Raiders take adaptive sports by storm

When you have a child with a disability, it can be isolating, parents say.

But with the Rochester Raiders adaptive sports teams bringing together Byron and Rochester athletes, students with disabilities are joined for camaraderie, competition and fun. The Raiders includes players in grades 9-12.

They play soccer, floor hockey and softball, with softball in season now. Special needs athletes say the Raiders is their favorite pastime.

“Scoring goals” is his highlight, said Charlie Clark, 17, a Byron tenth grader. “They like to do teamwork with me too. And we score goals.”

“The big thing he’s getting from the Raiders is being a part of a team and being accepted for who he is,” said Charlie’s mom Jill Clark. “I love that he has a team. They’re all friends, and he loves going.”

In the past Charlie has struggled with feeling like he belongs or fits in, Jill said. “He gets that with the Raiders,” she said. “It’s opened him up more.”

“The big thing I feel is important with the Raiders is the feeling these kids get, that they can go out and play regardless of any disability that might hold them back,” Jill said. “They feel like they’re a part of the team. They get that connection that they don’t get with their peers at school or in their day-to-day life.”

Audrey Elegbede’s son Jacob, 18, is on the Rochester Raiders. He plays all three sports – floor hockey, soccer and softball. He attends Century High School in Rochester. Audrey says the Raiders “is an inclusive activity.”

Athletes can letter in their sport, and Jacob has lettered in all three. He wears his letter jacket proudly. He also counts his Raiders cohorts as friends.

Past Raiders players come back to games, Audrey said, and support the team.

“It provides leadership opportunities,” Audrey said of the Raiders. “It provides an opportunity to build sportsmanship, compassion, understanding and competitiveness. It’s a great opportunity for athletes who might not make the team for conventional sports. They get to travel and participate in tournaments too.”

The Raiders has five seniors graduating this year, so parents and supporters are adamant that it’s time to recruit new athletes to the adaptive athletic teams.

“We need to recruit,” Audrey said. “The Raiders is such an exceptional program.”

“Please have them join,” Jacob said. “It will blow their minds.”

Minnesota is unique for having adaptive athletics for high schoolers. There are a wide variety of kids on the spectrum with cognitive delays and physical impairments, said Pam Geving, whose son Nick graduated two years ago.

“It was the best thing that ever happened to us,” Pam said of the Raiders. “Our son made huge leaps and bounds with his ability to talk and communicate with people. It’s hard to understand the value of it until you’re in it.”

This year there are 13 athletes in the Raiders, but in past years it’s been as high as 25. “It’s more than a sports team,” said parent Shauna Hillman. “When I think about the Raiders, it’s a sense of community. Getting families together. It’s about a community of support and the opportunity to be a part of something.”

Shauna’s son Blake, a Century High School senior, said the bonus of being in the Raiders is a combination of the ability to compete in sports and the chance to be a part of a group. The friends you make in the Raiders are life lasting, he said.

Blake, the pitcher for the Raiders softball team, also enjoys the time spent with fellow athletes off the field. The players hang out at people’s houses, and host team dinners and bonfires, he said. Shauna said the Raiders have done some camping in the Boundary Waters, and have a baking challenge each month.

 “There’s a lot of diversity on the team and all are welcome,” she said.

For more information about getting an athlete on the Rochester Raiders, send a message through their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RochesterRaidersAdaptedAthletics/

If your adaptive athlete attends a high school outside of Rochester or Byron, contact your athletic director to see if they would be willing to establish an athletic cohort for adaptive sports with the Rochester school district, Geving said.