Nearly 40 Years Later, These Brothers and Their Coach are Still Competing at Special Olympics National Games
For brothers Ken and Derrick Wiseman, sport has always been more than an individual pursuit. It has always been something shared—across decades, across disciplines, and across every stage of life.
Their journey with Special Olympics began in different ways, but it quickly became something that brought them together.
Derrick was the first to get involved, introduced to Special Olympics New Brunswick in 1978 as a teenager through school. He threw himself into it—track and field, swimming, speed skating, floor hockey—anything that gave him the chance to compete, to connect, and to belong.
Ken officially in 1986, inspired by what he saw in his brother.
“If he can do it, I can do it,” Ken remembered thinking to himself.
Those two decisions would shape the rest of their lives.
For both brothers, one memory stands above all others—not a World Games appearance, not a medal, not even decades of competition.
It was the first time they competed together.
In 1987, Ken and Derrick were selected to represent Special Olympics New Brunswick on an all-star floor hockey team. With only a few hours of practice together, they travelled to Toronto for a national invitational tournament—their first time competing on that kind of stage.
They went undefeated and came home with gold.
“It was like when we were kids playing road hockey,” Derrick says. “We just knew where the other one would be.”
That moment—two brothers, on the same team, chasing the same goal—has never really left them.
Even now, nearly four decades later, it remains their proudest shared accomplishment.
Today, that same bond continues to carry them forward, as the Wiseman brothers prepare to compete once again—this time in golf at the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games Medicine Hat 2026.
“I’ve always said if the Games stop being fun, I’ll quit,” Derrick said. “Knock on wood, they’re still fun!”
From those early days in floor hockey to more than 40 years of competition across multiple sports, both Ken and Derrick have built lifelong connections through Special Olympics—on and off the field of play. Together, they’ve competed at National Games across the country, with Derrick also representing Canada at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games in Berlin.
He made that journey alongside longtime coach and caddy Roger Ryan—someone who has become just as much a part of their story.
“My daughter’s an athlete,” Roger said, “and back then she was into bowling and swimming. They were losing the bowling coach, so I jumped in and since then I still coach 5 pin bowling, golf, and curling. I have also coached snowshoeing.”
Also volunteering as a regional coordinator for his local Special Olympics, Roger said he has travelled to at least eight National Games as a coach, on top of the 2023 World Games.
“It was an experience,” Derrick said about his and Roger’s trip to Berlin, “I enjoyed it thoroughly. It was nice to see players from other countries, and was interesting to see other countries that have a lot different sports than we do. I didn’t even know equestrian was a sport.”
“I didn’t overly enjoy the bus ride,” he added with a laugh.
“That was brutal,” Roger agreed, “but not much you can do about it. There were long days, I had to get up at 4:30am because these guys had to be ready for a bus at 6.”
“But it was well worth it.” Derrick said, with Roger nodding.
When asked why he stayed coaching in Special Olympics New Brunswick—even taking on new roles throughout the years—Roger said he is motivated by athletes like his daughter and the Wiseman brothers.
“They enjoy it more,” Roger said, talking about the sports he coaches, “they’re more altruistic, they’re real. They do it for themselves and for the other athletes as well. It’s the only place you’ll see an athlete cheering on the guy that beats them.”
While this is their first time competing in national-level golf together, the Wiseman brothers also competed at the Special Olympics Canada Games Calgary 2024. Both played in 5-pin bowling, and Ken brought home the gold medal! This is another sport the two of them practice with their coach Roger, alongside his daughter Sandra who still bowls in Special Olympics.
Ken said he has played “pretty much all” of the sports available in Special Olympics, starting out in bowling and curling, while having also down athletics, speedskating, swimming, cross country skiing, and floor hockey.
“When I first joined, my favourite sport was floor hockey,” Ken added, “because you could sometimes hit people.”
“You’re not supposed to,” Roger replied, jokingly.
“And now is it golf?” Derrick asked his brother.
“Yeah,” Ken said, nodding his head, “that’s true.”
The two brothers said participating in Special Olympics gave them a place to be social. Despite also playing golf as part of a larger family tradition, they are grateful to have somewhere they could spend countless afternoons outside the house, with other people in their community like Roger and Sandra.
“If you have any doubts about Special Olympics,” Roger said, “talk to the other athletes and coaches. Just go out and try it. It’ll give you meaning in your life.”