It’s cold and overcast in Jacksonville, Florida for the NIRSA Flag Football National Championships, December 16 - 18. 39 miles southwest of the University of North Florida there’s excitement at the Clay County Regional Sports Complex with 250 acres and eight playing fields. There are multiple colleges and universities from around the country, including five Special Olympics Unified Sports® teams, playing for a chance to capture the national championship they’ve worked so hard to get.
The tournament's first day is pool play, a chance for each team to shake their nerves and settle into their respective strategies. Several teams are back at the tournament a year after competing at Oklahoma State in 2023, while fresh faces from Mississippi State make an appearance. The bracket is strong.
CJ Haerter is the assistant coach for the University of Utah and a Special Olympics Utah athlete himself. Almost immediately his presence was felt. Whether he was high-fiving people on the sidelines, encouraging athletes and partners on the field, or making friends with players from other universities, he was clearly a Special Olympics celebrity. Alongside him was a volunteer member of the experience committee, Rachel Vermeltfoort, who is also a graduate of the University of Utah and currently a graduate assistant at West Virginia University. She was excited to reconnect with CJ after developing a relationship during her undergraduate studies.
“I met CJ when the Unified team started [at the University of Utah],” says Vermeltfoort, who founded the Club at Utah. “We just clicked and have been super close. We still talk on the phone and catch up occasionally, and we got to catch up while he was here.”
CJ is known as someone who takes full advantage of opportunities presented to him and he lived up to that reputation on day one of the tournament. In a display of inclusion, CJ job-shadowed Vermeltfoort on the tech committee. Helping collect stats for games, he also served as a hype man for teams across multiple divisions. “Maryland was doing really good, so we spent the first half on one side and to stay as neutral as possible moved to the other side,” Vermeltfoort says with laughter in her tone. “When we moved to the other side, Maryland was still doing well, and he was still cheering for Maryland even though we were on the other team’s side.” Nobody seemed to care though, CJ was making everyone smile.
It was a moment in time when CJ got to represent not only himself but all Special Olympics athletes. Echoes of people asking, “where’s CJ?” or “has CJ played yet?” could be heard throughout the complex.
As bracket play begins, there is also a familiar face to CJ on the field—his sister Rachel, a Unified partner for Utah. In fact, there are two sets of athlete and partner siblings representing the Utes, with brothers Zach, a Unified partner, and Jacob Schreiter also on the team. Each of them is excited to be playing in the national championships. But it’s more about the memories made with each other than anything else.
“Oh yeah, it is a special moment. To be able to play a sport that we both grew up watching when we were just little kids. I grew up as a little boy watching football with my dad; to play alongside my brother is just a surreal moment. And playing for a school we both love and grew up watching as kids just shows how much we love doing this and I hope other siblings who see this realize you don’t have a lot of time with your brother. At times, you might fight and argue, but you have a chance to be on the field with your brother,” he says after pausing to collect his thoughts.
CJ says laughing, “My sister’s a really good athlete, she better make big plays.” Rachel would do just that for the Utes, showcasing skill on defense with four tackles and a 1-point conversion following a touchdown. Jacob, who stands over six feet and has the build of a tight end, was having the tournament of his life finishing with two receiving touchdowns, three interceptions and five tackles. He earned MVP in one of the games. His brother Zach could be seen multiple times encouraging his older brother, holding him accountable and contributing to the game.
“It was great,” Zach says about sharing the field with his brother who is six years his elder. Without Unified sports, playing organized sports together would not be possible. “It was just great.”
Zach was clapping his hands, communicating with Jacob, and at times, pulling him aside to have one-on-one talks. Rachel, Jacob and Zach all excelled on the field. CJ was vocal from the sideline, even joking and making a stressful moment less tense. This type of success has been years in the making. A spot in the national championship was on the line.
There are minutes left in the semifinal, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln leads Utah 27-18. Regardless of what the final score was going to be, there was a lot of pride and self-belief coming from the Utes' sideline. From where the program started to where they are in 2024, the common word used between teammates and coaches was “growth.”
“Growth, that’s what I love to see,” Blain Spencer, head coach of Utah, says. “This is my second year now coming to this tournament and this is Utah’s third year. It’s just growth from year one to year two to year three and that’s one thing we are understanding. It’s a different level of ball game for us and I think understanding that we are good enough to compete with anyone here is important.”
“I think they have grown in their intensity which props to them,” Vermeltfoort says about the program that holds a place in her heart. “I can see their competitive energy coming out more and more which is super cool.”
On the final drive of the game, the Haerter siblings stood together on the sideline. CJ steps onto the field. Lined up in his defensive back position, he gets a few snaps on his own. Rachel then lines up on defense with her brother.
“We grew up attached at the hip, everyone thought we were twins because we were always together,” Rachel says. “It was awesome seeing CJ go onto the field, he’s just an incredible athlete and person and just raises the spirits of the team. Just being able to play with him was so fun, being able to share that last play of the tournament with him.”
The Utes season would end in the semifinals and the team is now back in Salt Lake City. Zach and Rachel will continue school, while CJ and Jacob will continue to set the example for other Special Olympics athletes across the North America Region. They’ll all start to prepare for the next tournament.
This year they were one game away from the national championship. Next year, they aim to reach it.
