L.A. Kings Darryl Sutter opens up about his son with Down Syndrome

by Bruce Arthur from The Star:
The email came from a 25-year-old in New York; we’ll call him Brian. He enclosed a picture of his older brother, who we’ll call Henry. Henry is 27, and lives in Chicago. He has Down syndrome. In the picture he is looking off to the side but he is smiling, and Darryl Sutter’s arm is around him. Darryl is smiling, too.

Brian wasn’t looking for a story, and Henry doesn’t want to be famous, so their names have been changed. But Brian had just watched Sutter’s press conferences, with that plain Prairie voice and that unimpressed rubber face and the clipped short answers that are becoming famous. Brian saw people calling Sutter rude, or laughing, as if that was the measure of the man.

He knew it wasn’t, because his father once read an article that mentioned Sutter’s third child, Christopher, who has Down syndrome. The father read the piece aloud with Henry. Henry wrote Sutter a letter. Sutter was the coach of the San Jose Sharks.

Sutter wrote back by hand, on Sharks letterhead. When the Sharks came to Chicago, Brian and Henry and their father were invited to a morning skate, and Darryl met them in the stands. Not everyone knew how to speak to Henry. Darryl did.

“There’s something there between the two of them that there just isn’t with other adults,” says Brian. “Things my brother says, it just brings out the biggest smile on Darryl’s face. I’m a Blues fan, and one time (in 2012) Henry said, ‘Hey, remember when the Kings beat the Blues in the playoffs?’ And Darryl just laughed and laughed. It’s simple, but he understands.”

They exchanged more letters, over time. A letter Sutter wrote is still framed on Henry’s wall in Chicago, along with sticks, jerseys, gear from San Jose and Calgary and L.A. Henry wears a Kings jersey after every win.

“I’d rather just take care of my family in the locker room, and my family at home, and then people that I think should be taken care of,” says Sutter, in a near-empty hallway at Madison Square Garden, between Games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup final. “It makes them feel good. And that’s sort of what we’re supposed to do in our lifetime, is make people feel good. So when I get the opportunity to do that, I’ll do that.”

Community rallies around baseball player with Down syndrome

By Keith McCord, Deseret News:

Next week, it's post season tournament time for the Farmington Area Baseball League. And for the Angels, who are in the Pony Division, they're hoping to turn their season around and win the trophy.
One of the players is extremely excited. He's number 12, Blake Curtis. But everybody calls him "Blakee."
For the 17-year-old right fielder and sometimes pitcher, Wednesday's game was just another game. Blake's been playing ball since he was about 5, and he can't wait to get to the ball park.
"I have to be really careful about game day," laughs Jeff Curtis, Blake's father and coach. "As soon as I tell Blake there's a game, he'll put his uniform on. Most times, I come home from work and the game isn't for three hours, he's already home with his uniform on saying, 'Come on, let's go play.'"
Blake has Down syndrome, a chromosomal condition in which extra genetic material causes delays in a child's mental and physical development. Curtis has two children with Down syndrome. He said through experience he has learned that with children with disabilities, parents have to start early doing activities or there's no opportunity for the children to develop skills.
"We thought we'd try to go through the hard times, so we could get to this point," he said, "and it's been worth it."
He said the most important thing with anyone with a disability is to let them set their own limits. Not everyone can play baseball, he said, but some of them can, so people should let them play.
The league rules have been modified somewhat for him. For example, when he's batting, if the pitch is outside the strike zone and he swings and misses, it's still called a "ball."
"If it's over his head and he swings, it's a ball," explained Curtis. "But if it's in the strike zone, it's a strike no matter what he does. But that does two things: it forces the pitcher to throw strikes and it gives Blake a chance to go up and wail away and see what happens. And he's hit pretty good, he's done pretty well."
The team is also allowed to have 10 players on the field. "The reason we asked for that, and I've never had a parent say it, it's never been an issue, but I never wanted a parent to come and say, 'Well, why is my son sitting down because the boy with Down syndrome is playing," Curtis said.
Blake didn't hit the home runs he was hoping for that night, but he got on base a couple of times and scored. The Angels have wrapped up their 12-game regular schedule, and it was a tough year with three wins, eight losses and a tie. But the post-season starts Monday and the team has new optimism.
Blake's dad said there have been some difficult learning moments on the field through the years. Blake used to throw the bat, instead of dropping it after he hit a ball. And the first time he got hit by a pitch, he got mad and didn't want to go to first base. He wanted to stay at the plate and keep swinging.
Blake plays each game with great enthusiasm. Curtis credits that to all the players, parents and the league for giving Blake the chance to play.
"It's just been a lot of fun because everybody's been so good to him," he said, getting a little emotional. "These kids especially, they've supported him, rallied around him when he bats or when he pitches. (It's) been a lot of fun."
Curtis is grateful for the opportunity his son has been given. "That's all he ever wanted. That's all we wanted to see."
Blake and the Angels now have an opportunity to win the league championship next week.
"When we started, I never thought we'd get past the pitching machine," Curtis said. "He's faced a real pitcher and done really well. It's amazing what kids are capable of if you just give them the opportunity and get out of their way."

Rocky Mountain High's secrect weapon

From denverpost.com

Rocky Mountain High School baseball coach Scott Bullock never has had to search for his team's character. It was there when the Lobos won the past four big-school titles with skill, class and academic acclaim. They're in the mix for a fifth this spring.

Perhaps that's because Bullock, from age 6, learned to grow up fast. It was then his older brother, Dean, had a diving accident that led to his becoming a quadriplegic. Six months after his brother's accident, his mother died. His brother passed away in January at age 48.

As for his identity, the person Bullock ultimately became as an adult has also been greatly shaped by his son, Tagg, who will celebrate his seventh birthday next month. A short, stocky bundle of energy bound for first grade next year, Tagg was born with Down syndrome, a condition caused by the presence of an extra copy of the 21st chromosome. He has impairment of cognitive ability and physical growth as well as the distinctive facial features associated with Down syndrome, but Tagg's ever-busy, well-rounded father couldn't be prouder.

"We didn't know about it until he was born. We were thrilled to have a child," Bullock said of himself and his wife, Michelle. "Not knowing a lot about Down, not knowing enough that he had special needs, was extremely painful. Our emotions were mixed."

Bullock, 40, had been shocked and shaken before by unexpected news, so why should greeting his unexpected special guy have been any different?

"It was tough," he said. "The toughest thing for me was that he wasn't the kid you were expecting. That was hard. But not for one second did we ever lack the love that we feel for this child."

Bullock, a native of Torrington, Wyo., who teaches health and physical education at Rocky Mountain, had encountered Lobos students with Down syndrome and calls them "great kids."

Tagg's presence seems to bring out the best in others, creating a balance of caring and feeling fortunate for themselves.


He is a regular visitor to Lobos' games and practices, where he has free rein to go through virtually every players' bat bag. Throwing the ball or hitting? Forget it. All he wants is a ride when the cart is used to drag the infield and the chance to roam from player to player.

"The guys are very patient with him," Bullock said.

Said Rocky Mountain senior pitcher-outfielder Eric Ferguson: "It makes us realize that everything you've got is important, and we're lucky."

Rocky Mountain athletic director Wayne Moddelmog sees the gift Tagg provides the school.
"That whole relationship that Scott has with Tagg and Tagg has with our baseball community and our Rocky Mountain High community has really been a neat thing," he said. "I think it really puts life into perspective."
Said Lobos pitching coach Glen Schwab: "(Tagg) and Coach have such a love affair."

Don't underestimate Tagg. He's strong, Bullock said. Likes to go back and forth in the swing in the family backyard. And keep him away from the pizza, ice cream and hot dogs.

"He brightens up your day," Lobos senior pitcher Chris Bonk said.
Added Lobos senior pitcher-infielder Jess Amedee, "He's unbelievable, a great little kid who makes everyone happy. He has a ball, and it's awesome."


"Scott teaches the kids more than just baseball," Moddelmog said.
The team is always looking for ways to give back throughout the Fort Collins community. After last week's victory over Chaparral, Bullock and his father presented a $5,000 check to Craig Rehabilitation Center, which gave his brother so much over 34 years. The money came from his brother's foundation.
Schwab got misty-eyed when recalling it while watching Bullock parade Tagg through the infield after a game Tuesday.

"And that's why that guy right there is the best at what he does," he said, pointing at Bullock.
Bullock will settle for second, but only if it involves standing right behind his son.

"Tagg has such a tremendous outlook on life," Bullock said. "We can all learn something from him."