St. Cloud Tech Gymnastics Coaching Duo Overcome Odds To Be Champs

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Last week at the University of Minnesota Pavilion, they did it.

And this week, they were still giddy about the accomplishment.

The St. Cloud Tech Gymnastics Team is state champions.

"It wasn't like a given that we were going to win. We had to have the meet of our lives, and we did," team member Kalley Thompson said. "Doing that was like amazing for us, but also being able to give that to them was like a great feeling."

"Them" are their co-ed coaches: Joel Stark-Haws and his wife, Colleen. They were high school sweethearts in 1991. They have been coaching together ever since.
Colleen was diagnosed in 2006 with multiple sclerosis.

"The first year that we're down at the state tournament with this wonderful tech program, I start dealing with some issues with my walking. Some issues with my health," Colleen said.

Just a year into it, she had to move to a wheelchair. But that is not the point.

See, the real story is that they did not quit. Their marriage got stronger; their coaching never took a break.

"The passion of gymnastics is, you know, has kept us just to live with it and to deal with it," Joel said. "And we've had great teams in the past and great kids."

And that is why when the won the state title, there was such raw emotion from the team, because they understood their coach.

"It was a really good feeling, and it made me feel special," team member Brin Pauly said. "Just that she has so much support in us, and that we can like be proud of everything that we do, and just thankful that she's still here."

These girls help carry their coach, and their coach got a lift from them.

"We just looked in control, we just looked happy, confident and that we were celebrating," Colleen said. "And nothing was going to get us down."

It is amazing what sports can do to give purpose and find out what is possible.

"To give her a chance to thank the team and be a part of that moment was something special," Joel said. "And it just gave us a chance to connect even at a deeper level then we have all season. And celebrate what we've been striving for to do all year with this group of kids."

And it is amazing what young people can do to lift spirits.

"When it's being taken away from you, you need to borrow other peoples' mobility, other peoples' joy and make it a part of you," Colleen said. "So when my gymnasts soar, I soar."

What they learned is to embrace life -- no matter the state or condition.

"I just really made it my mission to make sure that it [would] continue to be a part of our life no matter what the struggle," Joel said. "And I know that she's just such an inspiration to the gymnasts, even without the MS. She is just a wonderful coach and motivator."

And when you reach a pinnacle, it is because you care so much about one another that it means so much.

"Sometimes I struggle to figure out my place, and I know where it is when I'm in this gym," Colleen said.