TRURO - Larry Hiles wears his gold medal proudly around his neck.
"I haven't taken it off," he boasted Tuesday.
During the weekend, the Truro native was one of 14 players on Team Nova Scotia's softball team to win gold in the B Division at the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games in London, Ont.
"I just couldn't believe it. It was so emotional for me," he said.
Nova Scotia, which was comprised primarily of Truro area residents, went 1-2 in preliminary play, losing to Alberta and British Columbia and defeating Manitoba.
The Bluenose squad atoned for the loss to B.C. in the semifinal, winning 9-7, before thumping Alberta 18-2 in the championship game.
"They're kind of a Cinderella team, really," said co-coach Margie Andrews. "They hit like crazy, they were just excellent and they were very excited."
Andrews said despite a slow start to the tournament, her team was able to keep its composure, stay positive and win when it mattered most.
"We're sneaky," she laughed. "I call them the Cardiac Kids, 'cause you never know what's going to happen, and that's one of the joys of coaching Special Olympics. You can't predict what's gonna happen."
The plays from the final game are etched in Hiles' memory.
After Rick Delaney recorded the first out of the final inning, a ball went into the air near Hiles, who was playing second base.
"I got it! I got it!" he yelled out. But he ran into trouble securing the ball.
"I misjudged the ball; the sun was in my eyes," Hiles told the Truro Daily News.
The ball hit his glove and almost popped out of the end of his mitt, but Hiles dropped to his knees and stuck his hand on the top of the glove to ensure the ball stayed in for the second out of the inning.
Pandemonium erupted moments later when centre-fielder Donnie Clough hauled in a fly ball.
"When Donnie made that catch my glove went up and I went to hug the coach ... Everybody went nuts," Hiles explained. "It was a great feeling. We soaked everybody with water, what a feeling."
Stanley Makin has gone to several national competitions for both floor hockey and softball. Asked what it feels like to be a national champion, he replied, "A-OK" with a huge smile while giving a big thumbs up.
The last time Nova Scotia won a medal in softball at the national Games was in 1995, and Andrews said this year's victory couldn't have happened to a better group of players.
"They're just a great bunch of guys," she said. "They're easy to work with and they're easy to take away ... just a dedicated group and we have a lot of fun.
"If you ever want to feel good about yourself, just hang out with a bunch of Special Olympic athletes because everybody's positive 99 per cent of the time ... and I don't know what it is, they just make you feel good."
The softball medal wasn't the only one that came back to Colchester County.
Matthew Hunter collected a trio of silver medals and a bronze medal in the pool. The Truro native, who has also attended the Canada Games, has competed in every provincial Games for 11 years.
The 22-year-old was proud of his performances after training at the Victoria Park swimming pool this summer with Chris Roberts and Angus Gibson.
The softball team now has a chance to represent Canada at the Special Olympic World Summer Games next year in Greece. A committee will choose between Nova Scotia and P.E.I., which won the C Division national title. A decision is expected within two weeks.
"I told my coaches if we don't get picked to go to Greece at least we brought the gold medal home to Nova Scotia," Hiles said.
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Factbox
2010 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games
Where: London, Ont.
When: July 13 to 17
Sports: Soccer, softball, aquatics, athletics, power-lifting and bolwing
Who: Almost 1,000 athletes, coaches, managers, mission staff and officials. Another 500 family, friends and supporters as well as more than 1,000 volunteers.
