3 Cheers For Special Athletes

Photo: Vicki Dill

We’ve seen 1000’s of cheer routines through the years, but none quite touched us like the special needs teams at Spirit Celebration’s Christmas Classic. These teams had the crowd on their feet and there wasn’t a dry eye in the building. The combination of seeing the special needs kids feeling so proud of themselves, with the athletes who volunteer to help, is just bigger than the world of cheer itself. So many life lessons are created, and moments that will impact many and last a lifetime. We caught up with Robert Wade, a coach for the Seal Cheer Zone Palladium special needs team, and he gave us some insight into what it’s like to have a special needs program in his gym.

How did your gym get a special needs team started? What inspired you?
Our team started with one boy with Down Syndrome wanting private gymnastics lessons. His mom mentioned that there wasn’t a Special Olympics program in our area anymore, and my then 14 year old daughter, Faith, suggested we create a special needs team. She is now 16 and is planning on working with special needs children when she graduates from college. She does private lessons with two of the athletes who have severe handicaps every week.

How many years have you had a special needs team?
We started our team with five athletes last year. This year, we have 21.

Tell us about a typical practice.
We start by stretching in a big circle, then we go over new parts of the routine. We only practice once a month for an hour.

Photo: Vicki Dill

Is there a kid or a few kids that inspire YOU?
Every single one of these athletes is an inspiration in some way. Several of our athletes are not mobile, but they want to jump and stunt, so we make it happen.

Tell us about your coaches & assistants? What are their backgrounds?
All of our coaches help with the team, as well as our Level 4 Co-Ed Athletes.

How has having a special needs team affected your gym overall?
The community has gotten very involved with our team. All of the uniforms and some travel expenses are paid for by sponsors. The gym donates the gym time and the crew members donate their time to help the team.

Have any particularly memorable moments with your team?
The first time they performed at a Spirit Celebration event, the routine finished and I stood up and caught the owner out of the corner of my eye. He was in tears. I turned around to face the judges table and the entire staff was crying, the photographer was crying and all of the parents of the athletes were crying. It was an incredible moment. One that will probably never happen again. The reality hit me of how truly amazing these five athletes were. I knew they were incredible since I met them, but to see the reaction from everyone else was crazy.

One of our athletes was paralyzed when she was born. This caused her to have her legs amputated when she was four. She is six now and has learned how to cartwheel, and jump using her arms to pop off the ground. She received the first ever WOW Award for a special needs athlete last month.

Your best piece of advice for coaching a special needs team?
I’m still learning! =)