John Culbertson might be tired after a long day’s work, but when he arrives in Woodbury to lead the Thunderbolts adaptive sports teams, a jolt courses through him. “It’s, ‘Coach John this’ or ‘Coach John that,’” Culbertson says. “I’m trying to put out 100 different fires. It’s, ‘Oh, I forgot my shoe.’ ‘Or I don’t have my socks.’ ‘I need my medicine.’ Wearing those multiple hats energizes me. It’s connecting with students.”
Since 1995, the South Washington County Schools/District 833 teams in softball and soccer have been members of the Minnesota Association for Adaptive Athletics (MAAA). Through the MAAA, the Thunderbolts play against other cooperative teams from across the state. The opportunity became possible in 1992 when the Minnesota State High School League became the first activity association in the country to sanction adapted athletics. “It’s really special,” Culbertson, a coach of the Thunderbolts for over a decade, says of Minnesota’s trailblazing.
The Thunderbolts play in the “cognitively impaired” division. “I don’t like to use the word ‘impaired’ or ‘disability;’ I use the word special ability,” Culbertson says. “I don’t like ‘handicapped’ or ‘disability.’ You see these kids and they just think differently than a typical high school student would. That is all.”
John Stutelberg, 18, an East Ridge High School senior, has participated in the Thunderbolts soccer program for five years and in softball for six years. “He has really enjoyed it,” says his father, Mark Stutelberg. “Like any sport for any kid, you hope that it would allow him to make some friends, put him in contact with other great adults and give him the experience of being a part of a team, and to enjoy some success if all of those other things happen. The Thunderbolts has been all of that and more. The coaches have been great, administration has been very supportive and John’s teachers have been a positive influence as they often show up at games to cheer the kids on.”
About seven kids came out for the soccer team in the first year of the program. Last fall, there were 32 athletes, boys and girls from seventh graders to seniors coming from middle schools and Woodbury, East Ridge and Park of Cottage Grove high schools.
At the end of the 2013 season, the Thunderbolts earned 3rd place in the state competition; goalkeeper TJ Jarosiewicz had his fourth shutout of the season and three players each contributed goals.
“We’ve grown tremendously,” Culbertson says, adding that the attributing factors are the growth of District 833 and an increase of the special education population. “We have more diagnostic tools,” says Culbertson, a former special education teacher who now works at Surly Brewery. “There are a lot more labels that the kids are obtaining now then there ever were. There are more opportunities now; there are more teams. Back 20 years ago, there were a handful of teams and now we’ve got two divisions, CI and PI.” (The Thunderbolts, however, do not field a “physically impaired” team.)
Each division has a state tournament in soccer and softball, with the spring softball state tournament in Coon Rapids in June. While wins and loses are tabulated, the Thunderbolts strike at something more profound. The teams are run like any other athletic team at the schools. The athletes must hold a C average and not use alcohol, drugs or tobacco. Culbertson instills a level of discipline that players must be courteous, follow directions and understand that there are consequences for your actions.
With those guidelines, the players are set up to earn varsity letters, recognition from the school and community as well as build friendships and mentorships between younger and older athletes. “It’s a really awesome place for kids to build up self-confidence and self-esteem,” Culbertson says.
Click here to learn more about the Minnesota Association for Adaptive Athletics.
