On August 6, twin brothers Seb and Gabe Saxon turn 21. For years, Team Saxon has raised money — and plunged — under the name "For Seb's Sake" in support of Special Olympics Virginia. This year, they're turning that same team spirit toward Seb and Gabe's birthday — and Seb's parents, Michael and Judi, are matching every dollar donated, up to $10,000.
Team Saxon, made in Taiwan
Michael and Judi's story with Seb and Gabe began in Taiwan, where they welcomed nine-week-premature identical twins into their family. It was, they'll tell you, the best decision they ever made. From that moment, "Team Saxon" was born.
The years that followed took the family from Taiwan to Kuala Lumpur to Oslo, and through each move came new discoveries. In Malaysia, they noticed Seb wasn't meeting the same milestones as his brother. Doctors, therapies and countless conversations eventually led to a diagnosis of cerebral palsy — and later, autism and an intellectual disability. Every diagnosis brought new challenges, but it also connected the family to dedicated professionals, patient educators and a community that helped them keep moving forward with hope.
Eventually, that search for the right support brought the family back to the United States and into Goochland County Public Schools. And it was there, in those hallways, that they found something that would change everything: Special Olympics.
From three athletes to a whole community
What started as occasional participation grew, by middle school, into the center of the Saxon family's life. Judi describes it simply: their Special Olympics family is one of the most important parts of their lives. Every practice, every competition, every shared meal builds friendships that reach far beyond the field or the court.
Seb's coach, Steve Rosen, has watched that growth up close. When he first met Seb four years ago, Seb was one of just three athletes in Goochland — and one who needed a coach beside him at every competition, helping him check in, follow the referee's instructions, and compete. Today, that team has grown to seventeen athletes competing across six schools. And Seb has grown right along with it.
"Three years ago, I struggled just to communicate with Seb. Today, he greets his teammates and myself by name and always asks a daily question: 'What did you have for breakfast today, Coach Steve?'... We have gone from not communicating to holding conversations." — Coach Steve Rosen
At this year's state championships, Seb competed with no assistance at all — a milestone Coach Steve calls one of the proudest moments of his coaching life. As he puts it, Seb is "brave in the attempt," and there's no better way to describe the courage it takes to keep showing up, keep trying and keep growing.
Seb's Three Questions
Ask anyone in Seb's life and they'll tell you about his questions. Family friend Sabrina Hope remembers Seb always greeting her with the same three: what's your name, what did you have for breakfast, and where's your friend's dad? Kim Emmert gets a version of the same greeting — and on special days, a little hand-kiss hello. It's part of what makes Seb, Seb: warm, curious and utterly consistent in the way he makes people feel seen.
And then there's the pizza. Ask Becky Steadman, who still isn't sure where a then-teenage Seb put nine slices at a team party. Some things about Seb are simply legendary.
Gabe, meanwhile, has grown into exactly the kind of brother everyone hopes for — supportive, easygoing and endlessly patient with the twin he's shared every milestone with since before they could walk. Friends who've known Gabe since childhood point to that same quality again and again: he shows up for Seb, and for everyone around him.
Nathon Horton, who met the twins through bocce practice and later reconnected with them at the Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota, put it best: two amazing gentlemen, turning 21.
Why this matters — for Seb, and for so many others
Judi has written before about what this community means to her family, and her words capture something bigger than one team or one season:
"I've watched this program transform the lives of 'average' teenage students by inspiring inclusion, acceptance, and genuine kindness. I see firsthand the profound impact it has on parents and siblings as well. The ripple effects are immeasurable."
That's what a gift to Special Olympics Virginia actually does. It's not just uniforms and practice space, though it is that too. It's a volunteer coach turning three athletes into seventeen. It's a Unified PE program that's made an entire high school gym pack out for a Tuesday lunchtime basketball game. It's a parent support group that turns strangers into family. It's an athlete who used to need help now walking up to the line on his own — and asking his coach what he had for breakfast.
The best kind of birthday gift
For their 21st, Seb and Gabe's family wants to give the gift of this community to even more people — one more family feeling what the Saxons felt the day they found this program, one more athlete finding a team, coaches and friends who see them exactly as they are.
Every gift to their fundraiser, up to $10,000, will be matched dollar-for-dollar by Michael and Judi. Help us make this the biggest birthday gift Special Olympics Virginia has ever received.