In honor of Fall Sports Officials Appreciation Week, the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) is celebrating some of its fall sport officials on social media and CHSAANow.com, while member schools are encouraged to celebrate officials, as well. This can be achieved in several ways, both big and small. All of which is meant to say, thank you officials!
If you're interested in becoming an official, fill out this form and CHSAA will contact you, or learn more information about officiating in Colorado.
Disclaimer: this story includes references to parental death, homelessness and suicide.
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'If I didn't have volleyball': How sports saved Heather Brawn's life
By every meaning, volleyball is what saved Heather Brawn’s life.
Facing death twice - once by attempted suicide, and once by septic shock - Brawn survived both, something that has given her a new and more hopeful outlook on life.
Brawn’s life has brought her four kids and has seen her live in four countries outside of the United States: England, China, Singapore and Norway. At each stop, Brawn maintained some level of involvement in sports.
“If I didn't have sports, I would have never even graduated high school, because the only reason I remained eligible was so that I could play,” Brawn said. “I ran track, played basketball, I was a cheerleader, I was a drummer, I was in choir... anything I could do within the school to get out of my home life was what I did. Sports, to me, was a way to burn off energy and was something that I could work toward.”
Brawn’s story took a drastic turn when her mother died due to complications with alcoholism when she was just 14, leaving Brawn and her two sisters orphaned. Brawn admits that’s when she attempted suicide.
Thankfully, she survived. But, she was left to the foster system, where Brawn said she dealt with emotional abuse. Although life had seemingly given up on Brawn, there was one person hadn’t: Gary Swiatkowski, Deer Trail’s volleyball coach at the time. Swiatkowski gave Brawn a new hope for life.
“I don't know what it was about me, but he just helped me,” Brawn said. “He supported me and he encouraged me. He even let me babysit his daughter, as I was their first babysitter outside of the family when he had a child. He was just always really supportive of me."
Swiatkowski took Brawn under his wing and mentored her. She said he eventually sold her his old beat up car for just $200 so she could get herself and her siblings to and from their obligations. And then one time, he stood up to law enforcement when one of Brawn’s foster families reported her missing, despite knowing she was at a state championship event.
“During the regional tournament, my foster family had actually called me in as a runaway," Brawn explained. "Cops were showing up at our regional championship match and were going to take me in. Coach Swiatkowski and the superintendent at the time backed me up and let me play the game, though. We ended up winning to go to the State Championship.”
Brawn and the Deer Trail volleyball team would go on to win the school its first-ever state title that year, sweeping Merino in the 1986 A-II (2A) state championship game. Brawn would then win another state title with the girls basketball team that winter. To this day, those are the only two State Championships that Deer Trail has won.
“I've been an athlete my whole life,” Brawn said. “I wasn't ever really good enough to stand out on my own, though. I didn’t golf, I didn't play tennis... I've always been more of a team player. I think we would have all been lost in the big cities, but out in that small community, we all turned to sports and we found success."
Brawn called those moments some of the best of her life. And now, one of her biggest goals in life is to help kids who might be in a similar situation to what she faced. Often, it is the case that sports does give people that outlet to be competitive and that’s the most of it. But, for the few, like Brawn, sports provides an outlet for frustration, an opportunity for guidance and/or just a place to hide from all the scary things that might be happening in someone's world.
"My mother was an alcoholic, and we were homeless in Aurora for a few years before my mom moved us out to the small town of Deer Trail," Brawn explained. "In Deer Trail, you were a farm kid or you played sports, and there was nothing else to do. I think that us getting involved in sports probably saved our lives. So I don't think sports are given as much credit as they should. The way that they help a young kid develop... it teaches you that you have to practice, you have to be dedicated, you have to be a part of a team, you have to follow the rules, you have to listen to your coaches and you have to do your homework so that you can be eligible. I think there's a lot of young kids out there that may be in the foster care system or that are just kind of floundering that could use sports, too.”
As a way to be sure sports can be a part of every kids life, and to aid in that desire to help people who face the hardships that she has faced, Brawn is now both a coach and a referee. She's been able to coach all around the world and has made special special connections along the way.
One of the most special connections that she has been able to make has been with fellow referee, Cindy Fredrick.
Fredrick is a successful former NCAA Division I volleyball coach, taking 13 teams to the NCAA tournament where she finished in the Elite 8 twice and the Sweet 16 once. Now, Fredrick does camps with her husband, and agreed to do one at Deer Trail for Brawn’s sister, Dee Vashus.
“I thought, ‘Hey, maybe they’ll go to Deer Trail and do a clinic for Dee,’” Brawn said. “When I asked, Cindy and her husband were like, ‘Yeah, we’d definitely do that, no problem.’ And so I put them in touch and they went out there and did a two-day clinic forum. I got to go out there with Cindy, and I showed her my trophy. It's just kind of cool because Cindy does have some clout behind her name.”
For Fredrick, getting to officiate with Brawn is simple. Brawn sees what she sees, and knows how to have a good time doing it.
“I like working with Heather, as she is serious about being a good official yet likes to have fun,” Fredrick said. “We see the game similarly so that makes it good, as well. I try to officiate from a coach’s perspective and appreciate the skills the girls are learning - I think Heather does the same. We can also question one another without being abrasive.”
It's because of connections with people like Frederick and Swiatkowski that Brawn’s story - which was once one of sadness and danger - has started to shift towards happiness and fulfillment. Although, if Brawn didn’t fight through those tough times, she never would have been able to achieve the things she cherishes the most. One of those being an official for the sport that saved her life; volleyball.
“I'm reflecting now that I'm in my mid 50s... I've come a long way,” Brawn admits. “I think sometimes these people that don't have big names behind them kind of get missed, and then people think that they're not worth anything because they don't have the big name, or they don't have the big money. They don't have all of the support that others have at home, or maybe they don't have any parents at home. I think my mom watched one volleyball game of mine, and I played from sixth grade on. She died when I was a freshman. She never came to any Parents Appreciation Nights, or anything like that. And, a lot of those events are for kids, especially girls, where they want to fit in and they want to be a part of something special."
Reflection has also helped Brawn recognize the power of her story.
“I think that 1986 volleyball team, with those coaches, out in that little small town was my special thing," Brawn said. "Just because somebody doesn't have a big name, and they don't go on to do great things, there are still stories in there, and they are still stories. Somebody out there is going to read my story, and somebody else is going to be like, ‘Yeah, my mom didn't do any of that stuff either... but maybe that stuff doesn't really matter that much,' because belief has to come from within."
Through time, Brawn has found that she's stronger than she may have once thought.
“At the end of the day, it's your life, and you've got to live it going forward... and an athlete is a good way to do it." Brawn stated. "You've got accountability there with your teammates, you've got accountability to yourself by doing your practices and stretching and doing all that stuff keeping yourself healthy. You've got to be a good teammate and trust in your team. So you're passing the ball to them, or you're setting them, or they're going up for a block and you're going behind them. Whatever it is, it can give a kid a lot, especially if they don't have a lot at home.”
The Colorado High School Activities Association is grateful to have people like Heather who have chosen to remain involved with sports and activities, and who are willing to give back to this generation of children through both coaching and officiating. Thank you, Heather, for your time, effort and devotion to positively impacting the lives of children in Colorado and thank you, officials!
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YOU MATTER: Mental Health
It's okay to not be okay. You're not alone. It's not a sign of weakness to ask for help. You matter. Call the toll-free
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL) at
1-800-273-TALK (8255), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The service is available to everyone. The deaf and hard of hearing can contact the Lifeline via TTY at 1-800-799-4889. All calls are confidential. Contact social media outlets directly if you are concerned about a friend's social media updates or dial 911 in an emergency. Learn more on the NSPL’s
website.
*photos courtesy of Heather Brawn