Field of Dreams
Sam Sawyer loves Victory Junction, the place he says “you can hang out with people without being the different one and make friends without the barriers of everyday life.”
We found out that Sam also loves playing soccer, something that isn’t always easy for someone who uses a wheelchair. Along with Eckrich and Richard Petty Motorsports, a plan was put together to achieve his dream of playing soccer. Eckrich has always focused on helping military families, so the Sawyer’s were one of three finalists for a special giveaway. The requirement was that each family had to have a child who is a Victory Junction camper.
What Sam didn’t’ know is that he was selected! Quietly, with only his mother Terri being in on the surprise, we lured Sam and his family to Indianapolis for the 2014 Brickyard 400. Once there Sam received an amazing gift when he was presented with a Petty blue, number 43 Strike Force Power Chair. Not only is the chair very fast (it is a Petty chair after all!), but the front bar is detachable to make it easier to kick a soccer ball. His dad Mike says that new chair changed Sam’s life.
“The power wheelchair that he was presented not only made him more competitive but helped him regain some of his confidence that his disease had taken away.”
A couple of weeks later when Sam was at camp he remembers, “during NASCARnival night I had Richard and Kyle Petty checking out the scrape marks on my new power soccer chair that the Richard Petty and Aric Almirola gave me just two weeks before.” Clearly Sam loves the chair and the scrapes prove he uses it in a big way. In fact, Mike Sawyer says this past summer (2015), “during the national soccer tournament Sam made the all-tournament team and was his teams MVP and a runner up for the tournament MVP.”
Feeling free from limitations is what Victory Junction is all about. “Victory Junction is a place that we are able Sam is able to go and be a kid not the kid in the wheelchair. As a parent we know and have the confidence that he is well cared for. It is only place that Sam’s goes that they understand his condition and his equipment without us having to teach or explain it (we don’t even get this at the local hospital).” – Mike Sawyer, Sam’s Dad
As Sam will tell you, “The camp is a place that you can hang out with people without being the different one. You can fish, bowl, and make friends without the barriers of everyday life.”