A father's longtime dream comes true through Allina Health Courage Kenny adaptive sports

The Gustafson family has been part of the Courage Kenny adaptive sports community for more than three decades, with Jeff participating in just about every sport possible and encouraging players young and old to do the same.

"When I was coaching, I started with the small kids ages 6 to 13," said Jeff. "I had so much fun. I didn't treat those kids like they had a disability at all. I told them, 'I don't care what your disability does to you. I'm going to show you what your ability is.'"

However, he had one dream that he kept close to his heart: he wanted to play side by side with his daughter, Emilee. As a wheelchair basketball player, Emilee’s skills earned her an athletic scholarship to the University of Arizona and a spot on Team USA. 

“I had an idea when she was 13, and I was her coach. I thought if I could last long enough, we might be teammates someday,” said Jeff.

Jeff and Emilee have hereditary spastic paraplegia. The rare disorder causes stiffness and weakness in the legs. As Emilee reached new heights in her athletic career, Jeff was feeling the effects of age and surgeries, but the dream motivated him to focus on his physical fitness.

"I literally trained for a year and a half to get back into basketball shape," said Jeff. "I went from 230 pounds to 183."

When Emilee returned home from college in 2024, Jeff was ready. With the combination of Jeff’s years of leadership and experience and Emilee’s mastery of playing at the collegiate level, they were able to turn a group of novice and experienced players into a real team.

“We started the D2 team at Courage together,” said Jeff. "I was the head coach. She was the technical advisor.”

Then the 2026 wheelchair softball season arrived. Emilee had time in her schedule to play, so she said, “Dad, let’s do this!”

Because the team was packed with players who had won a championship in 2024 and Emilee did not consider herself a softball player, she expected to spend the season on the bench.

“At the beginning of the season we would practice each position,” said Emilee. “I remember alternating with my uncle at second base. And I was like, ‘I don’t like this position. I don’t know how to play it. Like this is so hard.’”

By the time the championship game rolled around, Emilee’s uncle was out with an injury, and his backup was getting married during the weekend of the tournament. “She went from the bench to a starter, and she dominated,” added Jeff.