When Jacob Craft joined the unified volleyball team from West Orange as a sixth-grader, he had no idea the teammates surrounding him still would be by his side 12 years later.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craft, now 23, and many of the same players who met in middle school have grown into adults together. They have graduated high school, began careers and even taken on fatherhood.<\/p>\n
But every year when the next season began, they have returned to the volleyball court because of their love for the sport and for one another.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When they received the invitation last year to represent Team Florida at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games, they agreed to commit an entire year \u2014 rather than the usual three-month commitment \u2014 to the sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Every Sunday, they gathered in Hamlin Middle School\u2019s gym for practice in preparation for their second Special Olympics appearance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That dedication paid off when Westside Team Florida captured the gold medal at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota Thursday, June 25 \u2014 four years after winning the title at the 2022 games in Orlando.\u00a0<\/p>\n
NERVE-WRACKING FINISH\u00a0<\/p>\n
Being invited to compete in the 2026 Special Olympics turned Westside Team Florida\u2019s head coach Wilma Wright\u2019s eight-year dream of traveling as a team into a reality.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did the trips where you go to Disney and you play at ESPN \u2014 and all that was awesome,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I really wanted them to be able to showcase their talent on a big stage, which I knew they would do well. I just wanted them to be able to fly somewhere and play.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her dream came true when the team boarded the plane to Minnesota and Craft boarded his first flight. He was the only one who hadn\u2019t flown before. He said he wasn\u2019t nervous and simply watched a movie to pass the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Outside of the travel, this year\u2019s Special Olympics showed the players just how much fight they have within them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The team first had to get through pool play before they were seeded for the final day of the Special Olympics and encountered its first hurdle there: Team Michigan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before playing Team Michigan Wednesday, June 24, Team Florida held a 6-0 record.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They were unstoppable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wright said her team\u2019s athletes \u2014 the players with intellectual disabilities \u2014 have exceptional skill. The partners, the players without intellectual disabilities, compete at a comparable level, perfectly reflecting the intended design of unified sports. The team also had the best hair of the Special Olympics, Team Michigan told them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Team Michigan had more talented partners.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first set was a true nail-biter. Traditional indoor volleyball games are played to 25 points \u2014 Team Florida won 36-34 over Team Michigan. Craft said it was the highest scoring game he\u2019d ever played. The team then dropped the second before winning the third and the next game later that day to take the highest seed in pool play.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the championship game, Team Florida once again met with Team Michigan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nerves took over, and Florida dropped the first set. Wright remembered looking at the court and seeing players physically shaking from the nerves. But rather than continuing to panic, they trusted in the bonds they had crafted over 12 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe main thing was just calm down and play your game,\u201d Wright said. \u201cOur team passes, sets and spikes. They\u2019re really controlled so don\u2019t get nervous. Just play your game.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Trusting in one another carried them to their second Special Olympics gold medal. When Team Michigan failed to hit the ball over the net and the final point dropped, the celebration erupted instantly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey just really lost their minds,\u201d Wright said. \u201cIt was so close the entire time and then we finally got the last point. I was like, \u2018That just happened.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
UNIFIED THROUGH LAKEVIEW<\/p>\n
The two-time Special Olympics gold medalists\u2019 journey began out of Lakeview Middle School, where Wright taught physical education and coached volleyball. After she learned about Special Olympics unified volleyball, she recruited students from her volleyball team as partners to play alongside Special Olympics athletes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craft attended Ocoee Middle School but discovered the team through the Special Olympics community after meeting Wright.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nine of those original 12 players still are together.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing they stayed together all the way through high school,\u201d Wright said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of different kids over the years, and high school kind of pulls you one way or the other. But those guys have stuck it out. They\u2019re just such good friends and they love the sport of volleyball.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Over time the bond has strengthened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craft said the biggest difference between the Olympic team now compared to in middle school is maturity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re calmer,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe we were more rambunctious back in middle school.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019s played eight Special Olympics sports, including stand-up paddle-boarding, golf and flag football, but volleyball has had his heart the longest. It\u2019s a sport he never wants to give up because of the players within it, which is why he agreed to the year of volleyball practices on top of working full time and other sports.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The team is so united that setter Joshua Simard, who has a 6-month-old, gave up his first Father\u2019s Day with his family to be with his team family.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the dedication,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n
Being able to travel to Minnesota for this year\u2019s Special Olympics united them even more. Some of their best moments were playing Uno, which Timothy Bracht won by far, seeing the Mall of America together, sharing team breakfasts every morning and enjoying one another\u2019s company while they missed their families on the 10-day trip.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For Wright, who retired from teaching six years ago but continues coaching the unified volleyball team, the relationships are what matters the most.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve known them since they were little,\u201d she said. \u201cI always call them my sons.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Looking at side-by-side photographs from middle school and the recent Special Olympics USA Games, it\u2019s shocking to see how far everyone has come and there aren\u2019t any plans to let up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They are looking to compete in USA Volleyball tournaments next year for Memorial Day weekend and continue to play in a tournament each year to eventually earn another bid as Team Florida in the Special Olympics USA Games for 2030.<\/p>\n
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