‘Bestie friendsies’ both benefiting from relationship
And former Terp Stefan may get award
Despite an age difference of more than 14 years, Sammie Stefan and Lily Matarese are “bestie friendsies.” They even have matching bright pink T-shirts to back it up.
Stefan, a former infielder for the Maryland softball team, cherishes the label.
“I don’t take the title of ‘bestie friendsie’ lightly,” she said. “She’s my best friend.
“I love spending time with her and playing with her. I love learning more about her, and I love being able to see her grow up a little bit.”
The relationship between Stefan, 23, and Matarese, 8, is not ordinary.
Stefan is an Ohio native who led the Terps in home runs (seven), doubles (11), total bases (75) and slugging percentage (.521) in 2019 and graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in elementary and middle school special education, while Matarese is a Silver Spring third grader who has cerebral palsy.
A friendship that began in 2020 has led to
Stefan on Aug. 18 being named a finalist for a national Teammate of the Year award by Team IMPACT, a national nonprofit organization that seeks to place children dealing with serious illnesses and disabilities on to college sports teams.
Stefan was nominated by Lily and her mother Anna Matarese, who credited Stefan with never missing a chance to chat with Lily via phone or video and making an appearance for her birthday and Christmas.
“We couldn’t think of a better person,” Anna said. “A lot of times when people say they are going to do something, it doesn’t happen. We don’t tell Lily a lot of times when somebody says they’re going to do something.
“But we don’t have to worry about that with Sammie. If we say, ‘Sammie is coming, you are going to see Sammie,’ then she’s there.”
“We’re friends,” Lily said, adding that they
play with her dolls when they are together.
Lily was born six weeks premature and diagnosed with cerebral palsy shortly after turning 1. The signs were noticeable as she did not reach certain benchmarks such as sitting up, crawling or picking up food.
“All of those major milestones that you look for, they weren’t happening,” Anna recalled. “She kind of stayed at that threemonth stage.”
Despite the diagnosis Lily’s cerebral palsy is considered mild. Although she uses a walker to move around or wheelchair for longer distances, those devices are more to conserve her endurance. She can walk across a room with some supervision and is attending a public elementary school.
“Cognitively, there’s no deficits whatsoever,” Anna said. “She’s in a mainstream classroom with all of her peers. Language, intelligence, she’s probably one of the top [students] in her class.”
In 2018 Stefan and her Terps teammates found a match via Team IMPACT, but the child died before they could meet. Two years later they were connected with Lily, and the pairing was instantaneous.
“She’s just a bundle of joy,” Stefan said. “Lily just opened right up immediately.
“I like to say she knows what she wants. She was very confident in being like, ‘Yes, I want you guys to sing Frozen songs.’
“So she opened up right away in asking that and [for] Ariana Grande songs.”
Said Lily: “They were fun.”
During the coronavirus pandemic the team stayed in touch with Lily virtually and through a Facebook account that is limited to Lily and the softball players. Last year Lily and Anna attended at least five home games at the Maryland Softball Stadium in College Park, trips that Lily eagerly anticipated, her mother said.
“She was always so excited to walk across the parking lot to get to the stadium to see them, which improved her mobility and motivated her to get moving,” Anna said. “She loves their greeting when they would see her from the dugout to the top of the bleachers. They immediately would start screaming and cheering for her, and that smile would beam across her face.
“She loved learning the cheers, and she knew all their numbers, and she would cheer them on when they came up to bat.”
Stefan said when the players jogged to the outfield fence between innings to stay loose, they made it a habit to wave to Lily.
“We considered Lily just as much a part of our team as those of us that were playing,” she said. “As often as I could, I would try to submit [to the Facebook page] a picture or something like that.
“I remember during National Cerebral Palsy [Awareness] Day every year, we tried to have all the girls send a picture representing green to show Lily our support.”
The oldest of four, Stefan said she has spent a lot of time caring for children. She said Lily made it easy for her to rediscover that part of her.
“The biggest thing was just when Lily first came in, it was the smile on her face,” Stefan said. “I mean, who couldn’t be drawn to that? I just wanted to hang out with her, and I just wanted to spend time with her, and I’m very honored that she ended up picking me as her ‘bestie friendsie.’ She’s awesome.”
Anna said her daughter has blossomed thanks to her relationship with Stefan and her teammates. Lily joined the Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Bennett Blazers in Baltimore and has participated in softball, lacrosse, tennis, swimming, and track and field and will try basketball this fall.
“In new situations she’s pretty nervous,” Anna said. “If it weren’t for Team IMPACT, I don’t think she would be as involved in activities she’s doing now.
“Last season we didn’t get to go to as many games because we were doing that, but that experience led us there, with her seeing sports and teamwork and competing. She wasn’t exposed to that before. I don’t think it would have been as successful a transition for doing this program without Sammie and Team IMPACT and the softball team as a whole.”
That bond between Lily and Stefan is a significant reason why the latter is in the running for the Teammate of the Year award.
“Special relationships like the one between Lily and Sammie are exactly what Team IMPACT is all about,” Team IMPACT high-profile program manager Lynn LaRocca wrote in an email. “By matching young people with college athletic teams for a two-year, clinically-based program, it really allows these kinds of close bonds to form.”
Stefan is one of five finalists for the national award, which will be unveiled Sept. 22 as part of the Team IMPACT 2022 Game Day Gala in Boston. Online voting to determine the winner has already closed, but Stefan expressed gratitude for her nomination from Lily and Anna.
“It means a lot — I can’t talk a lot about it without tearing up,” she said. “I care a lot about Lily, and I care a lot about Team IMPACT. So seeing that effort recognized is definitely rewarding.”
Stefan now has a job teaching special education at Bushy Park Elementary School in Glenwood in Howard County. Anna said the close proximity will allow her daughter and Stefan to remain in touch.
“I see it definitely being a lasting relationship,” Anna said. “Any relationship has its breaks, and that will happen. Sammie may get a new job, she’s going to get married someday and look to have her own family, and Lily’s going to grow up.
“But I still see them being able to come back and pick up where they left off no matter how long the break may be.”