'Their outlook on life is so great': Couple share life around Special Olympics

Couple share life around Special Olympics

Crystal and Tim Schuster pose for a photograph at Special Olympic Missouri's Training for Life Campus in Jefferson City.
Crystal and Tim Schuster pose for a photograph at Special Olympic Missouri's Training for Life Campus in Jefferson City.

For Tim and Crystal Schuster, working at Special Olympics Missouri is a family affair.

The couple met while they were working for SOMO, but the path they took to get into each other's lives wasn't a direct one.

"In 2010 I moved down to our Joplin office, and we didn't decide to date until I moved down there," Crystal laughed. "It just happened. I can't say what triggered it, but we eventually got married in 2012, and the rest is history."

SOMO provides sports training and athletic competitions for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

Tim is SOMO's sports and training director and has been with the organization for 15 years. He's in charge of all statewide competitions. He also handles all of the coaches' training and certifications.

SOMO has four state tournaments. Bowling and basketball are the organization's two biggest sports. The state outdoor games are coming up Sept. 25 and Oct. 2 and will be held at the SOMO campus in Jefferson City. Bocce ball and softball will take place the first weekend, while golf, tennis and flag football are scheduled the second weekend. The state bowling tournament will be in December in St. Charles.

"I used to make fun of my predecessor over how mad he got during the bowling competition, but when you have 1,000 bowlers doing a one-day competition, it's quite the undertaking," Tim said.

Tim said it was a family friend, Gary Brimer, who was SOMO sports director before Tim took the job, who got him started on his career path.

"My parents were dying for me to get out of college, and I needed an internship," Tim said. "In 1997 I became Gary's intern for the summer. At the time we were doing the summer games at Fort Leonard Wood, and it was an eye-opening event."

Brimer had a vision of putting on a sports-specific Special Olympics athletes sports camp, and he told Tim to "make it happen."

"That opened my eyes to what Special Olympics athletes can do," Tim said. "I tell people all the time I learned not to take pity on these athletes. I saw that with a little guidance and training they could do the same things you and I could and in many cases do them better. I still get looks from people when I tell them we have scratch golfers and bowlers who average 210-220. I've bowled all my life and haven't come close to that."

Tim went on to to spend 10 years on the East Coast working with minor league baseball teams and a year working for the National Basketball Association.

"I came back to SOMO in 2006 because, even in my time out east, I would try to help with Special Olympics events," Tim said. "They were always in the back of my mind."

Crystal is the SOMO Law Enforcement Torch Run and Polar Plunge coordinator and has been with the organization for 16 years.

In Missouri, 136 law enforcement agencies are active in fundraising to support the events Tim directs. Events such as Tip-A-Cop and Cops on Top are some of the main fundraising activities.

Crystal was a preschool teacher in O'Fallon when she became acquainted with SOMO.

"My best friend had a daughter who was born with Down syndrome who stole my heart, and we formed a special bond," Crystal said. "I began volunteering, and thought I would continue to teach and help out SOMO as a volunteer."

Eventually Crystal decided to leave teaching and, when she was looking for a new job, she learned SOMO was hiring. She started as an administrative assistant, working with the Torch Run.

For Tim and Crystal, the effects the SOMO children have had on them can be described as "life-changing."

"When you spend the time with them, you see how much they are capable of," Tim said.

"Their outlook on life is so great," Crystal said. "We could all take a lesson from a Special Olympics athlete. They are happy and excited to play a sport whether they think they are good at it or not. If we could enjoy the little things in life as much as they do, the world would be a better place."

The SOMO Training for Life facility on Special Olympics Drive in Jefferson City was built thanks to the efforts of supporters across the country. After being heavily damaged by the May 2019 tornado, it was the work of those same supporters that allowed the facility to reopen a year later. Tim and Crystal said that was a testament to the effect SOMO participants have on people.

"So many people think it's a one-event-a-year thing instead of actually competing year-round," Crystal said. "To have a facility like this where they can train and have health screenings done is magnificent. They can also learn how to use gym equipment in the fitness center so they can go back to their hometowns and use that same equipment there."

"Yes, it is sports, but sports is the vehicle we use to help get these kids to open up socially," Tim said. "We've had athletes start with us who were non-verbal, and over the years they've become outgoing and now speak to groups telling their stories."

As they continue to deal with COVID-19, SOMO has been working to have one-day events to limit contact. More than anything, Tim said, the athletes hope to have dances again, something that usually takes place after Special Olympics events.

"We are trying desperately to get something figured out because it turns out simply having a chance to dance means the most to many of these athletes," Tim said.

The Schusters have three daughters, who volunteer often at the SOMO facility.

"They help at events and camps, and they've made friends with athletes in their schools," Crystal said. "They've grown up with it, and it's a part of their lives."