Deb Schauer

By JASON LUTH
Hub Sports Writer

KEARNEY - No, it's not magic.

Kearney special education teacher Deb Schauer has only 24 hours a day to work with - just like the rest of us.

But Schauer does a lot more work than the average person, and most of it is provided free of charge.

Schauer, the 2003 Freedom Award winner in the Sports Category, is a founding member of the Kearney Special Olympics program.

Since 1989, she has been a volunteer coach and conducted after-school practices three times a week.

"You squeeze it in when you can," Schauer said of her nonstop schedule. "If it's something you love doing, you can always find the time."

In addition to her volunteer work, Schauer is a full-time teacher at Kearney's Horizon Middle School.

In his nomination letter, retired HMS Principal Jerry Menke said excitement is Schauer's greatest asset.

"You can feel her sincerity for her students," Menke said. "When her students win a ribbon or medal, they wear them with pride. When her students go to the Special Olympics, the school always wishes them well."

Menke said Schauer is a tireless fund-raiser who believes her students need to be dressed as all athletes are dressed.

"She raised enough money to purchase uniforms and sweats for all her team members," he said. "Deb has never been paid or asked for pay for any of the time she has spent coaching and working with her students."

The time required to keep the Kearney Special Olympic program operating is considerable. It's a year-around job that takes 10 volunteer coaches.

"The benefits of Special Olympics are wonderful," Schauer said. "It gives these athletes a chance to compete. I think that's very important."

The program offers nine sports and is open to any athlete age 8 and older.

Preparation is an important part of all athletics, and the Special Olympic program is no different.

"We hold practices for each competition, and we are required to have at least eight weeks of training in each sport we participate in," Schauer said. "Kearney offers a variety of sports. In fact, we are probably one of the few communities that offers as many sports as we do."

Those sports include aquatics, bocce, soccer, power lifting, bowling, roller-skating, basketball, equestrian events and gymnastics.

Schauer's group competes in several competitions each year in Kearney.

"We keep getting many of the same people back year after year because they love it," she said of Kearney's competitions. "The athletes truly enjoy what they are doing, so that makes it fun for everyone."

But the season doesn't end here.

Schauer, the public relations coordinator for Area 3 of Special Olympics, takes a team to the State Games in Omaha for five days every summer. She traveled to the World Games in 1995 and 1999 as a gymnastics coach.

"It starts as a local thing," Schauer said. "But it can take them way beyond that."

Schauer said the program has had plenty of help along the way.

University of Nebraska at Kearney professor Paul Bishop's adapted physical education classes has provided an "extra set of hands" for the Special Olympic program.

"Those guys are a huge help," she said. "We wouldn't be able to do as much as we do without them."

e-mail to:
jason.luth@kearneyhub.com