Below is the transcript of Kayla Harrison’s speech she delivered at this week’s Breakfast With Champions benefiting Special Olympics Oregon. Kayla is a basketball and volleyball coach for Multnomah County. It is my privilege and an honor to be here this morning to share my side of the story in the amazing world of Special Olympics Oregon.
If I were asked to give this speech less than six months ago, my words would be heartfelt and passionate but in all honesty, it has always been difficult for me to put into words why I do what I do because I work countless hours and get paid in hugs, not a paycheck.
I’ve always told people that I love what I do and I love my athletes dearly. It’s simple and true. But today I stand here with a newfound perspective on the world and what I do for SOOR. I now have more than a few words to explain why I love my work at Special Olympics.
But let me back up a little bit and explain why I’m standing up here today. My sophomore year of college, I sat in Kelly Coates class completely obliviously to the world of Special Olympics however, it only took two classes of her casually bringing up the need for coaches and I was magically signed up as a volleyball coach.
I went online before ever meeting my athletes and took in as much information as I possibly could because I knew I was entering into unknown territory and as a college student, obviously I thought a Google search would clarify it all. But the one statement or I should say volunteer oath that inspired and continues to inspire me as a coach is "I promise to give the time in my life so that Special Olympics athletes can have the time of their lives. I promise to support Special Olympics not just as an expression of charity, but as a form of respect for my fellow human beings. I promise to spread the word of volunteerism because, in giving, I receive so much more in return."
So with these inspiring words, I was ready to go.
However, when I walked into that gym the first day I was instantly petrified that I was going to do absolutely everything wrong and would quickly be fired.
As a 19 year old, I knew I was walking into a gym full of the individuals that had endeared the butt of countless crude jokes and hateful words, so my plan was to be quiet and stay below the radar and simply observe because I was doubting they would accept an outsider from such an unforgiving society.
But my plans lasted about 4 seconds. I was greeted with hugs and got the 20 questions, including if a boyfriend would be joining me and if not, could we get married. No ring so clearly, they got their answer. The gym was loud and I made it even louder with running drills and scrimmages. Within a 2 hour time period, my life was forever changed and I was hooked.
My job as the Sports Manager of Multnomah County in all honesty, has provided me with an addiction to starbucks and my blackberry but the work I put in pays off not for me but the volunteers and athletes. I love being behind the scenes and getting new volunteers involved as coaches, helping and watching them go through the exact process I did. Hopefully minus a few marriage proposals, but still experiencing that unconditionally love and respect our athletes give and then getting them hooked as a coach
And if you ask any of the athletes on my team you will learn in .5 seconds that they run and train more than any other team, especially if they say bad words or drink soda. But the best pay off for all the hard work is that we get to dance at timeouts during competition and I get to bake really amazing cupcakes for them, their words, not mine. We work hard and progress for 10 weeks to do our absolute best at competition and get those medals placed around their necks.
Which brings me to one of my favorite memories from Special Olympics.
One of the opposing teams my volleyball athletes faced was not evenly matched to our skill level. This team was thrilled to simply serve the ball over the net and to get a pass or two over in a game. My team is full of very talented yet stubborn individuals so I sometimes struggle keeping their attitudes in check when facing a team with lower skill level but one girl that stood 4'11 did the speaking for me.
The coach told me prior to the game that she has never hit the ball over the net, not once. She plays because she simply loves it. With the score at a significant difference, my team served the ball over with grace, not power. The 4'11 volleyball player, whom has never hit the ball over the net, got the serve right to her and she bumped the ball over to our side and the ball hit the ground on our side without anyone touching it.
I've never heard such excitement come out of such a small body. The gym erupted as the game came to an exciting halt as everyone, including my team, hugged her, cheered and watched her body shake and tears fall from under her glasses.
There was not one person in that gym that wasn't fighting back tears or that didn't have chills covering their body.
For five minutes the world belonged to this one Special Olympics athlete.
And this ladies and gentlemen, is the one of the million reasons I absolutely love my job as a coach.
These competitions mean the world to our athletes and volunteers. We train all season and they can’t wait to showcase their abilities and coaches are beyond excited to witness the hard work pay off. Since I have been involved with Special Olympics I have only experienced one competition on the State level. It was so exciting and a great way to end a season. However, we were all devastated when budget cuts prevented the competition from returning. We made do and amped up the regional competitions as much as physically possible but the level of excitement since it was announced that Summer State Games would be returning has blown our normal level of energy out of the water.
Now, as I said in the beginning, my speech would be completely different six months ago and six months ago this is where I probably would end my speech and if you are sitting there thinking… yep you’re right, I promise it’s worth it.
Less than six months ago I suffered a traumatic brain injury and fractured my 7 of my vertebras along with a slew of other injuries when I fell 3 stories. I spent the first week fighting for my life, the first month fighting for a hint of normalcy, the next five adapting to a new life of seizures and memory loss and now I stand here back in the game.
Every single doctor that has met me and read my chart has told me, I should not be alive or even walking, I usually tell them "well, that’s rude" but that’s beside the point.
My world completely changed because my injuries were not visible and were completely affected my cognitive abilities. I appeared the same on the outside because I was lucky enough to not break the money maker, but when I tried to do any sort of normal interaction or simple everyday tasks, my brain simply did not function correctly and I still struggle today.
I now have a disability that some of my athletes are diagnosed with and in one heartbeat my life was left to fate and my perspective on everything I’ve ever thought I knew about Special Olympics changed.
Our athletes struggle to be accepted into our society because of something that is completely out of their control.
They have thoughts, wonderfully, beautiful thoughts that simply cannot be expressed because of misfiring neurons
They are so unbelievably intelligent yet doubted instantly because of their appearance.
They are so talented as athletes but are ridiculed because of their disabilities.
As I experienced first hand with a brain injury, it is a battle within yourself to put on a front as best as you can to appear normal and to not show that you are struggling to keep up with the outside world because as we know, our society is not very forgiving to differences. Any type of disability is not confined to your medical chart, it is emotional, frustrating and can at times be unbearable.
With all my heart and honesty I will tell you our athletes are the most inspiring and amazing people you will ever meet and our my heroes.
This is why the work I do with Special Olympics is the best thing I have ever done. Special Olympics provides a safe haven to everyone with an intellectual disability, we turn no one away and charge them nothing. However, the most important part is that within our community we all understand that the internal and external battles are happening but once you’re in that gym or on the field everything about you is accepted, cheered and embraced.
And we expect and witness nothing short of greatness.
Thank you.
- Kayla
Make sure to check out all the photos from this year’s Breakfast with Champions on our Facebook Page.
Two of our very own Project UNIFY Oregon youth leaders, Chris Sullivan and Skylar Sharp from Forest Grove High School are attending the 2011 Special Olympics Global Youth Activation Summit in Athens, Greece. Also joining Chris and Skylar from Forest Grove High School is Adaptive PE teacher, Jill Hertel, as well as over 100 other young people with and without intellectual disabilities, representing 30 different countries. These youth are all committed to making a difference in their schools and communities through Special Olympics. 
