Bree Cox has more challenges in life than some teenagers because she has Down syndrome.
But the Murray, Utah teen just proved that she can accomplish her dreams through hard work and the support of a loving family, FOX 13 reports.
Cox, 14, recently made the Murray High School drill team. A video of her announcing her accomplishment to her dad went viral, amassing hundreds of thousands of views on social media, according to the local news. In the video, the excited teen laughs and cries tears of joy as she tells her father that she was chosen for the team.
“I honestly don’t think she has ever cried out of happiness before, she didn’t even know what to do,” her mother, Kecia Cox, wrote on the post.
She said Bree watched her older sisters dance at football games and wanted to join the team when she got to high school.
“When she saw her sisters on the football field or at drill competitions, she assumed she would be part of that,” she told the local news.
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In September, Bree will enter ninth grade, meaning she is old enough to try out for the drill team, according to the report. Kecia Cox said Bree trained with her older sister ahead of the tryouts, and the coach noticed.
“Someone saw her and gave her the opportunity that she wanted because she worked for it and she is capable,” her mother said.
Here’s more from the report:
This position on the team was not a handout. Bree’s coach says she earned this spot.
“She worked hard,” said Keylee Mundee, the head coach of the Murray High drill team. “She got better every day and she got her goal.”
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Now, Bree is starting to perform with the drill team at football games and competitions. She said her favorite type of dance is hiphop.
Her mother said they have instilled in Bree the confidence that she can do difficult things.
“Our greatest hope is that she never feels like she wants to change the fact that she has Down syndrome, or that she’s not good enough because she has this disability,” she told People. “Bree is the happiest when she feels like she belongs and she can do something she loves. To have her be in a situation where she gets to do what she loves, and be accepted, and treated as an equal… We can’t really ask for anything else.”
