Robbinsville resident Alex Buzgo practices before a Special Olympics basketball game at Notre Dame High School in Lawrence Jan. 21, 2012. (Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.)

By Nicole Malczan

Alex Buzgo, a 20-year-old Special Olympics athlete from Robbinsville, is almost as excited about the 2014 Special Olympics rolling into Mercer County as he is about a recent prestigious honor he won. Almost.

Special Olympics New Jersey named Buzgo the 2011 Outstanding Athlete of the Year in Fall Sports at the organization’s Annual Awards Dinner on Nov. 18, 2011 at the Princeton Westin. He won the award for his skills in soccer, but Buzgo has been involved with the Special Olympics for 11 years, also participating in track and field, softball and basketball. Buzgo said he has played soccer the longest.

“Alex started playing when he was 9 years old,” said his mother, Gina Buzgo. “He’s always been on a team, and he gravitates more towards team sports.”

Buzgo said he enjoys all of the sports he plays, and really enjoys being involved in the Special Olympics.

“Being in the Special Olympics keeps me active and keeps me from being a couch potato,” he said.

This isn’t Buzgo’s first major merit. He’s been granted awards for school and also was one of the few athletes selected by the Special Olympics to play in the 2010 national soccer competition in Lincoln, Neb., which his mother noted was a “very big distinction.” Athletes that play in the nationals are handpicked from the entire state. Buzgo was the first to be named team captain, and he was also responsible for a game-winning goal that helped the New Jersey team to a bronze medal.

“I am very proud of the way he handles himself,” Gina said. “In the speech that they gave him, they said he was such a team player. The coaches he had for nationals were from other areas, and they met him for a brief period of time. They mentioned he was a leader. Never once did they hear him say ‘I, I, I’ when he was talking about the game afterwards. It was always ‘we, we, we.’ That says it all.”

Brian Wertz, who has known Buzgo since 2009, served as his assistant coach during the soccer competition. He trained Buzgo in practice sessions that helped improve the athlete’s soccer skills.

“Alex always makes sure everyone is involved during practice,” Wertz said, “and he’s willing to help in any situation to help maximize training and the skill of the athletes.”

Wertz said he believes the award couldn’t have gone to a better athlete.

The Buzgos said the awards dinner was a nice opportunity for Buzgo to see friends and teammates that he hadn’t been in much contact with since nationals, but also were thrilled with his award. Gina said she was “in awe,” while Buzgo added that his mother was on the verge of tears.

“I was surprised, shocked and happy at the same time,” Buzgo said. “I think my mom was happier than I was.”

Athletes are nominated for the award by someone from within the SONJ organization who watches players in their respective sports during the fall season and then nominates an athlete. The Buzgos aren’t certain just who nominated Alex, but they are grateful nevertheless. The award certainly is an honor considering SONJ provides sports training and competition for 22,000 children and adults with disabilities.

Buzgo currently competes with the Mercer County Special Services School District Dolphins, a team that won the gold medal at the 2011 SONJ Fall Sports Festival this past October. He has many events that are keeping him excited, like the Jan. 14 SONJ Polar Bear Plunge at the Wildwoods Convention Center.

There’s also the event he’s most thrilled about, the 2014 Special Olympics. Buzgo knows all about the games, which will have an opening ceremony in Newark, and then will be held on college campuses, such as The College of New Jersey and Rider University. Gina says this is only the fourth time that the Special Olympics—which runs like the regular Olympics every four years—has ever been to the United States, citing past locations as Nebraska, Massachusetts and Iowa.

The 2014 Special Olympics will see 48 states represented, and players from all over the U.S. coming to participate. Buzgo said he cannot wait to get involved, and that even if by some chance he doesn’t end up on a competing team at the games, that he will certainly be happy to help any way he can.