Members of Minerva Park Middle School boy’s cross country team lined up for the start of their inaugural home meet against Gahanna East Middle School on Tuesday. Eighth-grader Derek Zastudil joined his teammates with his sports aide at his side.
John Gouhin, who also serves as an instructional aide in Derek's Life Skills class, stepped closer.
“You ready, Derek?” Gouhin asked.
With his eyes on the path ahead, Derek pushed him away.
The small gesture was a meaningful moment for Gouhin and Derek’s family, who were along the race route preparing to cheer him on.
Since Derek joined the cross country team as a seventh-grader last school year, Gouhin has been by his side, often running alongside him during practices and meets to keep him safe and help him communicate with team members. Now, Derek wanted to run the race on his own.
“It’s been rewarding to see where he was and to where he is now,” Gouhin said. “It’s kind of like flying a kite. Once you get it in the air, you just want to watch it fly. You don’t want to disturb it in any way. You want to let it fly.”
For the past four years, Gouhin has served as an athletic companion for students with multiple disabilities interested in playing sports, providing support during games and practices. He has helped them with equipment, made sure they were on task and encouraged them to participate in practices.
With Derek, Gouhin has taken a more hands-on approach.
“Every single mile Derek ran in practice and in competition, John was running by his side,” said Derek’s mother, Karen Zastudil. “Derek ran his first race holding John's hand the entire time because he was so nervous.”
Derek, who was born with cognitive and communication delays, is not verbal but learns through observation, gestures and visual cues. His memory is strong, recalling if someone likes to be greeted with a high-five or what songs his neighbors like to sing in karaoke. He doesn’t know how to make friends with his peers but has a strong desire to be involved and connect with them.
“We always knew we wanted him to be involved in school as much as he can and with peers as much as possible,” she said.
“As you get into middle school, the gap is greater. Every year Derek gets older, the gap between his peers gets greater. Because he doesn’t have any physical limitations, we wanted to get him involved in something in school… Cross-country seemed like a really good place to start.”
To help students with disabilities interested in sports and other extracurricular activities, the district’s Special Education department works with instructional aides to serve as companions who guide and support students during their activities.
Gouhin, who has been an instructional aide for four years, jumped at the opportunity to work with students outside of the classroom and to further help them grow.
“I kind of always wanted to coach and I kind of always wanted to be a teacher and I kind of am both,” he said. “I get to work with kids and coach them along. It’s really rewarding.”
Gouhin started working with Derek when he was a sixth-grader, serving as an instructional aide in Patrick Quinn’s Life Skills class at Walnut Springs Middle School. He joined Derek in his orchestra classes, helping him learn how to play the cello. But Derek’s interest in the cello waned and by the middle of the school year, he wasn’t interested in continuing with the class.
But the experience deepened the relationship between them and prepared them for their next activity together at Minerva Park. (Quinn’s Life Skills classes moved to Minerva Park when the building opened last school year.)
Karen and her husband, Andrew Zastudil, thought cross country would be a good fit for their son and would help him connect with his peers. Their oldest son, Jason, was a member of Walnut Springs’ cross country team when Derek was a first-grader. And after attending his brother’s meets, he would return home and run laps around the yard. At 13, Derek still loves to run and keep active.
Quinn supported the idea and Gouhin agreed to serve as Derek’s athletic companion during the season.
But the new experience was daunting for Derek. He hid behind Gouhin as he watched his peers warm up and he followed his teammates at a distance during training runs at practice.
As Gouhin started to learn more about the members of the cross country team, he encouraged Derek to connect with them, too.
Halfway through the season, Karen noticed her son’s confidence started to build. He didn’t shy away from the team during warm ups and he was eager to participate in the practices and competitions.
During the Rule the ‘Ville cross country meet — the last meet of the season featuring all five middle schools — his teammates invited him to join them in putting black paint under their eyes to reduce the glare from the sun. The gesture made him feel like he was part of the team, Karen said.
For that race, Gouhin guided him to the starting line so he could run the race by himself. Several teammates cheered him on and even ran side-by-side with him. When he finished the race, he joined the team to cheer and celebrate the results.
“It was a huge growth to see,” Karen said.
Last fall, the Zastudils nominated Gouhin for an A+ award, a district honor that celebrates educators and staff members for their contributions to students, dedication to their schools and their commitment to district values. He was among 15 Westerville City Schools employees who received the honor.
“John does a great job of bridging that gap of educating his peers on how to communicate with him and pushing Derek out of his comfort zone,” Karen said.
This year, the Zastudils want to build on the work from last season by having Derek run independently and with his peers. And since the season started in August, he has been able to run races on his own — with Gouhin watching from the sidelines.
Derek has also improved his time, from running a 12-minute mile last season to about an 8-minute mile this year. His time during a recent match contributed points to his team’s overall score. Derek, however, isn’t thinking about the time but those he’s running with, Karen said.
“He kind of paces with someone else,” Karen said. “I think that shows Derek’s desire to connect with people because he just doesn’t have that desire to win. He’s not trying to race with anyone or beat anyone; he’s trying to connect and be part of something. I think that is most obvious when he runs with someone the whole time.”
During Tuesday’s cross country meet, Derek ran with another teammate and set a personal record of two miles in 16:10 minutes.
“He is honestly the best pacer in our whole team as he starts running and can go at that speed for a long time,” Minerva Park Cross Country Coach Taylor Lewis said.
Lewis has also seen a significant increase in Derek’s confidence around other athletes, especially this year. He engages with others and enjoys giving and getting high fives. He loves Fun Fridays where he plays games with other students. On Friday, he chased his classmates down the hallway as part of the game, Hide and Seek Infection Tag.
“We love having Derek and Coach John on our team,” Lewis said.