COREY DAVIS: TREASURE COAST HIGH SCHOOLS MR. HAPPY GO LUCKY!

Treasure Coast High School 11th grade Student-Athlete Corey Davis sprints down the track at Lawnwood Stadium during the Counties Unified Special Olympics meet. In typical Titan fashion, 10th grade student-athlete Allyson Eno runs beside Corey encouraging and motivating him. It is not uncommon for non-disabled student-athletes to partner with their exceptional peers for support, which is one of the hallmarks of the Unified events.

April 17, 2017 - St. Lucie County, FL - All too often when we hear the words Down Syndrome (DS) we think of children (and adults) that don't look or function "normally". Yet most of us don't have the first idea of what Down Syndrome is or the fact that persons with this common disorder (affecting over 200,000 people per year, in the United States alone), are just as "normal" as the rest of society in so many ways. 

When I was growing up kids with Downs were picked on because their facial appearance was different than the rest of us. But today, children with Down Syndrome are treated just like everyone else. Sure, they may have some unique special needs - but doesn't everybody?

Contrary to popular belief, there are many children with the disorder that are not mentally or even developmentally disabled at all according to Dr. Sigfried Pueschel, Professor of Pediatrics at Brown University and Director of the Child Development Center at Rhode Island Hospital.

So, what is Down Syndrome?

Simply put it is a genetic disorder caused by an extra chromosome 21.

While there is no cure for the condition, a caring and enriching home environment, early intervention and integrated education efforts have been shown to have a positive impact on children with Down Syndrome.

Perhaps that's why Treasure Coast High School 11th grader Corey Davis is just one example of kids with Down Syndrome that are helping St. Lucie Public Schools become a national example of school districts that continually break through the barriers for children with special needs.

Corey, who is 16 years old, was born with multiple holes in his heart and suffers from the chromosome 21 defect as well. Yet, through the perseverance of his father, Mr. Edward Banks who is an insurance agent, and his mother, who works in the mental health/addiction field, Corey has thrived at Treasure Coast High School where he is well-known on campus for his big smile and happy disposition according to principal Ms. Susan Seal.

He interacts well with other students, is extremely social and has been a vital part of his school's Special Olympics Track Team for two seasons - a track team that made it all the way to the Regional Games last season in the 4 x 100 relay with a second-place finish.

Corey thrives on being very independent, loves to shoot hoops, sing, play the drums and swim according to Mr. Banks. 

"When he was younger his windpipe was underdeveloped and his tongue is too big for his mouth so speech was a challenge. However, thanks to a team of professionals at Manatee Academy in Port St. Lucie, where Corey attended middle school, they made significant accomplishments helping him to be able to orally communicate just like every other child - another example of the school district, as a whole, breaking down those pesky barriers that plague children with exceptionalities. 

Corey interacts well with other students,
is extremely social and has been
 a vital part of his school's
Special Olympics Track Team
for two seasons.

But it's Corey's personality and his disposition that really turn heads. 

"Corey brings such joy to not only our unified track team but really all of Treasure Coast High School. He is a team motivator whom his fellow student-athletes adore and respect. He helps cheer on his fellow teammates and brings such positive energy to our team. Having Corey on our school track team has helped promote the program and bring about inclusive practices within our school community," says Amanda Hammel, the school's track coach, and ESE teacher.

Treasure Coast High School has a rich history of this positive energy that started with it's founding Principal Dr. Helen (Roberts) Wild, who built the school from the ground up. Dr. Wild, who has since moved on to become the Chief Academic Office for the school district was responsible for every detail in every nook and cranny that went into the area's newest traditional public high school. 

The most recognizable accomplishment she implemented at Treasure Coast High School (and is now implementing district-wide) is a keen sense of pride and family which has carried over to the for former Principal Mrs. Denise Rodreguiz and to current Principal Ms. Seal. 

"Our teachers and staff are so dedicated to meeting the needs of each student.  They strive to motivate, encourage and support student goals and help them reach their dreams.  It is so inspiring to see our teachers work with students with challenges to help them overcome barriers and thrive", Dr. Wild tells Treasure Coast Sports Journal.

It was under her leadership that some of the school's first coach's coined the phrase Titan Born, Titan Bred which has stayed with the school since it opened in 2006. Teachers, staff and most importantly students have all bought into being a Titan. And recently graduates of the school have been sporting "Titan Born, Titan Bred, Titan Grad" apparel, indicating that this sense of pride extends well beyond a student's high school years.

It is this sense of pride that Dr. Wild developed, and others have carried forward, that has helped students like Corey realize the success they are entitled to.

BOOM!

Freshman Ciera Clark knocked in two home runs for the 'Hounds against Martin
County on Tuesday, April 4th as the team and community celebrated Coach Roger Mathews 500th career victory, placing him second in Florida for wins by an active softball coach and in the top 1% nationally.

April 5, 2017 – Fort Pierce, FL – When Lincoln Park Academy Head Softball Coach Roger Mathews arrived at Greyhound Field in the Lawnwood Sports Complex on Tuesday night he knew it was going to be special. But just how special this night would end up surprised even Mathews.

Although Mathews and his Lady Greyhounds were scheduled to take on an always strong Martin County Tigers team, the real story was the milestone that Mathews and Company reached right at the start of Spring Break – or so we thought.

Let’s set the stage.

Stand out 8th Grade Short Stop
Layne Chesney got things started for the
Greyhounds with a dinger over the
 fence in Centerfield in the first inning.

Mathews is nothing short of a legend when it comes to coaching softball. In Florida, he is second, only behind Kathy Finnucan or Winter Park Trinity Prep, for wins by an active coach and third for all-time wins, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.  

Nationally Matthews is ranked 22^nd of the 5,517active high school softball coaches putting him in the elite top 1%.

A diverse crowd of friends, former players, and school district employees, led by Troy Ingersoll the Chairman of the School Board and E. Wayne Gent the Superintendent for St. Lucie Public Schools were on hand to honor the man they don’t just call “coach”, but that they call “friend”.

LPA Athletic Director, Ms. Jill Cory, who coordinated the event, spoke of how she has known Mathews for 25-years,  at first calling him a rival and now calling him a true friend.

Superintendent Gent reflected on how as a coach at Fort Pierce Central, he and others would marvel at achieving 100 wins and never thought that 500 wins were even possible, while School Principal Henry Sanabria spoke of the tough love that Mathews is famous for.

Senior Madison Walsh
puts the ball over the
centerfield fence for the
Greyhounds third home
run of the first inning.

And Ingersoll, who is also the youth minister at Westside Church where Mathews and wife Karen attend, spoke of how dedicated he is to the kids in St. Lucie County.

But, it is the people that Mathews has mentored over the past 29 seasons that bring a tear to his eye as he has watched them grow and start families of their own, some of who had made their way to Greyhound Field to pay tribute the ‘ol ball coach.

There was Taylor Strickland, a star pitcher for the Lady Greyhounds who led the team to the State Final Four a few years ago, Jennifer Pottorff a successful small business owner and assistant softball coach at John Carroll, Paul Langel a Captain in the St. Lucie County Fire District, college instructor and Mathews trusted assistant coach as well as many others, including much of the current John Carroll High School Softball Team.

So as this year’s Greyhound team made their way to Foundation Academy in Central Florida for a doubleheader on March 11^th they knew that something special was about to happen. Coach was sitting on 498 wins and they desperately wanted to do whatever was needed to get him to 500.

Yet, they knew it would not be easy as they had defeated Foundation last year by the slimmest of margins. But this year’s team is a group of young up and coming student-athletes who are driven by success and have responded well to that tough love Principal Sanabria had spoken about.

So well in fact that the ladies tossed back to back 14-0 not hitters on that magical March day to help Mathews reach the milestone of 500 wins.

But now with Spring Break lasting a week and no home games scheduled until April 3^rd the community and his players would have to wait to honor their coach.

And wait they did.

A lightning delay caused everything to be pushed back for over an hour and the first pitch didn’t come until well after 6:30.

LPA Pitcher Catlin Comer gets all of this
pitch in the second inning for the
Lady Greyhounds fourth
home run of the night.

Sophomore pitcher Caitlyn Comer made quick work of the Tigers in the top of the first setting up the surprise that no one saw coming.

LPA’s first batter was eighth-grade standout shortstop Layne Chesney who patiently waited for “her pitch” knocking the big yellow ball over the Centerfield fence to the delight of the crowd, her teammates and especially Mathews who shouted “you see what happens when you wait on it”, from the third base coaches box.

Two batters later ninth grader Ciera Clark knocked in the first of her two home runs for the night prompting Langel to yell “BOOM” from the first base coaches box.

The next batter, Senior Maddison Walsh, then put a ball way over the fence in Centerfield, just as a bench player from Martin County was retrieving Clark’s dinger causing Mathews to say in disbelief “I’ve never seen anything like this in my 29 years of coaching”, while “BOOM, BOOM” could be heard from the first base side of the field.

In next frame “BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM” was heard as this time pitcher Comer connected for a home run.

From Left: School Board Chir Troy Ingersoll, LPA Principal Henry Sanabria, Coach Roger Mathews and LPA Athletic Director Jill Cory  

And so, a night that was to be special for one reason turned into a night made special by a group of young ladies looking to give a true legend one of his best memories from a 29-year, 500 plus win coaching career!

RUN SAM RUN

FP Westwood Senior Samantha Jones stole the show at last week's St. Lucie County Track Championships where the impact of Kids at Hope filled the air at Lawnwood Stadium as students, coaching staffs, parents and fans from all of the counties six traditional public schools as well as a contingent from John Carroll High School roared with approval as she made her way around the track. And by Sams side was a non-Special Olympics student-athlete, Alma Garci, another senior at FP Westwood, encouraging her to just do her best.

April 3, 2017 – Fort Pierce, FL – When Kids at Hope Founder & Chief Treasure Hunter Rick Miller coined the slogan “All kids are capable of success – NO EXCEPTIONS” he must have been thinking of kids like Fort Pierce Westwood’s Samantha (Sam) Jones.

Sam was born with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), a very rare but severe genetic disorder that results from an abnormality on the 15^th chromosome and affects about one in 15,000 newborns each year. Putting that in perspective that equates to 0.000002% of all live births worldwide in the year 2016 alone.

Although rare, Prader-Willi syndrome is one of the ten most common conditions seen in genetics clinics and is the most common genetic cause of obesity that has been identified according to pwcf.org a California-based Foundation that supports individuals and families with the illness, along with those that care for them.

PWS is a life-long, life threating condition with no known cure that affects growth, metabolism, appetite, behavior and overall development. Many who suffer from it have no control of their appetite as their stomach never tells the brain that it’s full. For those with this debilitating illness learning disabilities are common and PWC is considered to be a mild form of mental retardation according to the National Institutes of Health. 

“When Samantha was younger I had to actually padlock the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets because she lacked that belly to brain signal”, says Sam’s mother Joan.

She has very low muscle tone and at times needs the assistance of a wheel chair because walking can be a struggle. She is in self-contained (non-mainstream) classes at FP Westwood and requires the assistance of an aide at all times. Her mother was forced to stop working to care for her. Her step father, Joe, who has raised her since she was two, is the Parts Manager for Martin County Public Schools.

Yet despite the odds being stacked against this charming young lady, Sam is a happy go lucky social butterfly who just loves to be involved.

“She understands that she is different than other kids, but that has not stopped her. She can read, write, do basic math and work on the computer. She has a boyfriend, Billy, and the two go to the Tim Tebow prom annually. She just loves to be involved”, Joan told Treasure Coast Sports Journal in an exclusive interview.

And part of that involvement includes participating in the St. Lucie County Special Olympics Unified Games where a student-athlete with a disability is paired with a not disabled student-athlete to compete in various events. For Sam that means the fifty and one-hundred-yard dashes and the four by one hundred relay.

It’s this Kids at Hope Philosophy, that every child is capable of success - no exceptions, brought to St. Lucie County by the Children's Services Council and the Executive Roundtable that enable children like Sam to wake up each day with a smile on their faces.

“Kids at Hope has become part of St. Lucie County culture. We know that providing nurturing adults help enhance resiliency in children (and adults) which decreases the factors of being "at risk". We no longer look at a child as being at risk, but look at each child's potential which gives him or her opportunities for success which is the future of hope,” according to lifelong child advocate Mrs. Kathryn Hensley, St. Lucie County School Board Member and the Chairwoman of St. Lucie’s Children's Services Council.

As Samantha stole the show at last week's St. Lucie County Track Championships the impact of Kids at Hope filled the air at Lawnwood Stadium as students, coaching staffs, parents and fans from all of the counties six traditional public schools as well as a contingent from John Carroll High School roared with approval as she slowly made her way around the track. And by Sams side was a non-Special Olympics student-athlete, Alma Garci, another senior at FP Westwood, encouraging her to just do her best.

“Creating opportunities for all students to experience what these (disabled) student-athletes experience at track meets is the essence of high school athletics.  To watch them compete, smile and enjoy the sense of teamwork and belonging.... What could be better?”, says John Lynch the Executive Director of School Transformation for St. Lucie Public Schools.

And yes it's true - All Children Are Capable of Success - NO EXCEPTIONS!