BOZEMAN (AP) -- After the second full week of offseason drills, Montana State linebacker Chase Gazzerro was hit with two words that knock the wind out of even the toughest athletes.

Suspended indefinitely.

Gone was his chance to mesh with new middle linebacker Clay Bignell. Gone was his last Triangle Classic in front of his hometown fans in Great Falls. Gone was his spring.

Luckily for Gazzerro, he has a continuous supply of Wynter.

Wynter Gazzerro is Chase's big sister. She has cerebral palsy and brain damage.

"She's changed my life and she always will," he said. "I've made mistakes, but she's there to help me through them. I don't know if I could be here talking to you without her."

Things are simpler for Chase around Wynter, who is in Bozeman this week competing in the Special Olympics Montana State Summer Games. It's easy to understand why.

"Chase supports me and I support him," Wynter said, clutching the gold medal she and her Great Falls team won playing soccer earlier in the day. "We're both Bobcats all the way. That's what matters."

Wynter, 27, has been a Special Olympian for 19 years. She went to the World Games in New Haven, Conn. After taking the summer off, she will go right into basketball, then skiing, then bowling, swimming and track.

She was kicking soccer balls before one of the fastest linebackers in the Big Sky Conference was walking.

"Sports have always been a big part of our family," said the Gazzerros' mother, Anita. "We work out, we eat healthy, we don't sit around and watch TV. Just like we've never let Chase sit around, we've never let Wynter sit around. We've pushed them."

The Gazzerros, including father Tony, who was unable to make it to Bozeman Wednesday, have also pushed for education, especially among an audience of football families that rarely get a peek at the life of a Special Olympian.

"A lot of people are afraid of these kids," Anita said. "They're here taking this town by storm and sometimes it's scary. But it's important to understand they don't have a disease. Just go hug one of them. You'll feel blessed."

That's how Tyler Bolton feels. Despite having a different last name, the recent MSU graduate, former Bobcat wide receiver and Great Falls native became a fifth member of the Gazzerro clan growing up.

Chase and Bolton met as 10-year-olds through (what else?) sports. The two played soccer together.

"I was always around Chase and Wynter," said Bolton, whose second cousin, Jenna Lawson, is also a Special Olympian. "We've always been a part of these kinds of events growing up. You bond with these kids and you watch out for them."

Part of watching out for them involves getting the word out about them.

"I brag about Wynter all the time," Chase said. "I'm pretty sure all our linebackers know how many gold medals she has."

But how does a Special Olympics gold medal or a chance to compete at the World Games compare to a 19-10 win over Colorado or a chance to play in a football mecca like College Station?

"It's tough to say," Anita said, glancing momentarily at her son. "But I will say the Special Olympics are a lot more fun."

Chase didn't disagree.

"It's like an escape," he said. "We're all really competitive and sometimes not the most caring when we're out on the football field. These kids are super competitive too, but they're the first ones helping people up. It's incredible to watch."

It's also fun to sit back and listen, sometimes for their perspective and sometimes for a laugh.

"Last week, Wynter told Chase, 'Life's a climb. You have to keep climbing,"' Anita said. "I thought, 'Wow.' Then I realized it's a Miley Cyrus song. She loves Miley Cyrus."

No matter her sources, a little bit of Wynter was exactly what the will-be senior needed this year.

"Because of a choice I made, football was taken from me," Chase said. "Right now, I'd really like to show everyone the kindness in my heart, the kind of kindness that comes out when I'm around Wynter.

"It got lost there a little bit. But coming back and seeing my roots at the Special Olympics, seeing these guys, it's very important to me. It means the world to me."

The Bobcats can't wait to get their starting outside linebacker back in the fold in 2009. But by the time next summer rolls around, Wynter might have to reclaim him.

"I like to have him home once and a while," Wynter said with a smile.

"OK," she continued, "maybe I'd like to have him back all the time."