Texas Rattlers preparing to win it all at Special Olympics USA Games
BAYTOWN, Texas — The Special Olympics team Texas Rattlers, from Goose Creek ISD in Baytown, Texas is comprised of 60 incredible athletes committed to competing in several sports and representing their city. Of the 60 team members, Coach Stacy Saxon will be bringing a team of 10 soccer players to the upcoming Special Olympics USA Games this June. The USA Games is a national competition held every four years, this year in Orlando, Florida. It offers Special Olympics athletes from all over the country the opportunity to compete in a total of 19 different sports. The Texas Rattlers are set to compete in this year’s soccer tournament and represent Team Texas.
Head Coach, Stacy Saxon, with the help of assistant coaches Ken Jones and Kayla Spruiell, are preparing for the Games and have goals of bringing home the gold! Stacy started her journey with Special Olympics in high school where she served as a Unified Partner. Since then, she has served as a coach and a special education teacher for 32 years. Although this specific team has not had the chance to compete together yet, Stacy has high hopes for the USA Games. She states that she pairs conditioning with teamwork development to ensure her athletes have the best shot at winning. Stacy admires her role as a head coach because of the opportunity not only to help teach her athletes teamwork, discipline, and sportsmanship but also because it offers her the chance to see her athletes “grow and mature.” She stated that watching her athletes develop into independent adults, outside of sports, “is the most rewarding part of my work.”
Coach Stacy and the Texas Rattlers athletes aim to bring home a win for Team Texas. The team is bringing along a Texas flag that has traveled with prior teams to both national and international competitions. Coach Stacy says that her team will hold this flag with pride and show the competition their Texas spirit! She states that “my athletes finally have the chance to compete after two years, and we all want to bring home the gold for Texas.” Outside of practice and competitions, the Texas Rattlers bond over engaging in community service projects. The team has members that serve Habitat for Humanity as well as local community members through their participation in the hurricane cleanup. The team also enjoys eating together at Olive Garden after a competition.
Coach Stacy and the Texas Rattlers are an inspiration to coaches, athletes, and families all over Texas. They will be traveling to Orlando this upcoming June representing Texas with hopes of bringing home the gold!
The Special Olympics USA Games will be held June 5-11, 2022 in Orlando, Florida. Team Texas will be sending just under 400 coaches, athletes, unified partners and staff to make it one of the largest traveling delegations in USA Games history.
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