FOLEY, Ala. — While thousands of Olympic athletes were heading back home after the conclusion of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Taylor Troha and her mother Pam Greene were just arriving.

They hadn’t made a scheduling error, in fact, Troha, 17, was there to march in the opening ceremonies with the United States team for the Paralympic games.

Not to be confused with the Special Olympics, the Paralympics are for visually impaired and disabled athletes.

Sponsored by the Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham, a non-profit group that promotes independence for persons with physical disabilities, Troha was able to attend the games.

“She wanted to go, and entered an essay contest and won,” Greene said. “She wrote an essay called ‘Paralympics Academy’ and was one of 25 winners out of 175 entries.”

Both Troha and her mother agree the trip to Beijing was a cultural experience that could not be achieved in another part of the world.

“Everyone was so kind, it was certainly a learning experience,” Greene said. “Every place we visited was unreal it was so different and beautiful.”

Troha, an accomplished athlete, dreams of not only attending, but competing in the 2012 London games playing on the goalball team.

Goalball, a sport for the visually impaired, was created in Austria in 1946 with the hopes of rehabilitating World War II veterans. Players compete in teams of three, and lay on the court, which is about half the size of a soccer field, on their sides. They then attempt to throw a ball with a bell inside it into the opponent’s goal. In order for the game to be played, the arena must be completely silent.

“We watched the goalball event in Beijing, even though it wasn’t on our schedule, and all the other events we saw everything was so loud, you couldn’t hear anything,” Greene said. “But at this event it was completely silent. It was strange, but the disabled spectators were able to follow the event easily which was great.”

The United States women’s goalball team won the gold medals at this year’s event.

Greene and Troha traveled around Beijing with three other disabled children, which, according to Greene, helped her get the most out of the experience.

“Being around everyone makes you realize how much parents support their child’s dreams,” she said. “It was extremely emotional because you were there just seeing all these people reach their dreams.”

Many of the athletes who compete in the games are war veterans, a fact which Greene found tough to deal with.

“It’s hard to hear, but inspiring,” she said. “On the way home we sat next to a man who was in the war and lost his leg. It’s just crazy to think that one day you’re an athlete, and the next you’re a disabled athlete. It made the experience that much more emotional.”

Greene said meeting these athletes and attending the games as a whole has inspired her daughter even more to follow her dream. Troha, who has already competed in events here at home such as judo, the triple jump, high jump, long jump and the shot put, is currently being groomed to play goalball in the next games.

She currently trains at the Lakeshore Foundation, and is mentored by athletes who competed in the 2008 games. She also attends the Talledega School for the Blind.

In order to become a Paralympics athlete, Troha must make some serious decisions regarding her future.

“To do this she will have to be a seven-day-a-week athlete, which means no college,” said grandfather Frank Rikard.

Rikard likens the training to that of many European gymnasts often highlighted on television. The athletes devote every moment of their days to training and competing, often living together in a single building away from parents and family.

“People who work with the visually impaired always say the first step in the kid’s lives is to conquer high school, then after that it’s college,” Rikard said. “For Taylor, first may be becoming a dedicated Paralympic athlete.”

Greene, who supports either decision, says college isn’t completely out of the question.

“If this is what she wants to do first, she will,” Greene said. “She can always do college after. If she does decide to do it we will have to figure out how to get her everywhere she needs to be, which may mean giving up some of my own time, but its worth it.”

To place on the team, athletes are selected by a committee and do not enter any kind of trials to qualify.

“If Taylor wants to get on the team, she is going to have to compete in some major competitions.” Greene said. “She has to show them that she can compete on this level of International competition.”

If Troha does make the team, you can be sure to see her grandparents and family in the stands cheering her on.

“We are so excited about the possibility of her competing, you can bet on us being in London right beside her,” Rikard said.

When Troha finally does get to college, she hopes to study Kinesiology.