This Week's Mission Moment
Rachel Sweatt has not yet stepped foot inside the South Shore YMCA. Yet she is already part of our Y’s adaptive “Lob-Stars” tennis family.
Last month, I accompanied the SSYMCA Lob-Stars players as they took to the courts at the “Special Pops” tennis tournament held just outside Atlanta, GA. I was witness to the close bond the team not only has within its immediate boundaries but also with Rachel, an extremely talented 23-year-old tennis player from Arkansas.
“The (Lob-Star) players love Rachel,” said Emilson YMCA Membership Director, Michelle Daley, whose son Justin plays for the Lob-Stars and often pairs with Rachel for doubles. “And I’m sure she feels the same way towards us. She’s an amazing person, not just a great tennis player. Her story is heartbreaking.”
Born to drug-addicted parents, Rachel spent the first eight years of her life “basically locked in a closet,” said Rachel’s adoptive mother, Deby Sweatt. “She was claimed by the state after her house caught on fire when her parents were cooking methadone,” said Deby. “Firefighters found her hiding under a bush. Her teeth were rotted and she was cross-eyed. She was non-verbal.” Rachel spent a year in the Arkansas foster care program before officials asked Deby and her husband John to watch over the autistic child for a weekend. “We knew immediately we had to adopt her,” Deby said.
As a way for Rachel to get out the anger she carried from her troubled youth, John introduced her to tennis. Hitting the fuzzy yellow ball has proven the best therapy. “She plays tennis every day she can,” said Deby. “And I mean every day. She never wants to stop. The days she doesn’t play for some reason or another are very frustrating for her.”
I learned quickly of Rachel’s unending desire to play. On day one of the tournament, just moments after she had practiced with three other players for over an hour under a mid-day Georgia sun, I heard this quiet voice from behind: “Coach Bob. Coach Bob. Would you hit with me?” We couldn’t get to the stadium court fast enough. There, under the watchful eye of her ever-present teddy bear “Strawberry,” we hit for nearly an hour until we both were exhausted.
Such dedication has made Rachel one of the best players in the country, both in Special Olympics and against non-adaptive players. And knowing there are welcoming YMCAs around the country to ease the anxiety of travel means everything to Deby and John.
“The first thing we look for in whatever area we travel is a YMCA because of the warm, inviting attitude they show,” said Deby. “They open their arms to Rachel. I think of the YMCAs who took us in. We have never been turned away by the Y.”
While tennis first brought Rachel in contact with members of the Lob-Stars family, it is her warm smile and off-court gentleness that has made her one of our own at the South Shore Y.
“They are my friends,” Rachel said of the SSYMCA Lob-Stars. “They are my friends so I always want to see them.”
The feeling is mutual.
