Ellis:
Maddy Hertweck of Liverpool is six years old and loves to give her teammates high fives before they take the field. Maddy is an honorary teammate for the Syracuse Women’s Lacrosse team through an organization called Team Impact. Team Impact matches children with disabilities with college athletic teams. Maddy was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at one 1/2 years old. Now, she is in her final year of the program. Her mom says she loves spending time with the team.
Erin:
We go out like an hour before the game and she goes into the locker room. And she’ll go and play with them and like hang out with them. And it just is so special for her. She calls them her girls like she has claimed them.
Ellis:
Rebecca Carr, Maddy’s case manager at Team Impact, says that’s the reason why they joined the program- so Maddy could have something of her own.
Rebecca:
Maddy has two big sisters and one is really into soccer and one is really into ballet. And Maddy wanted something is hers. And that’s what this Syracuse lacrosse team is, it’s Maddy’s team. It’s just so wonderful that we could give her that and that the Syracuse lacrosse team could give her that.
Ellis:
Maddy was excited to cheer on her teammates for one last season. But once the spring sports got cancelled due to COVID-19, Maddy was upset she would no longer able to spend time them.
Erin:
We were really excited this year because we were only going to miss I think two games out of the eight home games. You know as time went on and we realized the Coronavirus was getting serious and then the ACC decided to cancelled the spring season. We were so so disappointed. Madelyn looks so forward to those games and obviously it’s nothing compared to what the players are going through. But for us personally we really enjoy going to the games. They treat Maddy like queen.
Ellis:
Even though Maddy can’t see the team in person due to quarantine, Maddy is still able to see them through a video conferencing program called Zoom.
Erin:
We are connected through like a messenger app so we just said “hey Maddy wants to see you guys.” A lot of people are busy so we did not expect a lot people to get on, but there were quit a few girls. It went really well, Madelyn really liked seeing all of them face to face like that. I don’t think we really thought about ahead of time. As the girls have been doing school and using Zoom a lot, we realized maybe that would be a good way to see a few of the lacrosse players. She misses them a lot. Maddy understands a little bit. She’ll talk about when we’re allowed to see them she wants to get together. But she really missed them and I think getting to see them for a little bit really helped.
Ellis:
And Rebecca says Team Impact is no stranger virtual relationships- this is actually something they’re used to!
Rebecca:
We have always told our teams that there is no off season in Team Impact. So even when the team is out of season, we’re expecting the team to be in touch with their match, their Team Impact teammate, about two to four times a month. That includes winter break, that includes summer break. We’ve always told them you do Zoom calls, or send post cards, or FaceTime with each other, or do those kinds of activities even when you’re not on campus. It’s something that has been built into what we do as a program. And the other thing is that a lot of the kids that we work with end up being in some sort quarantine multiple times in their lives. We work with kids who are undergoing cancer treatment and may not be unable to visit with people. So their team may be in season but their still having a virtual relationship.
Ellis:
Although Maddy has lost her final season with the team, she will still graduate from the program in the winter. Even if she is no longer named as a honorary teammate, that isn’t going to stop her from continuing to cheer on the team.
Erin:
You know the other thing is we will just go to some of the games. It doesn’t matter if we’re out on the field. You know if they have some of the tournaments in the fall or the spring, then we’re just going to go and hang out and support them.
Ellis:
Maddy’s mom says the lacrosse team has not only given Maddy confidence but it has brought their family closer together.
Erin:
My other two girls, as they started watching the games, they really got interested and now they both play lacrosse. So it went from being kinda like a sport that we went to to watch with Maddy and kinda support Maddy to now the whole family is involved. We’ll watch the men’s games on TV and the women’s games live or on TV if they’re away. It really has been such a blessing to our family that we never imagined.
Ellis:
Their support has turned into a love for the game. And as for Maddy, Syracuse Women’s lacrosse will always be her team.
Ellis Stanton, N-C-C News.
Liverpool, N.Y. (NCC News) Maddy Hertweck is the youngest member on the Syracuse Women’s Lacrosse team. Maddy is only six years old and can can be seen at almost every home game wearing jersey number three.
Maddy is considered an honorary teammate through a program by an organization called Team Impact. Team Impact pairs children with disabilities with college athletic teams. It is a two year program and Maddy joined the Orange last year. Maddy is one of many honorary teammates for Syracuse Athletics.
Maddy was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy when she was one and half years old. She was later diagnosed with epilepsy at three years old. She was born prematurely and had to stay at the hospital for three months. Maddy can’t walk or crawl and has limited mobility in her right hand.
But even though she doesn’t get play on the field, Maddy was still looking forward to cheering on her teammates during her last season with the team. But the threat of COVID-19 caused the NCAA to cancel all spring sports.
Maddy’s mom, Erin Hertweck, said they were disappointed when the season was cancelled. Her mom explained that Maddy looks forward to the games.
“We go out like an hour before the game and she goes into the locker room,” Erin said. “And she’ll go and play with them and like hang out with them. And it just is so special for her. She calls them her girls like she has claimed them.”
One of the reasons the Hertwecks wanted to join the program was because they wanted Maddy to have something of her own. Maddy has two older sisters who are into ballet and soccer. Maddy’s family wanted something for her… and now, Maddy calls the SU Women’s Lacrosse team, “her team.”
Maddy was upset she wouldn’t be able to spend time with team. But through the power of internet, they were able to find a way.
Although the girls couldn’t meet face to face due to quarantine, Erin realized they could talk to them through a video conferencing program called Zoom.
“As the girls have been doing school and using Zoom a lot, we realized maybe that would be a good way to see a few of the lacrosse players,” Erin said. “She misses them a lot. Maddy understands a little bit. She’ll talk about when we’re allowed to see them she wants to get together. But she really missed them and I think getting to see them for a little bit really helped.”
Team Impact Case Manager, Rebecca Carr, said that all teams have moved to a virtual relationship. However, Team Impact was fully prepared for this transition because it is something that is already built into the program.
“We have always told our teams that there is no off season in Team Impact,” she said. “So even when the team is out of season, we’re expecting the team to be in touch with their match, their Team Impact teammate, about two to four times a month.”
Additionally some children in the program have various illnesses which sometimes requires them to be quarantined and they can’t interact with other people. In these cases, the teams use virtual platforms to stay connected with one another.
The SU lacrosse team stays connected with Maddy through social media. But Erin said it meant a lot to Maddy to be able to talk to her teammates over the phone.
Maddy will be graduating from the program with Team Impact in the winter in which case she will no longer be officially named as a honorary teammate. But that’s not going to stop her from showing up to the games and supporting the team.
Going to the lacrosse games has become something the whole Hertweck family enjoys. Erin said it originally started out as something they would watch with Maddy to support her. While watching the games, Maddy’s older sisters became interested in the sport and now both play lacrosse. The games are something their whole family enjoys and they don’t plan on stop going to them, anytime soon.
Maddy has made a long lasting friendship with the team and her mom is grateful for it. Erin said that the SU lacrosse team has given Maddy confidence and has blessed her family in ways she could never imagine.
