“Success” as a softball player isn’t just limited to what is done between the lines on the field.
Last December, we ran the story of Dakota Wagner, the 2024 high school grad from Xenia, Ohio, who is promoting Tourette Syndrome awareness—and it was so impactful it became one of our Top 15 Stories of 2021.
“I live with Tourette Syndrome,” the talented catcher explains. “Tourette Syndrome is a disorder that involves repetitive movements or different sounds that cannot be controlled. These sounds and movements are called ‘tics.’”
As we detailed just a week before Christmas, Dakota’s story resonated with the softball public and she received a lot of positive feedback via social media especially.
“My plans for 2022 are to continue sharing my story for awareness and helping educate people,” Dakota said back then. “I want to continue being a Youth Ambassador for the Tourette Association of America and I’m going to continue reaching out to softball coaches for recruiting opportunities.
The athlete’s mother, Penny Wagner, told us in the Top 15 Stories article:
“We are so proud of how Dakota has turned her Tourette Syndrome diagnosis into an awareness campaign. She takes the time to educate people around her and tries to help them understand what she goes through.”
Today, four months after we first shared Dakota’s story, the young athlete continues to be an influencer and success story on and off the fields.
Penny wrote us this week with an update stating:
“Quite a few softball parents whose daughters are struggling with Tourette Syndrome have reached out to Dakota for help. She is actually scheduled to talk to a travel organization that a girl plays with to help educate the parents and players.”
Dakota shares more details on how that came to be:
“Jeremy and Melissa Goldman, founders of Ohio Lady Legends based out of Lima, Ohio, reached out to my mom through Facebook,” the athlete begins.
“They read about me and wanted to know if I could help provide some inspiration to one of their softball players currently struggling with tics. I offered to talk to the Ohio Lady Legends organization about Tourette Syndrome and explain a little bit more on what the player is going through and how others can help.”
“I wanted to talk to them to help spread awareness so that the player can have people around her that understand what she is going through. When I explained it to others around me, it made it easier on my day-to-day life. After educating others on Tourette Syndrome, it helped stopped comments that weren’t meant to be mean but didn’t sit right.”
Melissa Goldman of the Lady Legends saw Dakota as a successful example to help one of the club program’s players and appreciates how the athlete has helped another in her shoes or, in this case, cleats.
“I reached out to Dakota looking for an inspiration for one of our players facing an uncertain time,” says the club program leader, “and looking for a fellow sister who did not let anything stand in her way of achieving her dreams.”
“Sometimes all we need to know is that we are not alone. Our softball community is a tight-knit circle united together with camaraderie and compassion and is much more than just a game on the field—it is a field where hopes, dreams, and life lessons are made.”
“Softball doesn’t last forever,” Melissa continues, “but the friendships, memories, and sisterhood made will last a lifetime, and no one can ever take that away. Dakota has given a new outlook on life that was scary for one of our girls and made her dream a possibility again.”
About halfway through her sophomore softball season as the starting catcher for Xenia High, a Dayton (Ohio) Regional STEM school, Dakota is impressing with her play as she’s 6th in the Miami Valley League with a .542 batting average and has a .577 on-base percentage. Defensively, she has thrown out half of those trying to test her arm behind the plate.
“I am excited about this year of softball and the opportunity to play with this group of girls,” Dakota adds. “We are excited to see us all grow and, above all, we’re having a lot of fun this year. Also, I want to thank our Coach John Miner for dealing with our craziness now and all future craziness!”
As for her being in the spotlight because of her medical condition, the high schooler doesn’t shy away from the attention, but sees it as a privilege to help other athletes face their fears.
“The ability to help educate others and spread awareness so that someone might not have to go through what I went through makes it worth the work,” Dakota adds.
“In the end, I am so happy to be able to be doing these things to support others. No matter how small of a difference it makes, I am glad to help and am more than pleased to provide assistance in a way that will give someone resources in helping with Tourette Syndrome.”
“The important thing,” she concludes, “is to not let a disability slow you down, but to use it to make you a stronger person.”
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball
To provide comments, insights or thoughts, email: info@extrainningsoftball.com.
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Inside Pitch: The Inspiring Story of Ohio High School Catcher Dakota Wagner… She Created Her “Tic’d Off” Business to Educate Others About Tourette Syndrome
Originally published Dec. 15, 2021 on Extra Inning Softball
Dakota Wagner, a sophomore student-athlete who attends the Dayton (Ohio) Regional STEM School and competes as a catcher for the Canes Softball 16U team based in Dayton, Ohio, has quite the accomplished resume.
The 3.4 GPA student took Honors engineering and is learning Chinese in the classroom while, on the field this Fall, the Buckeye State native batted .478 with a .520 on-base percentage for Coach Doug Massie’s travel ball team.
Dakota was the starting catcher for Xenia High’s varsity team last year and is as well-rounded and driven of a high schooler as you’ll find as she runs her own business, wants to play softball in college and aspires to be a commercial airline pilot.
The talented athlete also has to deal with an often-misunderstood medical condition, Tourette Syndrome, where those afflicted make involuntary sounds or movements called “tics.” Usually unexpected, they run the gamut from amusing to frightening to those witnessing the disorder but are life-changing to those affected by the nervous system disorder.
Here’s an informative video produced by the Tourette Association of America giving more information to those unfamiliar with the condition that, according to one report, “affects 200,000 Americans who have the most severe form and 1 in 100 in the U.S. who have milder symptoms:”
For Dakota, she is passionate about educating those in her world about Tourettes and deals frequently with false beliefs about her situation.
“A couple of the biggest misconceptions I face,” explains the 2024 grad, “is that people assume that everyone has the same tics or that if someone with Tourette Syndrome has a verbal tic, then they say a single word all the time. For instance, if someone has a cussing tic, people think they cuss all the time or that they assume everyone cusses with their tics.”
The Ohio teen is ambitious in her goals in life and knows exactly what she wants to do after high school.
“I would love to play softball for college, it has always been a dream of mine, and I want to get an Engineering degree. I also want to become a pilot and think I’m going to go into commercial airlines.”
Before then, she says she’ll work hard to continue educating anyone who will listen about her condition and how it’s not going to stop her from living her dreams… here is her story told in Dakota’s own words.
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What is Tourette Syndrome?
I was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome in 2020.
By definition, Tourette Syndrome is a neurological disorder characterized by repetitive, sudden, uncontrolled involuntary movements (motor tics) and sounds/vocalizations (verbal tics).
Tics are things people can’t control.
Motor tics include—but are not limited to—eye blinking or jaw movements and complex motor tics involve multiple muscle groups or combinations of movements which can include hopping, jumping and twirling.
Vocal tics produce a sound. Simple vocal tics include but are not limited to sniffling, throat clearing, grunting, or shouting. Complex vocal tics are words or phrases that may not be recognizable but consistently occur out of context.
To be diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome, a person should have motor and vocal tics and have had tic symptoms for at least a year. They could sometimes be felt coming on sort of like how you can feel a sneeze coming on. It is always different for everyone who has been diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome—experiences and tics are different for everyone.
For me, I can develop multiple new tics a month. It took two years for me to get a proper diagnosis. I started to get a verbal tic that I had every so often where I made a gasping noise. We went to the doctor to try to see what it was but after many appointments they couldn’t find a good reason why I was making this noise.
One of the doctors had me do an overnight stay at the hospital to do a test. Through his conclusion, he diagnosed me with something called “Rumination Syndrome.” I looked up what Rumination Syndrome was and none of the symptoms matched with what I was experiencing.
After a while, we got the chance to get a second opinion. During this time, I was developing more tics, both motor and verbal tics. I finally went to a Neurologist and was properly diagnosed.
Tourette Syndrome on the Softball Field
In softball, I still have to deal with this on a day-to-day basis. I tic less when my brain is focused on a task. If I’m actively engaged in something, I find that I tic less but, with that being said, I have good tic days and I have bad tic days.
Although sometimes this could be more difficult, it has never prevented me from practicing or playing in a game. Tourette Syndrome has not prevented me from doing many things and whenever I am engaged in physical tasks, it helps focus my brain and reduces my tics.
When I stop practicing or finish a game, sometimes I might have more tics. For instance, when we are in team huddles after a softball game, I start to tic more. My coach would be talking about how the game went or what went well and I would blurt: “No one cares!” or “Nobody likes you!”
Has having Tourette’s slowed Dakota down? This workout video gives the answer:
Had some new catching drills today. Super excited for my pop time of 1.80 my personal best. @KenzieRoark @UMU_Softball @CoachFentonBG @ONUSoftball @CUJacketsSB @NUSBcats pic.twitter.com/AgX7to6uHv
— Dakota Wagner 2024 Catcher (@Dakota_Wagner24) October 21, 2021
These have been some of my funnier moments and one of the only bigger times it would affect me during softball. My tics can often lighten the mood and create an entertaining atmosphere, but they can also be disruptive.
Although it can be funny, it is difficult for me to sit and listen during huddles. Another thing I have to do when I have bad tic days is tell the umpires I have Tourette Syndrome. They are always super nice and understanding. I appreciate building that rapport with umpires, I even put a “I ♥ Umpires” sticker on the back of my catching helmet!
When I was diagnosed, I knew I would have to tell my team. I was super nervous for how it was going to go. I had the whole team in front of me and I explained Tourette Syndrome to them; fortunately, a lot of them knew what it was which was super helpful.
My softball team was super supportive over the whole subject and this helped me a lot. I knew they weren’t going to be mean about it; I was just nervous I wasn’t going to explain it right or something going wrong.
An Ohio Ambassador for Tourette’s
I learned to never be afraid to tell a group of people about a struggle of yours especially if it is a group you are close with. If someone is mean about it, it’s usually because they don’t understand the subject.
Outside of softball I have other types of struggles with my tics on a daily basis.
At home some nights, I can’t do the dishes because we are scared I will break a dish. I’ve been known to throw dishes at my parents but, so far, it’s only been the plastic dishes!
Even when we are out to eat, I have issues. I’ll touch my parents’ food with my fingers; sometimes it is funny but oftentimes there are people that stare. I always try to ignore the stares but sometimes it would be difficult. A big thing I have learned from that is that the stares will always be there and not everyone will understand.
After I was diagnosed, I did a lot of research because I never knew much about it. I came across a lot of material from the Tourette Association of America. During my research, I learned that you could become an ambassador. I applied, ended up being accepted and now I am one of two ambassadors for the state of Ohio.
I had the opportunity to talk to senators and representatives to try to get them to vote for more money to be spent towards research for Tourette Syndrome and tic disorders. Not enough research has been done over the subject and it’s bad enough to where there isn’t even medicine to help tics.
The only medicine offered for people with Tourette Syndrome or tic disorders are medications that are for different issues but were found to be helpful with tic symptoms. For instance, one medicine that I tried for a while was for high blood pressure. This was a whole other struggle for me because I started to have to check my blood pressure to see if it was affecting me too much.
The big issues for having medicines like this is it can cause so many different side effects. For me some of the medicines I tried would completely change my personality and there was a visible difference in how I was acting. I stopped taking all of the medicine and it was a lot easier on me to function on day-to-day activities. I weighed out the pros and cons and dealing with the tics were way easier than dealing with the side effects of the medicine.
Tic’d Off
I wanted people to learn more about Tourette Syndrome and tic disorders. I found out that I could use what I do already to spread awareness and that included a hobby and passion of mine that has become a business.
My parents and I are beekeepers. I decided to use leftover beeswax from our beehives to make lip balm. I thought it would be a cool idea to start a business out of it. I created my own business called Tic’d Off and I sell my products on Etsy.
I thought it would be a fun play on words from the tics people have, and of course catch peoples’ eye. This business grew pretty fast and I now sell five different flavors of lip balm and I am about to start selling two more.
I also sell shirts and sweatshirts with the logo on it as conversation starters. A portion of the profits is donated to the Tourette Association of America towards research and development. This was a big deal for me because I hope that more people and doctors will learn more about Tourette Syndrome and Tic Disorders so less people go undiagnosed. In the U.S. 50% of kids with tic disorders and Tourette’s go undiagnosed.
I love promoting Tourette Syndrome—whether it’s from being a Youth Ambassador or through my business–because of all the personal stories I hear.
Whenever I hear that I have helped someone through their personal struggles or disorder by telling my story and sharing my experiences, it makes everything that I do worth it. It is always heartwarming to know that what I am doing is making an impact on people.
I do this so no one has to go through what I went through with the long wait, or with not knowing what to say to people because of me not even knowing what is happening. I think that was one of my biggest struggles. I would make this noise that I couldn’t control and I was embarrassed for a while because of it.
But now that I know what it is and why I do it, that helped me a lot in my confidence and making it a normal part of my day.
Change of Plans
Although Tourette Syndrome has changed my future plans, I learned to live with it. For the longest time I wanted to be a pilot for the Air Force. When I found out I had Tourette Syndrome, I also found that I couldn’t go with that original plan because Tourette Syndrome is a neurological disorder that disqualifies you from the military.
This set me back for a little while, but I didn’t want to let this stop me. I am currently pursuing my pilot’s license through my local Young Eagles Program.
Even though I will face struggles and must go through a waiver process, I am still working towards my dream. This might not have been the exact plan I wanted to go through, but I don’t regret it for a second. I found out it is a great group of people and still super fun. I didn’t let this set me back… I grew from it!
No matter how much life throws at you, don’t let it keep you down for too long. Some things are going to seem like they are going to set you back but embrace what you can’t change and grow with it.
I took my Tourette Syndrome and made it part of me but I didn’t let it define me.
Dakota Wagner
Class of 2024
Xenia, Ohio
Dakota can be followed on Twitter: @Dakota_Wagner24. Her Tic’d Off products can be purchased by clicking HERE.
