'Sponsor a Trophy, Reward a Superstar': Teen Helps Special Olympics Athletes

If you ask a child or even a skilled athlete what it feels like to receive a trophy or medal after a game, he or she will tell you there is tremendous happiness. 

Brendan Murphy, a 16-year-old student at Sleepy Hollow High School, knows that feeling well. He has played lacrosse, soccer and has been an avid skier since he was 4 years old. He is also raising money to establish a ski team at his high school. 

Now, the teen is working to bring that same feeling to a group of Special Olympics athletes who will be competing at his high school on May 18.

He is calling his project 'Sponsor a Trophy, Reward a Superstar,' or STARS.

"I know when I receive [trophies] for placing, it always makes me feel good and I can't imagine what it must feel like for them," he said. 

Sleepy Hollow High School will be the host of the Hudson Valley Special Olympics Spring Games, a track and field event that will bring about 600 athletes from all over the Hudson Valley, including Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, Orange, Ulster counties. 

Brendan has collected more than enough trophies to give out to each participant. Having started about two weeks ago, he has collected between 600 and 700 trophies, which are all neatly stacked and in abundance in his basement. 

Most of the trophies were donated by the New York Irish Dance Company, based in Tarrytown. Brendan's younger sister Caroline, who is a member of the dance company, was part of the group of talented Irish dancers who appeared on NBC's America's Got Talented last year. 

Brendan said his parents and sister have been helping him refurbish all of the trophies. He would spend hours preparing them and placing a Special Olympics sticker on each trophy. 

Kim Kaczmarek, a Sleepy Hollow High School special education teacher who also coaches the school's Pioneer League Special Olympics team, said she was immediately interested in partnering with Brendan.

"I think it is a fantastic idea and I am so impressed that he came up with it and has followed through with it so passionately," Kaczmarek said. "This is why I love working with teens – because if you give them the opportunity – they amaze you with what they can do."

She called Brendan an "incredible young man" and a shining example of the teens in the community who are more interested in giving than taking. 

Through his project, Kaczmarek said Brendan would make all 600 athletes feel like winners when they leave the event with their own trophy.

"He is making a difference by being a role model for young people his age that when you give, you not only feel good about yourself, but you make a positive impact on your community," she said. We need more young people like Brendan."

In addition to giving out a trophy to each athlete, Brendan has weaved in a second project within his STARS program. He is asking anyone willing, to help by sponsoring a trophy for $10. The money he raises would be used to establish a ski team at his high school.

"I'm hoping to get every participant a trophy and to really finally start a ski program," said Brendan, who is a ski instructor to toddlers and young children at Butternut Ski facility in Great Barrington, MA. "It would mean everything."

Currently, about 100 people have sponsored a trophy and in order for him to establish a ski program, he would need another 400 to 500 sponsors. 

The Hudson Valley Special Olympics Spring Games will be held on Saturday, May 18 at Sleepy Hollow High School. The opening ceremonies begin at 10 a.m. 

For more information and to learn how to sponsor a trophy, email Brendan Murphy at tbmurphysh@gmail.com.