For 17-year-old Reagan Bischoff, the 2026 Patriot Games are about competition, but they are also about something much bigger.
The Potomac Falls High School senior was one of two athletes — one girl and one boy — selected to represent Virginia at the national competition, held August 9 to 11 in Geneva, Ohio. The event brought together 120 athletes ages 14 to 17 from across the country and U.S. territories.
For Bischoff, who has cerebral palsy, competing alongside some of the nation’s top young athletes tested her physically and mentally while giving her an opportunity to demonstrate what she hopes others see when they watch her compete.
“I wanted them to see a very strong, well-rounded athlete,” Bischoff says. “I just wanted them to see how a disability doesn’t define what you can do and who you are, because it really doesn’t.”
The Patriot Games challenged athletes with physical and team-based events designed to test strength, agility, endurance, teamwork, and leadership. Events included a 100-meter dash, 55-meter hurdles, flexed-arm hang, dodgeball and kickball, as well as an obstacle course called Operation Endurance and a Varsity Challenge incorporating soccer, tennis, football and volleyball.
“It challenged my physical and mental mobility,” Bischoff says.
Learning to Figure It Out
Bischoff’s ability to confront challenges began when she was just a baby.
She underwent surgery at 8 weeks old to remove part of her brain that was causing severe seizures. Before the surgery, she was experiencing as many as 60 seizures a day and was taking six anti-seizure medications.
The surgery left Bischoff with left-sided hemiparesis, a form of cerebral palsy that affects movement on the left side of her body. She has spastic cerebral palsy, which causes muscle tightness and affects her balance, foot placement, arm movement, and use of her left hand.
Growing up, that meant plenty of falls and plenty of things other children could do more easily. But her mother, Danielle Bischoff, taught her daughter to approach those challenges by asking a different question: How can I do this?
“We, as parents, have raised her to really look at the problem as, ‘How do I find a solution?’ not ‘What can I not do?’” Danielle says.
That philosophy was especially evident at the Patriot Games, where athletes did not know exactly what challenges awaited them before arriving. Bischoff and competition organizers discussed accommodations ahead of time, but many of the specific events were revealed only after the athletes arrived.
“I loved the challenge,” Bischoff says. “That’s what I do. I figured it out.”
The Only Athlete With Cerebral Palsy
Bischoff says she was told she was the only athlete at the competition with a physical disability affecting how she participated in the events.
“It was definitely a mental challenge,” she says. “Everyone has a different kind of standpoint of being able to do stuff with two hands, and I was having a little bit of trouble. But, you know, we figured it out.”
Not everything went perfectly. Bischoff says there were events where she did not perform as well as she hoped. But those moments became part of the lesson.
“I fell in one of the obstacles. I failed in a lot of them, but that didn’t stop me,” she says. “Yes, you’re gonna mess up. Yes, you’re gonna fail, but what matters is what you do after that.”
Finding Her People
The physical challenges were demanding, but Bischoff says one of the biggest surprises of the Patriot Games was the community she encountered.
“This was such a big mental challenge for me,” she says. “I didn’t feel like I did well in some of the stuff. I felt like I could have done way better. But having my friends that I made here and just the social community … made me forget about it so much faster.”
For Bischoff, the connections she made with other athletes and the people running the competition became one of the most meaningful parts of the experience.
“I genuinely made family here,” she says.
Representing Virginia
Only one boy and one girl from each state were selected, making Bischoff’s selection an honor she does not take lightly.
“Out of all of Virginia, I was picked,” she says. “It gives me a sense of honor because I’m excited to represent my state. I’m excited to represent Loudoun County.”
Looking Ahead
Bischoff is preparing to begin her senior year at Potomac Falls High. She is already committed to play lacrosse at Shenandoah University, where she plans to study occupational therapy.
Her career choice is closely connected to her own experiences. After spending much of her childhood in therapy, she hopes to use what she has learned to help others. The Patriot Games gave her another lesson to carry forward.
“I think it definitely helped me boost my mental standpoint,” she says. “Whatever you put your mind to, whether it’s something small or something big, persevere and fight through it and don’t give up.”
Feature image of Reagan Bischoff, courtesy Danielle Bischoff
