On March 22, 2016, the Champaign-Urbana News Gazette published a moving letter from Karen Snook about Monticello High School football coach Cully Welter. Snook writes about her son's experience as the Sage football team's manager, highlighting that Welter's impact goes beyond X's & O's and the student-athletes who play for him.

Snook's letter begins:

Tonight was a rarity for me. It was a moment that doesn't happen often, a moment most would not treasure. My son cried. Hard. He cried, tried to regain his composure, then cried more. The reason? You.

Four years ago my son walked into the doors of high school as not only a freshman, but a freshman with Asperger's Syndrome. He wanted to feel part of a group or team, so he went to you and asked if he could be the football manager. I remember the day clearly. He came home full of excitement and announced that he was going to be managing the high school football team. My first reaction was not excitement, but fear.

I knew high school was going to be a challenge for him. I knew his classes would be difficult and that he needed to devote every ounce of time to being a good student. I told him I wasn't sure it was a good idea. He came back with "Well, I've already talked to Coach and he said I could, so now I have to."

Click here to read remainder of letter on Champaign-Urbana News Gazette website.