Athletes Against Autism: 3rd Annual Golf Tourney Brings Out The Pros, Raises $290k
Held for the third straight year at the Sandpiper Golf Club in Santa Barbara, the Athletes Against Autism (AAA) Golf Tournament welcomed over 30 athletes and celebs who teed it up for autism research, awareness, treatment programs, and the relentless pursuit of a cure. Founded by NHLers Olie Kolzig, Byron Dafoe, and Scott Mellanby, (all dads of children with autism), AAA is an initiative of Autism Speaks. The night before the Cadillac-sponsored tourney, over 150 guests gathered at the gorgeous Bacara Resort for a dinner program and silent and live auctions.
Olie Kolzig, Athletes Against Autism Founder
Monday saw current and former NFL, MLB, AVP, and NHL players knock the little white ball around, followed by an oceanside BBQ and awards reception.
Current and former AVP vollleyball stars Dain Blanton, Sinjin Smith, Jason Olive
Hugbacker had the privilege of chatting with the three founders of AAA; keep reading to see what the guys had to say about their journey.
Scott Mellanby, whose child was the first of the three to receive the diagnosis about his son, Carter, recalls when he heard the same news from Olie Kolzig about son Carson.
HB: What was your reaction when Olie called to tell you about his son?
Mellanby: When I got the call from Olie [in 2002] my heart sank. I told him I wasn’t going to lie to him about the road ahead. Doctors had told my wife and I that maybe a few years of therapy would take care of things, which obviously wasn’t the case. Looking back, I sort of feel like they sugarcoated it a bit. So I didn’t want to paint Olie a picture that wasn’t true.
Kolzig: When Scott told me it was going to be a tough road, he wasn’t kidding. Getting news like that about your child is so isolating…you feel like you’re the only person in the world. It’s devastating.
HB: I have a daughter with autism myself. It’s become such a small world, wouldn’t you say?
Mellanby: No question. Years ago when we’d take Carter out, like to a restaurant, and he’d do something that would cause people to look over at him, we’d say, “Please excuse him, he has autism.” No one really knew what it meant. Now when the same thing happens, people say, “That’s okay, we understand.” Everyone gets it now. Everyone knows someone touched by it.
[Six months later, Kolzig's best friend, Byron Dafoe, received the same news about his two and a half-year old son, Eric. The two NHLers were best men at each other's weddings, and godfathers to each other's children. Witnessing how small the world of autism had become, the three dads banded together, forming Athletes Against Autism in 2004.]
HB: How was it at first, processing all the information that comes with the diagnosis?
Dafoe: Crazy. When Eric was first diagnosed, it felt like we were on the phone for a solid year and a half, just learning. Trying to figure out what to do. There are so many therapies, diets…we had to just keep going until we dialed into a few things that really helped.
Kolzig, Mellanby, and Dafoe
HB: A big concern is the cost of caring for a child with autism. Is that something that AAA addresses?
Kolzig: Absolutely. It just isn’t feasible for the average family. We’re fortunate to make very good livings, but that’s just not the case for everyone. I mean, think about it…a family with six kids, trying to get support and services for an autistic child? It destroys families financially. That needs to change.
HB: With everything going on at home with your boys, how did it affect your game?
Dafoe: It sounds funny, but if anything it helped my game. It totally put things in perspective; I started seeing hockey as much more of a game, as opposed to this hugely consuming part of my life.
Mellanby: Yeah, it definitely made it easier to leave everything at the rink.
HB: How do you feel about the future, in terms of a cure being found?
Kolzig: You just stay optimistic. As a professional athlete, you tend to be optimistic anyway–you always think you’re going to win. But something like the Stanley Cup holds absolutely no comparison to winning over autism. You have to have faith that it’ll happen so these kids can have a normal life. You gotta just keep believing.
Dafoe: We have no idea what the future will bring. Do I think Eric will grow up and get a job? Get married and have kids? I don’t know. But if he has to live with us until he’s 70, that’s great. We’d love to have him.
Teeing it up with Byron Dafoe
