Mary Fehrenbach, Coach
Fehrenbach may be the most experienced coach in the Special Olympics Kentucky program, having served for 29 years in both Virginia and Kentucky. She will be making her fifth trip to the USA Games as the Team Kentucky gymnastics head coach and is the only person ever to hold that position for Team Kentucky. The 2011 Special Olympics North America Coach of the Year, Fehrenbach’s teams have now won an incredible 63 medals at the USA Games, including 21 at the 2018 Games in Seattle. She has also served as the head gymnastics coach for Team USA at a number of Special Olympics World Games events and produced similar results. In addition to the 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 USA Games, Fehrenbach is a veteran of the 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games, where she also served as a gymnastics coach. In addition to gymnastics, Fehrenbach has coached multiple Special Olympics cheerleading squads. Her work with the Legacy Showcats in Lexington helped pave the way for special needs cheerleading programs throughout the United States. She works as a freelance sign-language interpreter.
Racheal Connor
Connor, 25, of Versailles is the only first-time USA Games participant in the Team Kentucky gymnastics delegation. She has been involved in Special Olympics for seven years and has participated in gymnastics for that entire time. She has also competed in soccer and cheerleading. Her cheerleading squad traveled to the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles to cheer on her fellow athletes. In addition to gymnastics, she is a member of the 2021 Special Olympics Kentucky Athlete Leadership Program class and is an accomplished singer.
Lee Dockins
Dockins, 35, is the most decorated athlete in Special Olympics Kentucky history. This will be her fourth trip to the USA Games, having also been part of Team Kentucky in 2006, 2014 and 2018. She has won 15 medals in her previous three USA Games appearances -- five of them gold, including gold in the all-around at the 2018 Games. She has also competed in the last four Special Olympics World Summer Games – 2007 in Shanghai, 2011 in Athens, 2015 in Los Angeles and 2019 in Abu Dhabi. She won 12 total medals in artistic gymnastics from 2007 to 2015 including gold in the all-around in 2011 and 2015. In 2019 she competed in rhythmic gymnastics at the World Games for the first time, winning three silvers and two bronze medals. In 2018, the leotard Dockins wore at the 2007 World Games was included in an exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History that commemorated the 50th Anniversary of Special Olympics. Dockins has been involved in Special Olympics for 24 years. She has also competed in bowling and track and field. She works as an instructor at Logan County Gymnastics.
Aliya White
White, 17, is making her second consecutive trip to the USA Games. She was also a member of the “Fab Five” Team Kentucky gymnastics team at the 2018 USA Games in Seattle, Wash., where she earned four medals, including gold on the balance beam and silver in the all-around. With her teammates, White was profiled in the leadup to the Games in an ESPN feature by Julie Foudy. She was also featured during ESPN’s broadcast of the opening ceremonies. She has been part of the Special Olympics gymnastics program for nine years and has also competed in cheerleading. With Connor, she was part of the cheerleading squad traveled to the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles to cheer on her fellow athletes. She is a student at Lafayette High School.