Headed over to Acalanes High School to photograph the first annual Special Olympics of Northern California Bay Area School Games.

I've worked with SONC before covering fundraiser events and though they were some really fun events, golf challenge and polar plunge, I was really looking forward to photographing some of their athletes in competition to see the results of all the fundraising efforts.

A wonderful day at Acalanes High School with a number of major sponsors including Chevron and law enforcement officials on hand to honor and encourage the athletes

And Oakland A's announcer Dick Callahan was on hand serving as voice of the games.

With more than 300 students representing three bay area county schools (plus Dublin) it was a bit of a hectic day trying to cover the track events, field events and awards ceremony. But an incredibly fun day!

The athletes ranged in age and disability, all participating together with the help of their incredible coaches who prepared them for the days competitions.

For many students it was the first time they had the opportunity to compete, travel to another school, and be part of a team.

I consider myself pretty lucky to be photographing some "big name" sports like MLB, NFL, NBA... but being able to photograph an event like this is when I really feel VERY lucky to do what I do!

To learn more about Special Olympics of Northern California you can go to their site: http://sonc.org/

And you can also donate to SONC here: http://sonc.org/kintera/donate

Full set: http://www.klcfotos.com/sonc/2012bayareaschoolgames