Ask Coach Dan to describe the GMU Stars, and he won’t start with wins, goals or statistics. He’ll start with one word: brave.
“They’re the bravest group of athletes I’ve ever met,” said Daniel Braun, known to his team as Coach Dan.
The Stars are a Special Olympics Virginia soccer team from Area 26. Celeste, Morgan, Beth, Sarah, Caroline, Stephanie, Ali, Justin, Veronica, Eva, Jesse, Jedediah and Brianna each bring different strengths and abilities to the field. What ties them together is bravery, even if it looks a little different for each of them.
Brave on the hard days
Like any athletes, the Stars get frustrated when a game isn’t going their way. Those are the moments when Coach Dan reminds them that being brave is hardest when things are going the worst.
The athletes help each other through it, too. When something gets tough, they watch what their teammates are doing and learn from them. In Coach Dan’s words, “Their best teachers are each other.”
Showing up
The Stars love to compete, and winning makes them proud. But what Special Olympics gives them goes beyond the scoreboard: a purpose, and an entire community.
Win or lose, every athlete shows up and gives it their all. Seeing their teammates do the same makes them proud of themselves, a feeling that can be hard to find in everyday life.
On game day, that pride walks onto the field with them. Before the whistle blows, they know they’re about to try their hardest, because this is what they’ve been practicing for.
Not every community makes room like this. But Special Olympics does.
More than teammates
On the field and on the sideline, the Stars are happy for each other’s successes, and that’s what Coach Dan believes truly makes them one team.
Their bond goes well beyond the game. The athletes know each other, care about each other and, as Coach Dan puts it, “truly love each other.” They come together as teammates, but more importantly, as friends.
That’s why his proudest moments have little to do with the final score. They come when an athlete is brave, even though it isn’t easy, and the light bulb goes on. Watching them feel proud of themselves, win or lose, makes him proud on their behalf.
A scoreboard can tell you who won. It can’t show you the athlete who kept going when the game got hard, the teammate who learned by watching a friend or the light bulb that went on after a loss. For the GMU Stars, those are the moments that count, and every one of them takes bravery.
Athletes across Virginia show up brave every season. See it for yourself at Fall Championships, Nov. 7–8 in Virginia Beach.