Like many married couples, Kurt and Koryn Hansen have full schedules and demanding lives.
Koryn is a special education teacher with Papillion La Vista Community Schools, where she started as a paraprofessional almost a decade ago. She was one of two PLCS paras to be selected for the Teacher Career Ladder program in partnership with Midland University. Kurt has been with local builder Charleston Homes for 10 years, serving as building superintendent, production manager, and more before being promoted as the company’s contracts manager in 2024.
The couple’s three active children each attend a different school in the PLCS district: firstborn son Caiden, 15, is a high school freshman; daughter Kenley is 13 and in middle school; and 10-year-old son Cody attends elementary school. Caiden participates in three adaptive sports: wheelchair basketball with the Nebraska Red Dawgs, wheelchair softball with the Nebraska Junior Barons, and sled hockey with the new local team, the Omaha Owls. He also plays trumpet in school ensembles and was accepted into Papillion-La Vista South’s STEM Academy.
“For a while I had activities three, maybe four nights a week and weekends…and I’m in high school, so I actually have to study,” he said.
Kenley has been participating in year-round competitive dance for years. She also made her school’s basketball team this year and is helping develop an inclusive club for her school. “I love getting involved in this, because it makes me really happy seeing all these kids getting a chance to participate,” she said.
Cody plays tackle football and transitioned last season from recreational basketball to a competitive league; he has also participated at his sister’s dance studio. He’s always been full of energy, his mother said, and is as naturally athletic as the rest of the family. “I’m pretty good at basketball, but it’s still my first year,” Cody said, adding that in football, “I’m a first-string running back and first-string D-line, because I’m fast.”
Koryn also serves on the board of Nebraska Adaptive Sports and leads the Nebraska Red Dawgs as its team representative, while Kurt provides maintenance for players’ wheelchairs and the team’s equipment. For Kenley’s dance activities, Kurt is a “prop dad,” building set pieces and stage items; and Koryn is a “dance mom,” helping with hair and makeup. “We both are always willing to pitch in when needed,” Koryn said. “We’re ready to step in and fill a role, or be an assistant.”
The couple married in 2004, and Caiden was born five years later. They discovered during pregnancy that Caiden had spina bifida, a condition where the neural tube that develops into the brain and spinal cord does not close completely and results in an opening in the spine. Caiden had his first surgery the day after he was born. He’s also had years of physical therapy and has used mobility support devices his entire life.
Fostering Caiden’s independence was always important, Kurt said. “We look at it like God gave us what he knew we could handle,” Koryn said. “We kind of go with the flow, figure it out as we go…We have the same expectations for Caiden as we have for anyone else.”
Although Caiden can walk short distances with the use of bracing and crutches, he uses a wheelchair for most activities. As a gifted basketball player, he’s been selected for numerous all-tournament teams and named MVP at multiple tournaments. He’s also a skilled softball player, and already showing promise in his first full season of sled hockey. Making the U.S. Paralympic team is a dream of Caiden’s for the future.
“I don’t know what I want to do in the long run, but I know I also want to play professional basketball, or play on an adult team,” he said. “I also want to keep playing for the Omaha Owls (all-ages sled hockey) and with the adult Nebraska Barons.”
Many of the Hansen kids’ competitions are out of town, and sometimes two events take place at the same time. Even seasonal sports have camps and bonus practices in the off-season. Koryn is “the keeper of the schedule,” Kurt said, but everything has to be managed closely so nothing gets missed.
“We touch base just about every night on what’s going on tomorrow,” Kurt said, noting that when all three kids have activities, the two parents are outnumbered. “We are very lucky and blessed that we have such good friends and family that will help us out,” Koryn added.
The Hansens know some hard choices lie ahead as their kids focus on certain activities at the expense of another. “Kenley’s always wanted to do volleyball, but can’t, because competitive dance and volleyball competition are on Saturday,” Koryn said. “For Caiden, if there’s a hockey and a basketball tournament the same weekend, he has to choose.”
Like their own respective parents were unfailingly supportive of their interests, Kurt said, the couple strives to provide guidance when conflicts arise.
The parents face challenging decisions, too. It’s often not possible for them to attend a game or performance together when they take place at the same time. Some months present several weekend road trips for events. Living out of a suitcase gets tiresome, and hours sitting in bleachers can take a physical toll. Nevertheless, Caiden, Kenley, and Cody are enjoying diverse opportunities, and the sacrifices are worth it, Koryn said.
“It may be exhausting, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” she said.
This article originally appeared in the 2025 issue of Family Guide. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
