Osceola Sparks cheerleaders to compete in Special Olympics State Games

At 12 years old, Willow Stine still hadn’t spoken. Her mother, Kristi, wasn’t sure if she could. It was no surprise, given what Willow had been through in the first decade of her life: being abandoned on the streets of China at two and a half years old, spending the next six and a half years being abused, drugged, and confined to a bed in an orphanage, and facing the inevitability of returning to the streets in a few years, since the orphanages only keep children until they turn 14.

Before that could happen, Kristi and her then-husband traveled to China and brought Willow home. They gave her a new name, a new home, and a new outlook for her future.

Once they adopted her and took her to doctors to make sure she was physically healthy, they learned that Willow has an incurable, lifethreatening disease called tuberous sclerosis complex. Tests also showed that her brain had been deprived of oxygen when she was an infant, causing an intellectual disability.

But while the first decade of Willow’s life was filled with unthinkable trauma, the second decade—thanks to her loving new family—has been filled with growth and opportunity. Willow graduated through special education at Harmony High School, she studies taekwondo, dance, and gymnastics and works one day a week at Publix.

In the fall, she will begin working as an intern at the main office of the Osceola County School District. And that scared girl who wouldn’t speak? She found her voice, and she’s using it now as a member of the Osceola Sparks Cheer Squad.

The Sparks just won first place in the Regional Special Olympics Cheer Competition and will be heading to the State Games at the ESPN Wide World of Sports May 17-18.

Sparks Coach Christine Baudier says the team has 11 members, ages 14 to 46. Special Olympics covers all the costs, including uniforms, so parents don’t have to pay anything out of pocket.

The uniforms arrived last week, and as the athletes tried them on, Baudier said she could see them beaming with pride as they looked at themselves in the mirrors.

“You could just tell how that made them feel. It was just so awesome,” she said.

This group spends a lot of time together. Baudier says the team has been practicing their routines once a week since November. In addition to cheer, the majority of the team also shares a special dance class, special taekwondo, and Special Olympics gymnastics together.

“So the friendship bond between them is pretty strong. It’s so amazing to see how much they care about each other and root for each other,” she said.

That camaraderie applies to the parents, as well. “These ladies are pretty amazing,” Stine said. “We joke and call ourselves ‘the special moms’ because it just becomes our group of all of us that kind of float together from place to place.”

“Other special moms get it,” Baudier said. “If [the child] is having a meltdown or something’s not right, there’s no judgment. That is huge. [Parenting a special needs child] can be so isolating. It has totally been a blessing to me, meeting some really cool people and knowing I’m not alone.”