“We’re going to start at the beginning, how does that sound? We initially started with Special Olympics when we lived in Maryland and we started with cycling, so Katie was learning how to cycle. We ended up doing that for multiple years. From that, we started evolving into softball.”
Special Olympics Brunswick County volunteer and parent Wes Juda and his wife Diane have been trailblazers in the Special Olympics movement for nearly two decades. Their daughter Katie will be forging a new path of her own as she readies to compete in the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games in Orlando, Florida, June 5-12.
As a member of Team Special Olympics North Carolina (SONC), Katie will compete in bocce. When asked about her goals for the upcoming competition, Katie responded, “be stronger and win the gold.” At home, Katie has quite the support network, as her parents have coached her in various Special Olympics sports from the age of 15; she is now 31.
“The only sport that we don’t coach her in is tennis, which she tried for the first time recently and really liked it,” said Diane. “Other than that, she is kind of stuck with us.”
Wes and Diane first experienced Special Olympics in helping run a softball qualifier event for 400 athletes in Maryland. After moving to North Carolina, they launched several programs for Special Olympics Brunswick County, including tennis, swimming and basketball.
“I became the volleyball coach and Diane became the bocce coach,” said Wes. We assisted each other. From that, we brought tennis in, because I play tennis as an athlete…Whatever the need was for the different sport was kind of how we got into it.”
Katie started her journey in Special Olympics through cycling. Being involved in the Special Olympics movement for her meant, “meeting new people and doing new exercises.” Over the years, she has learned the importance of a healthy lifestyle and how training as a Special Olympics athlete could complement that.
“On Sunday afternoons, we used to go to this parking lot of an office building and she couldn’t even get on the bike,” said Diane. “To the best of my memory, in cycling she has never been defeated. The other competitors used to call her the ‘Beast from the East.’ She has learned to love fitness, she has learned to love competition, win or lose. I’ve seen her self-confidence soar.”
Katie is a student at Brunswick Community College through the Brunswick Interagency Program (BIP). A program for adults with intellectual disabilities, Katie takes academic courses, learns life skills and is employed in the cafeteria. Many of her classmates are also Special Olympics Brunswick County athletes. After graduation, Katie would like to work with penguins one day. For now, she visits them on regular trips to the aquarium.
In 2022, her summer break will be one to remember.
“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime” said Diane. “I’m reminding her to be mindful every single day. Don’t let a memory get lost… The whole thing, she is going to have with her forever.”
In Orlando, the Beast from the East will represent Team SONC on the bocce court. Inheriting a love for competition and sportsmanship from her parents, she will fly home proud, win or lose.
