by Tyler Sarff

I never thought I’d be an athlete in college. However, in August 2017 I started attending Bethel University’s BUILD Program. A month into the school year I was slowly adjusting to my new surroundings, and during that time I heard about Bethel’s Special Olympics Minnesota bowling team. I knew about Special Olympics Minnesota before attending Bethel University, but I didn’t know the BUILD Program had a Unified bowling team that participated at the state bowling tournament.

In the 2017 state tournament, I ended up winning my first Special Olympics Minnesota gold medal. As the rest of the year went on, I also joined BUILD’s Unified basketball team, and I applied to be an intern at Special Olympics Minnesota for my second year of the program. Being an intern with SOMN was very cool, as I got a behind-the-scenes look at how competitions are planned and I got to work at multiple events throughout the year.

In my second year at Bethel, I applied for the Unified BUILD team to become an official club at the University. Bethel’s student government had to approve it, and thankfully, I got all “yes” votes for it. A year prior to my attempt, a previous BUILD student, who is also an athlete for SOMN, tried to get the team approved as an official club but got a mixed response: half said “yes” and the other half said “no.” Some were not in favor of the idea, which wasn’t cool. I thought it was important to have a Unified club at campus because it opens the door for more inclusion.

During my first year in BUILD, I had a few classes with regular students which included integrated physical education, self defense and internships. BUILD has been around since 2015 so it was still fairly new as a program and at that time, they didn’t have a wide variety of mainstream classes to offer. In my second year in 2018, more mainstream classes were added for BUILD students to take alongside students without disabilities, and it also opened the door for an opportunity to get BUILD’s team turned into an official campus sports club.

Before I graduated from BUILD, I applied to join the Minnesota United Unified soccer team in the spring of 2019. The Loons are one of a few teams in MLS (Major League Soccer) that has a partnership with Special Olympics to form a Unified soccer team every year. The roster includes athletes with intellectual disabilities and athletes without disabilities. After I tried out, I was selected for the team and went on to play against athletes and Unified partners from Special Olympics Colorado and the Colorado Rapids.

A week after I graduated from Bethel, I flew to Denver with my Unified Loons team where we hit the pitch after the MLS pro game. We played a great game but lost in a penalty kick shoot-out 2-1. Two months later we hosted the Rapids’ Unified team at Allianz Field in St. Paul, where I had a night that will last forever in my memories. I scored our opening goal of the game in front of a great crowd of fans.

We ended up going to another penalty kick shoot-out in that game, and I scored my second goal during the shoot-out. We ended up losing that game as well with the same score from our trip in Denver, but it was a very memorable experience.

That same year, I participated in the first Unified BMX bike demo at the 2019 X Games in Minneapolis. It was really fun, and we were treated like royalty. I worked as an intern at SOMN that summer until early fall. 

We all wish we could forget 2020 when Special Olympics Minnesota, along with the rest of the world, had to cancel events because of COVID. I stayed busy by taking two online leadership classes offered by SOMN. One of them was a Global Messager class. Global Messengers are athletes who speak to groups of people and share their involvement with Special Olympics and what the organization does for their communities. I became a Global Messenger after completing the class.  

In early 2021, I became an influencer for SOMN and used my social media platforms to talk about Special Olympics events, including the Polar Plunge. Through that experience I got to meet three well-known people via Zoom sessions who have made a huge impact in my life. Each of these influencers use their platforms to spread awareness about living with disabilities:

  • Zack Gottsagen who starred in the movie “The Peanut Butter Falcon”
  • Chris Nikic, an athlete and triathlete from Special Olympics Florida who was the first person with Down syndrome to compete in the Iron Man triathlon
  • And lastly, Megan Bomgaars, who gained media attention for her inspirational video “Don’t Limit Me,” which went viral. She starred on A&E’s Emmy-winning and hit docuseries “Born This Way.” Megan is also a public speaker and an author of two books: Born to Sparkle and Born Brave. Her second book came out earlier this year.

Meeting these wonderful people was inspiring and memorable. Seeing Zack as the star in a movie opened the door for more inclusivity in Hollywood. Chris motivated me to keep exercising between competitions, plus I love to channel my inner Sonic The Hedgehog, and Megan has taught me to go after my goals and dreams. Her message “Don’t Limit Me” gave me some confidence to believe I can achieve anything, just like she did.

In 2022, I flew to Orlando, Florida, to participate in the Special Olympics USA Games. I competed as a bowler for Team Minnesota. It was a very memorable week, and we got to see Walt Disney World with our friends! I won three awards: two 4th place ribbons and a 7th place ribbon. It was fun to compete on a national stage for the first time. 

After the Games, I was eager to compete again, so I joined the OMGAA Storm team for bowling in the fall. After the bowling season wrapped up, I joined our poly hockey team in what would be my first time playing the sport since high school. We ended our season with a gold medal, which felt amazing. Then I joined our basketball team to expand my sports even further. We ended our season finishing second at the state tournament. 

After basketball ended, I joined our softball team, which has quickly become one of my favorite sports. We won gold at our state tournament. One big reason why it’s one of my favorites, aside from poly hockey, is because my stepsister and cousin played softball in high school along with many friends from Bethel.

From an intern to an athlete, I’m very proud and thankful for my time at Special Olympics Minnesota since I became involved in 2017. And there are even more exciting times are coming for SOMN! I serve on our athlete advisory council for the 2026 Special Olympics USA Gamesm which will be held here in Minnesota. I’m excited for the Games, and I’m excited for what’s to come for Special Olympics Minnesota’s future!