Dane Klewsaat: All-season athlete

May 15, 2025May 15, 2025 Category: Community Stories Posted by mcatini

Participants of the Delta Dental Golf Classic, which was held in Morristown on 5/5/2025, met Special Olympics New Jersey athlete Dane Klewsaat and his mother Gail at the 1^st hole. After introducing himself, Dane would drive a ball for each foursome, and quite a few of them thankfully continued play from where his ball landed.

This wasn’t Klewsaat’s first time at the Delta Dental Golf Classic, and it wasn’t his first time representing Special Olympics New Jersey, either: In 2018, he competed in softball with Team New Jersey in the Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle, and in 2022 he was part of the gold medal winning basketball team at SO USA Games in Orlando.

Since having become a SONJ athlete in 1998, Dane Klewsaat has tried many of the 22 different sports offered by SONJ, and has found that he likes to compete in basketball, golf, softball, and his favorite: skiing. “It is great that Dane has found a sport of his choice for every season, so he can be active year-round.”, says his mother.  

“Participating and competing in SONJ sports has taught me to help my teammates, and to help coach them. Especially in skiing, where I am able to explain different techniques, and when to initiate turns, etc.”, Dane says when asked what SONJ means to him. “And I have made a lot of new friends.” His mother concurs, adding that “Dane’s experience with SONJ has helped him in acquiring the life skills required for his care giving job. He has learned the importance of helping each other out. Everybody cheers on their friends, even when they are competing against each other. They exemplify the credo of being kind to each other.”

Gail Klewsaat also thinks that SONJ fosters acceptance of people with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) in our society. “SONJ acts as a kind of icebreaker to things and situations that could otherwise be uncomfortable environments for somebody with ID. We are blessed to have such a strong and well-run program in New Jersey, where Dane acquired skills beyond sports, like keeping focused and paying attention to the moment. He became prepared to be resilient outside of the SO community, and learned to care for others, and to become more forgiving of setbacks.”  

Dane has demonstrated his independence as he has been living in his own apartment for almost six years now, and in 2025 his parents moved to New Hampshire. “Deep down inside,” Gail adds, “I know that if not for SONJ, Dane would have had a more isolated life, and would have had a tougher time proving himself in society.”

When not practicing, competing, and representing SONJ, Dane works as an Activities Aide for elderly and disabled patients, including patients with dementia, at Foothill Acres Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Hillsborough. After six years of attending RVCC, he graduated with a Fitness Specialist Completion Diploma in 2017, and he plans on working towards his goal of achieving a degree as a Physical Therapy Aide.

Despite living in New Hampshire, Gail is still active for SONJ, where she is a committee member for a golf fundraiser in honor of SONJ’s “founding mother”, Bessie Perlman. “This is my way of giving back to SONJ, and work with athletes”, she adds.

Thank you very much Dane and Gail for having been an amazing highlight of the event!

Come to the 2025 Summer Games for a chance to see Dane compete in softball, together with hundreds of other SONJ athletes competing in 8 different sports! Or how about a new experience as a volunteer?