HAMILTON – This weekend, the Colgate University Women’s Hockey team will dedicate a pair of home games to its annual community service project, all in an effort to raise autism awareness and to benefit Autism Speaks, the Family Resource Network, the Kelberman Center and Project Oz.
The team’s inspiration? Norwich High School junior and Colgate Women’s Hockey Team Manager Kati Williams.
Kati, who was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome in 2005, has been an avid fan of the team for approximately five years, according to her mother Jacki. In the past two years, the local student has performed as a team manager for Colgate Women’s Hockey.
Asperger’s Syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder characterized by difficulties in social interaction – in addition to restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior – which differs from other forms of autism in that linguistic and cognitive development are relatively unaffected.
“Kati and her family have become a special part of our team and someone that we all look up to for her courage,” stated Colgate University Assistant Athletic Director Shaun Richards. “We all have seen her progress thanks to the great people at Norwich High School and the Family Resource Network.”
Partnered with Autism Speaks, Colgate University has formed its own chapter of Autism Speaks U, to assist the college in educating the community on autism and its impact on families and lives. Launched in 2008, Autism Speaks U is an innovative, collaborative program for college students who wish to raise funds and awareness through special events and promotions for Autism Speaks, added Richards.
As a team manager, Williams’ duties include opening the door to the hockey rink as players and coaches come on and off the ice, organizing the sticks and pucks prior to the game and running any errands the coaches or players might require, said her mother.
“Kati just wanted to have a little more involvement than that of a fan and we’ve been lucky to have her,” said Colgate Women’s Hockey Coach Scott Wiley. “She was a little quiet at first, but you could tell there was a definite interest there. She’s become more outgoing as time has gone on and we’ve seen tremendous growth; that’s been the really cool thing about it.”
Williams’ time with the team is extremely important to the NHS junior, said her mother, and she typically gets to the rink an hour to an hour-and-a-half before game time, as she doesn’t want to be late. That dedication is evident in everything Kati does for the team, she added.
“She’s been watching the team for about five years now and she goes to all of the home games and as many away games as possible,” said Jacki Williams. “The minute hockey season is over, the countdown begins for the next season. If summer and hockey season coincided, it would be Kati’s perfect world.”
As to the importance of the Colgate Women’s Hockey team to the young honor roll student, her mother said she’d choose a hockey game over a trip to a theme park, or just about anything for that matter. Her favorite part of being a team manager – getting to know the team and coaches rather than just watching them play.
Coach Wiley said his players all consider Kati a valuable member of the team, and have since she first became involved. Thanks to that close relationship, there’s been a whirlwind of support for the autism awareness project, he added.
“Autism is now diagnosed in one in every 110 children,” stated Wiley. “That’s a staggering number and it also means that, if you don’t know someone with autism already, you will soon. It’s time for all of us to get involved.”
According to her mother, Kati simply wants people to understand that every person with autism is unique, all have their personal differences and every one of them can accomplish whatever it is they wish to. For Kati, who’s currently on track to receive an Advanced Regents Degree, that means attending a four year college once she graduates.
“There are definitely struggles,” said Jacki Williams. “But that’s her dream.”
The Colgate Women’s Hockey team will take on Rensselaer at 7 p.m. Friday and Union at 4 p.m. Saturday in Starr Rink, Hamilton. Friday’s game will be televised on Time Warner Cable Sports and, in an effort to Light Up Starr Rink Blue, any fan wearing light blue – the color which represents autism awareness – will get in for free. The team will also wear special jerseys for both games, which will subsequently be auctioned off following Saturday’s game versus Union. The goal is to draw 1,000 fans and raise over $5,000.
For more information on the Colgate Women’s Hockey team’s autism awareness project, visit www.colgate.edu/autism.