EAST BRUNSWICK- Salvatore Malfitano introduced the game of bowling to his son Justin when he was six years old, after he had been recently diagnosed with autism.
Today, Justin Malfitano, 22, is a two-time gold and one-time silver medalist, competing as part of Team New Jersey’s bowling team at this year’s Special Olympics USA Games, which was held July 1-6 in Seattle.
Salvatore Malfitano said he and Justin’s mother noticed a change in his personality around age 3, and at that time he was diagnosed with autism.
“The challenges he faced were mainly based around communicating with others and socializing. [Justin] could not speak until a later age. He found [and still] finds it tough to initialize conversations with others,” Salvatore Malfitano said. “Others saw him as an introvert and left him alone, but bowling/sports are a vehicle to break him out of that shell. When he is bowling or participating in other sporting events he feels ‘typical’ and he is like a different person. Through sports, he feels accepted and equal to others.”
Salvatore Malfitano said Justin Malfitano began his bowling career around age six, when he and Justin’s mother would take him to the bowling alley.
“At first, he hated it because of the noise and really not knowing what to do, but being consistent and taking him to a bowling center every weekend, he eventually became more and more interested in it,” Salvatore Malfitano said. “At first, [he was] just rolling the ball down the alley with two hands using bumpers, eventually holding the ball with his fingers and throwing it down the alley, to where he is today, a two-handed bowler.”
Salvatore Malfitano said Justin Malfitano lives with his mother in Toms River, but he sees him every other weekend.
Justin Malfitano went to Toms River High School North and was a member of their bowling team for three years. In his final season, he was named the team MVP, maintaining a 235 average, according to Salvatore Malfitano.
Salvatore Malfitano said Justin Malfitano participated in the regional, sectional and state Special Olympic tournaments in 2017, coming in first place in all three divisions, earning him a chance to try out for a spot on Team New Jersey.
“The coaches also have to tryout to be coaches for Team New Jersey. Then, once they’re selected, we work throughout the year with the athletes to make sure that they are comfortable with each other as a team because we [did] everything together when we were out there that week,” said Marybeth Stansfield, Team New Jersey’s bowling coach.
After receiving his letter to tryout in July of 2017, Justin Malfitano received a letter in October announcing he was selected as a member of Team New Jersey for bowling. He qualified for the Men’s High Performance Division, Men’s Doubles and team matches, according to Salvatore Malfitano.
“The Men’s High Performance division represented the best bowlers in the nation. Each athlete in this division had to have a 178 average – Justin’s average was a 191. It was during this match play that he beat the favorite to capture a gold medal and named top bowler in the nation for Special Olympics. This accomplishment earned him a front page article in the ‘Seattle Times,'” Salvatore Malfitano said.
Salvatore Malfitano said Justin Malfitano’s next competition was men’s doubles where he was partnered with fellow New Jersey bowler Laimont Monard. Together, they captured gold medals.
“Finally, [there] was the team match play where Justin was in a zone. In his first game he ended up bowling five strikes in a row to end the game bowling a 225,” Salvatore Malfitano said. “He continued the same pace in the second game, rolling another six strikes in a row, only to miss a perfect game by having two nine-pin spares, rolling a 268.”
By the end of the first match, an ESPN film crew made its way down to Justin Malfitano’s lanes and remained there for the rest of Team New Jersey’s match, his father said. Once the match was over, the two wete interviewed for a spot that was later aired on ESPN SportsCenter.
“The message behind the Special Olympics is inclusion. This could not have been more evident during the week of the USA Games,” Salvatore Malfitano said. “All any of these athletes ever want is people’s respect, to be part of something bigger than themselves, and through sports, each and every one of these athletes felt that.”
Malfitano said he always knew his son was good at bowling, but after the week at the Special Olympics USA Games, he knew Justin was more than he ever imagined.
“I saw a young man who doctors told me, he might not be able to talk, he might not ever be able to socialize with others, really come into his own,” Salvatore Malfitano said. “When he is on the bowling alley his disability is erased, he radiates confidence and his personality changes to that of ‘I am someone to be looked at other than having a disability.'”
Stansfield said coaching Team New Jersey was “awesome,” and each of her athletes showed great sportsmanship.
“The Special Olympics just gives the athletes an opportunity to compete competitively and nothing is given to them. They earn everything that they do and they work hard for it. To be able to see them with us and be independent for that week, as well as going out of their way to meet people from different states, I was just so proud of my whole team, ” Stansfield said. “Everybody at the bowling alley knew who Justin was and he wasn’t boasting about what he did, he was just excited and he and all my athletes congratulated their competitors. They were just happy to have a good competitive sports experience.”
For more information about the Special Olympics USA Games, visit www.specialolympics.org.
Contact Vashti Harris at vharris@newspapermediagroup.com.
