Playing in next week's Special Olympics USA National Games will only be part of the experience for Tony Gunter.

A member of the Porter County men's basketball team bound for Lincoln, Neb., Gunter will also get to watch younger sister Peggy compete for the women's squad.

"That makes it very special," Gunter said. "I don't know who all's on the list, but it's an honor to be on it. Not many (brothers and sisters) get to go together the same year. It's very hard to do. Win or lose, I'm proud, proud to think we're in the top 50 from all the states."

The Porter County teams won state titles in Terre Haute in March and then were both selected to make the trip to nationals. It marks the first time the same county will represent Indiana.

"We're all excited to have two teams going," said Jim Mackenzie, who coaches the men's team with Chris Ellingsen.

Mackenzie's wife, Angie, and Larra Saager direct the women's team, which has been practicing on Tuesday nights alongside the men at the Valparaiso Church of the Nazarene. 

"It's an honor for Porter County," Saager said. "A lot of people have the wrong idea about Special Olympics. They don't think they're capable of doing anything, which is so wrong. I'd take our teams and put them up against any team you want. As a coach, I feel honored to be with them."

To be eligible, participants must have a special education need that requires an Individual Education Plan. Disabilities range from simple to complex, but when the players take the court, Mackenzie and Saager view them equally.

"They're all pretty much the same," Mackenzie said. "You can't really tell anybody has a disability.

"That's the nice thing about it. They've been together so long, you get to know their quirks, what buttons to push and not push. They work so well together. Every single person knows every single position. They have their ups and downs, but they are a very strong unit."

The ties don't stop with the Mackenzies and Gunters. Saager's daughter, 14-year-old Alison, is on the women's team. Sisters Lee Anne and Lauren Bettenhausen were part of the 1999 squad that played in the World Games in North Carolina.

"It works like a family," coach Saager said. "Sometimes, we argue like a family. One person has a strength in one thing and a weakness in another. They all teach each other."

That, Tony Gunter stressed, is the essence of Special Olympics.

"Helping people, helping teammates," he said. "That's what a team is."

Lee Anne Bettenhausen lends a hand with sister Lauren, whose limitations require her to live at the Bethesda Lutheran Group Home in Valpo rather than with the family in Kouts.

"I've gotten to see her grow up, learn new things, learn more about basketball," said Lee Anne, who is part of the Athlete Leadership Program.

"Some people are afraid at first. They're worried what their friends are going to think, that kids are going to make fun of them. Special Olympics shows 'regular' people we can do just as much as everybody else. You've just got to keep telling yourself you can do it. You're never going to be perfect. Just try your hardest."

Recent Wheeler High School graduate Andrew Walstra enjoys the low-pressure aspect of the Games.

"I played for the (Wheeler) football team, and it was all about winning," he said. "Special Olympics is all about having fun."

Walstra was the team's youngest player for several years until Steven Crosby, 16, was promoted to Masters from the Senior division.

"It gives me a chance to play with older people, to test my strengths against them," said Crosby, who plays soccer at Wheeler.

The men's team ranges in age from 16 (Crosby) to 28 (Rob Gray), while the women range from Alison Saager at 14 to Michelle Waisanen at 39.

"My philosophy is, I don't care what age they are, if they can hang with the big dogs, they can play with the big dogs," Jim Mackenzie said.

"I've had the team for about nine years, and we always have been and always will be a second-half team. We condition so much, we know we're going to be doing our best when others are dying out."

While both teams are aiming for success, they won't lose sight of the true meaning of the Games.

"It's a great experience for the athletes, coaches, parents," Saager said. "It's all about meeting new friends and just seeing the expressions on their faces. No matter who you're with, you go to have fun. If you don't, you're not doing what you're supposed to do."