good thing just to talk about some other stuff and just some stuff we can work on, too.”

Thomas Kemper of Delaware County is the Team Indiana cornhole head coach. He and assistant coach Ashley Current of Jay County met their athletes and Unified partners for the first time at training camp. The cornhole team represents five different county programs.

“Just get together and see where everybody’s at and then just start throwing and see how everyone is going,” Kemper said. “We had a couple different boards to play with, and it was interesting watching them start playing on those.”

Current said it helped spending the weekend together.

“That way, we can all spend some time together, we can talk … because we’re going to spend a week together (next June), and so it makes it definitely beneficial,” she said.

The remaining training camps are one-day events. The next one is Aug. 23, when Team Indiana members take part in Special Olympics Indiana’s Plane Pull Challenge fundraiser at Indianapolis International Airport.

The third training camp is Nov. 1 at Indian Creek High School. The fourth and fifth are in 2026 with dates and sites to be announced.