BRADENTON, Fla. -- All Jared Stancil wants to do is beat his dad in golf.
“It’s easy to me because I love playing with my dad,” said the 12-year-old. “We always take turns hitting balls.”
All Chad Stancil wants to do is play the sport he loves with his son.
“I used to pay a lot but I get more enjoyment out of watching him now,” Chad Stancil said.
It’s an activity he never thought would be possible when Jared was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. The days of playing sports with his boy seemed like a dream.
Now, they aren’t just a reality, they are happening at a championship level.
Photos: Bradenton father-son golf duo eager for 2022 Special Olympics
“My dad hits the ball in the air,” said Jared Stancil with a smile. “Sometimes he hits a fast shot. We always take turns hitting balls.”
The duo has been competing in Special Olympics competition together for a few years. Jared started golfing with plastic clubs when he was just three. They began playing alternate shot rounds in the Special Olympics when he turned eight.
Chad and Jared just took first place in the Special Olympics in Seattle over the summer. Jared showed off his gold medal this week while playing with his dad at their home course of River Run Golf Links in Bradenton.
“This is my golf medal and we were on the podium,” said the beaming junior golfer.
The days of beating his dad one-on-one may still be a long way off. Jared can drive the ball about 200 yards and hits predictably straight shots. But, he says he can’t “crush it” as far as dad, yet.
Until he can, the 12-year-old will settle for competing side by side with the man who taught him the game.
“Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that was possible,” Chad Stancil said.
He jokes that his son never watched cartoons on Saturday mornings. Jared preferred European Tour golf. Chad and Jared are looking forward to competing in the 2022 Special Olympics in Orlando.
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