CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The family of Chase Stroud, who is an athlete from Iredell County, won this year's 'Family of the Year Award' from Special Olympics North Carolina.
The Stroud family took home the award from the organization's 2023 leadership summit in Durham, North Carolina, where Special Olympics leaders from across the state met in late August.
Stroud started training and competing in bowling with Special Olympics Iredell County in 2016 and later joined the basketball team when his father, Randy Stroud, became a volunteer coach.
"When I was in high school, I had friends to talk to,” Chase said in a statement, adding, “After I graduated, they all moved away and it was hard to keep in touch with them. I sat at home and did not do a lot, until a friend of ours told us about a group that bowled on Tuesdays. I met several people that day and it evolved from there.”
In their first state-level competition, the basketball team earned a silver medal and went on to win two gold medals at the Summer Games in 2018 and 2023.
“After we went to the first competition, we were hooked. His sense of independence and self-confidence went through the roof. He was immediately at home with them," Chase’s mother, Susan Stroud, said in a statement.
She is a certified bocce and swim coach for Special Olympics Iredell County, which she also serves as a member of the local steering committee.
Her grandson, Evan Crater, is also a volunteer. Crater helps out as one of the unified partners, which are individuals without intellectual disabilities who train and compete alongside Special Olympics athletes.
“Had he known about this when he was younger, what a difference it would have made,” Chase's mom said, adding, “Then again, I think of how much more appreciative we are now, not having had those chances. He’s healthier, emotionally and physically, he’s far more independent. To see he can do all these things with sports through practice, it pays off.”
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