High School Hero

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog about the Hoyt family- a story of a father with a son who was disabled from birth who made his son’s life joyful and happy by taking him along on his marathons and triathlons. Today I am writing about another disabled young man who had his own dreams come true. His name is Jason McElway.

Jason lives in Rochester, New York and was the team manager for the local high school basketball team. Jason suffers from autism. On the final game of the basketball season the coach asked Jason to suit up for the game. The coach didn’t know if Jason would be able to play or not but wanted to at least have him be part of the team for the last game. Jason ended up playing in the final few minutes of that game and had his dreams come true. I have posted the video of this amazing story below. Scroll down to see it.

I get goose bumps and shivers every time I watch this clip about Jason. The part that is most exciting for me to watch is his classmates and team’s reaction of him going in to play and every time he makes another shot. It is neat to think that these kids had such a great love for this young man and wanted to see him succeed. In a world where many kids are putting down others and making fun of children it gives me hope and joy to watch a story where the high school kids are cheering for someone who has a disability.

I hope that as we go through life we can be sure to watch for others in need and give them those opportunities to succeed. It might be fun to be successful at things but it is far more enjoyable to watch someone like Jason be successful at something he loves. I hope that we can teach our children to love and respect others and to be like the kids at Jason’s high school. We can start by being a good example and also watch for those little teaching moments.

Jason’s dream were made true not just because his coach gave him a chance to play in the basketball game, but also because he had the team, the coach, and the whole school cheering him on. What a difference it would make if we could all follow their lead and make every child’s dream come true. We could start by making our own family feel loved and giving them opportunities to succeed and to make their dreams come true. It may not be as dramatic as Jason’s experience, but we could start by cheering for those who surround us and help them to be the best they can be.

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