Helmstetter and Jefferson Swim Team Are True Winners

Over his first three years of participation with the Jefferson Township High School swim team, Dougie Helmstetter won the respect and admiration of every teammate, coach and competitor he came across yet he never won a single race. Then again, he wasn't expected to. Helmstetter has Down syndrome.

Due to his special set of circumstances, it's understandable that Helmstetter isn't the fastest swimmer in the pool. In fact, he's often the slowest. But thanks to Jefferson's head coach Annie Quintavella, this special senior got to participate in every meet in 2010-11. And whether he swam his usual 50-freestyle or anchored one of the Jefferson relay teams, he was always treated to cheers by teammates and opponents alike as he did his best to sprint down the home stretch.

Quintavella said that even when there were occasions when Helmstetter participating in a race meant that another deserving swimmer would have to watch, there was never any animosity shown towards him.

"My team was an amazing team," Quintavella said. "These kids grew up with Dougie and they wanted to see him swim as much as they wanted to see themselves swim. It was important for our team, and for everyone, to see him swim and be a part of this."

Helmstetter was a good teammate in his own right as well. He taught his fellow Falcon swimmers about never giving up, staying positive and remembering to have fun.

"He (Dougie) always swam with a smile on his face and he would always be in the center of everything," Quintavella commented. "He would make us laugh or tell us a joke to make us feel better after a bad loss. He taught us so much more than we taught him."

Helmstetter's participation in races didn't come free of charge. He earned his opportunities through dedication just as any other team member would. His mother Karen insisted when he began swimming for Jefferson that he'd have to be committed. She said there were many nights this season that he wouldn't get home till well past 9 p.m. because of practice. He never missed one practice and he never missed a single meet.

Helmstetter spent his practice time in lane six (specifically reserved for him) where he would go through his own workout that Quintavella designed for him. He also had a designated aide that assisted him all four years. For his first three seasons, former Lake Forest summer swim club coach Chris Murarik was with him. This season, because Murarik had other commitments, Jefferson High physical education teacher and head baseball coach Jason Kalish assisted Helmstetter during workouts and meets.

Because of his years of hard work and determination, at some point during the course of this season Quintavella had an idea: Wouldn't it be great if Helmstetter could win just one race?

She dismissed the notion and didn't think of it again until the night before the Falcons' final meet of the year against Vernon Township a little over a month ago (Feb. 8).

During the middle of the finale against Vernon, Quintavella decided to approach Vernon's coach Megan Sweeney about her idea to have one extra special race added to the meet for Helmstetter. Sweeney loved the idea.

"I asked her, how would you feel about this, would you mind swimming another race," Quintavella said, remembering the conversation with Sweeney. "She said; let me go talk to some of my kids. And she talked to some of the kids and they were actually fighting about who would get to swim in the race."

After getting the approval by the Vernon team, Quintavella told one of the parents (Louis Pessolano) to tell everyone not to leave after the 400-meter freestyle relay, which is traditionally the last race of the meet.

After the relay finished, Quintavella told the official about the extra race after which the official made the announcement, "We have one more race: 25-meter freestyle."

The one lap sprint featured four swimmers in addition to Helmstetter, two from Jefferson and two from Vernon. Helmstetter had the fast lane, the middle lane. On one side were the two lucky Vernon entrants while on the other side were two of Helmstetter's best friends on the team, fellow seniors Lou Pessolano and Alex Rodgers.

As the starting gun sounded, everyone in attendance was on their feet and cheering as loud as their lungs would allow. It didn't matter what team you were on, it didn't matter whose parent you were. All that mattered was that moment and what it meant for Helmstetter.  

The race was over in less than a minute, and when Helmstetter touched the wall at the finish ahead of his competition, his two friends Rogers and Pessolano couldn't wait to give him the good news that he had won. He couldn't believe it.

"When he hit the wall and he looked up at me and I told him he won, I mean, the look on his face was awesome," Pessolano explained.

This was truly a moment that will not likely be forgotten by those fortunate enough to witness it in person. Helmstetter's mom was among the group of many in attendance that became very emotional about the occasion.

"There wasn't a dry eye in the house," Karen Helmstetter recalled. "Once I realized what was going on, everybody else sort of did too. We were cheering and crying. When he finished, Lou and Alex were on his side saying you beat me and Dougie's face was pure joy, and so were Lou and Alex's."

"To me I'll go to my death bed and remember that day, how so many people had come together and so many people had accepted my son. I really have no words to thank Coach Q for not letting my son be an afterthought," said Karen Helmstetter.

For the next couple of days in school, Helmstetter was walking around with his trademark smile reaching even wider than normal. It was his moment in the sun and he was soaking up every second of it.

"To see Dougie walking down the hall being so proud coming in first it was just a special couple days," noted Jefferson Athletic Director John DiColo. "These last couple weeks he has sort of gained celebrity status around here."

Even before everybody heard about the big race, Helmstetter was a pretty popular kid in school. His mom feels that being a part of the swim team certainly helped him socially at Jefferson.

"I think because of his exposure with swimming, kids came to understand he wasn't just a kid in a special class," Karen Helmstetter said. "He had something to say, he was funny, and he could tell a joke."

Karen Helmstetter referenced two individuals outside of school administrators such as DiColo as key people who helped make her son's transition into high school successful. The first person she acknowledged was her own daughter Becky. The second was Lou Pessolano.

Becky, who recently turned 18, is also a senior swimmer at Jefferson. For as long as she can remember, Becky has always been like the big sister to Dougie even though Dougie was two years older, Karen Helmstetter said. Despite Dougie's need for special educational services, he has been with Becky since the second grade after being mainstreamed into her class.

"They were very close like best friends as kids, they were always with one another doing things," Karen said. "Dougie looked up to her and she looked out for him."

Thanks to having a pool in their backyard, both Dougie and Becky learned how to swim at a young age. When she was eight, Becky had her mom sign her up for the Lake Forest summer swim team on Lake Hopatcong. Dougie, however, didn't join the Lake Forest club with his sister at first because Karen wasn’t sure if he would be allowed to participate.

It wasn't until three years later when his younger brother Corey wanted to join as a five-year old that Dougie became a member also. With her other two children now a part of the Lake Forest summer team, Karen didn't feel like it was right to leave Dougie out.

Three years later when Becky went to go sign up for the Jefferson High team, many of Dougie's friends at Lake Forest, including Pessolano, asked Becky’s mom if Dougie was going to be on the high school team too.

Upon Dougie's friends' requests, Karen asked DiColo about how she could get her son on the Jefferson swim team. DiColo believed that there was no reason he couldn't be on the team as long as the Board of Education approved the necessary funds to supply Dougie with a one-on-one aide. The Board approved their request. The rest is history. 

"Becky set the tone," Karen Helmstetter said. "If she didn't want him on the team then that would've been hard, but she was o.k. with it. And then Louis followed suit. He took Dougie under his wing. He said this is my friend Dougie and everybody said o.k. We got the message and from then on everybody just treated him as part of the team."

We've (Doug and I) been going back and forth between school and swimming since the fifth grade," Pessolano noted. "He's one of the guys."

The season officially finished for the swim team last Wednesday at its annual year-end awards banquet. Helmstetter again took center stage as his name and his special race win was mentioned in every presentation of the evening.

One of the highlights of the event was when Quintavella was given a special certificate for outstanding sportsmanship on behalf of her team. DiColo presented the certificate to Quintavella. The certificate was signed by Steve Timko, the Executive Director of the NJSIAA (governing body for athletics in New Jersey). Helmstetter was also presented with a special signed certificate from Timko as well.

In addition, Helmstetter and Pessolano were named the MVPs of the team.

And last but not least, it was also announced that each of the five seniors on the team would be receiving scholarships, including Dougie and Becky Helmstetter.

The night was a fitting end to a storybook year for Helmstetter, Quintavella and the entire Jefferson High swim team. Their accomplishments as a family and their selfless acts of kindness towards one another throughout the season are much more valuable in life than any trophy.