SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse women’s lacrosse has officially welcomed its newest team member, Maddy Hertweck. The five-year-old from Liverpool, N.Y. signed her letter of intent and received her official Syracuse Lacrosse jersey, complete with her name on it, in front of family, friends and her new teammates at an event Friday, January 25.
Through Team IMPACT, this five-year old with cerebral palsy is now a member of the Orange. Syracuse senior Julie Cross was inspired to lead the project by another team’s story on social media.
“I actually found it on Instagram,” said Cross, “Maryland’s Men’s Lacrosse had a tie in with Team IMPACT and just was kind of following them and saw how close they got with this kid that they had and reached out to Team IMPACT after our season.”
Cross was eager to get back to school and get Syracuse involved with Team IMPACT. She made contact with Team IMPACT last spring, and Maddy was matched with the Orange in November.
Team IMPACT is headquartered in Boston. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for children facing serious and chronic illnesses through the power of team. Through Team IMPACT’s program, Maddy will attend Syracuse practices, games, team dinners, events and more. She also has her own locker in the squad’s locker room in Manley Field House.
“She just is a great kid and she just brings a lot of fun, a lot of laughter, a lot light to our team,” said Caitlin Defliese, Syracuse Women’s Lacrosse Assistant Coach.
Already Maddy is making her mark on the Orange, and this pairing has been extremely impactful for the entire Hertweck family to see their daughter be part of a team.
“It’s pretty surreal. I mean Maddy had a really difficult beginning to her life,” said Maddy’s father, David Hertweck, “and so there were moments when it was hard to believe in moments like this. So for us it is very rewarding, we are very grateful, we give God thanks.”
The Orange have rallied around their new teammate, finding meaning in their newfound relationship.
“You know it makes you think about the bigger picture of what you are doing and why you are doing it,” said Defliese.
