Athlete, volunteer, junior ambassador, part-time model – there’s not much Delaney O’ Connell hasn’t done for Special Olympics New Jersey.
Delaney started out as a Special Olympics athlete when she was just 3 years old, enrolled in the Young Athletes Program. Now an 8th grader at Timberlane Middle School in Hopewell Valley, she competes year-round. If you’ve ever gone to one of our state competition events, chances are you saw her. Delaney loves horses and does equestrian for SONJ every October. She also has competed in soccer, basketball, bowling, and track. Outside of Special Olympics, Delaney can be seen on Timberlane’s cheerleading squad and track team.
When not on the playing field, Delaney contributes much more to the SONJ community. She enjoys volunteering with the Young Athletes Program and spending time with her big family – mom and dad, two younger brothers, two dogs and two cats. Delaney has presented numerous awards and spoken on behalf of SONJ. She formerly modeled for the American Girl Fashion Show. Back in 2014 for the Special Olympics USA Games in New Jersey, Delaney spoke at both the ribbon cutting and closing dinner for the Young Athletes Festival.
Delaney loves helping young kids learn sport. As we move forward with our 50th anniversary celebrations, we thank people like Delaney who are the future of Special Olympics.
Great job Delaney. Thanks for inspiring us all and encouraging participation of our young athletes.
So proud of Delaney and her family. She has brought joy to many simply for being Delaney, her family is so admired for uncountable reasons. Fabulous. Love to all of you, Grammy Franklin
Lordy…8th grade? I remember coaching her in Miracle league 🙂 seems like a lifetime ago. I’m glad she’s doing so well!
Update on Delaney: She finished her freshman year of high school in Hopewell with TWO varsity letters – cheer and track. Her track team was the Unified state champions and she attended the Penn Relays participating in the 100M dash. She began powerlifting and more!