Heroes come in all shapes and sizes

Jason McElwain is carried off the court after his 20-point performance in Greece Athena's regular-season finale.

The 17-year-old senior, manager of the Greece Athena High School basketball team, drained a three-pointer, a double-pump layup and a free throw, kissed the back of his ring finger at center court and sped off to the dressing room to exhort and amuse his teammates.

"You've gotta give it everything you got!" McElwain sang in rap verse. "The winner goes home all happy/The loser goes home and says/'Mommy we lost the game, wah wah wah!'"

McElwain, who is autistic, was back in his role as an all-around motivator on the eve of a sectional semifinal game Tuesday night — handing out water bottles, dispensing tips, helping run drills. Two weeks earlier, he suited up for a game and delivered a jaw-dropping performance.

His play drew national attention, and a flood of calls from Hollywood. His parents have received inquiries from about 25 production companies ranging from The Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. to independent documentary filmmakers.

"I don't know what I'm walking into," McElwain said.

In his team's final home game of the season, McElwain entered with four minutes to go. It was his first and only appearance for the Athena varsity team in this Rochester suburb. The 5-foot-6 manager hit six three-point shots and a 2-pointer and was carried off the court on his teammates' shoulders.

His triumph was captured on a student video that made the rounds of the television networks. The school was besieged with calls and e-mails from parents of children who have autism, a little-understood developmental disorder.

"We have an obligation as a society to find a way to include people with different abilities," said the school's athletic director, Randolph Hutto, whose 12-year-old son, Joshua, is autistic. "This, hopefully, will help open doors for some people, or open some eyes."

McElwain, who didn't begin talking until he was 5, still lacks social skills but has learned to cope well in his teens, said his special-education teacher, Diane Maddock.

"He might talk a little loud, laugh a little too long or not be able the read the body language or even the tone of voice of a person, but it's not a big difficulty," Maddock said. "If you call him on it, he will acknowledge it, say 'OK, you're right, I shouldn't have said that or laughed when I laughed.'"

"This couldn't happen to a nicer kid," she added.

Considered too small to make the junior varsity, McElwain signed on as manager, then took up the same role with the varsity to stay near the sport he loves. Amazed at his dedication, coach Jim Johnson had him suit up for the home finale. There was no guarantee he would play — Athena was battling for a division title — but he got in when the Trojans opened a large lead.

"It was like a big old bucket and I was just hitting them like they were free throws," McElwain said. "I just felt relaxed."

The coach couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"He's been my right-hand man, he's there every day and just getting him the opportunity to suit up was emotional enough for me," he said. "For him to come in and seize the moment like he did was certainly more than I ever expected. I was an emotional wreck."

Because he played in just one regular-season game, McElwain was ineligible for sectional play. But he's not bothered.

"I just want to win as a team, not individually," he said.

What's more, he prides himself on having a lot of friends.

"I'm not really that different," he said. "I don't really care about this autistic situation, really. It's just the way I am. The advice I'd give to autistic people is just keep working, just keep dreaming, you'll get your chance and you'll do it."

In the midst of Olympic stories about prima donna skiers and squabbling speed skaters came a truly inspiring sports story last week.

Jason McElwain is a 17-year-old senior at Greece Athena High School in Greece, NY. McElwain is autistic. Like many other autistic people, McElwain struggles with verbal skills and social interaction, so it is remarkable enough that the towheaded teen serves as the manager for the school's basketball team.

He's been team manager since junior high when coaches told him that at 5-foot-six-inches, he wasn't tall enough to play for the school team. Not discouraged, McElwain opted to be the team manager, keeping statistics for the game, handling the clock and serving as a general team gopher.

Wearing his own uniform - a white shirt and black tie - he watched the games from the bench for the last six years.

Until last week, that is.

Prompted by fans, coaches at the school said they would let McElwain play in an actual game. On the day of the last regular-season game of the year, fans with James McElwain signs filled then gymnasium. There were only four minutes left in the game when coaches looked down the bench and signaled McElwain -now dressed in a regulation uniform - into the game. His team was up 20 points and coaches figured they were safe to let the boy live his dream of taking the court during a real high school basketball game.

In a later interview, the coach said McElwain was so excited he almost failed to check in at the timekeeper's table before he sprinted onto the court.

No one expected McElwain to do very much. When he tossed his first shot into the air, he missed, with the ball sailing in a wide arc over the goal. His second shot - a lay up - was off course, too.

He didn't give up, though. He tried another shot, one from three-point range. This one swished through the basket and the gymnasium erupted with cheers.

McElwain wasn't done. He went on to hit six three-point shots, finishing the game with 20 points, all scored within four minutes.

At the end of the game, the teenager who didn't learn to talk until he was five was carried off the court on the shoulders of his teammates.

The Greece Athena High School Trojans won the sectional title, thanks in part to the work of one young man who wouldn't quit.

It's said the first Olympics took place in Greece, founded on the principals of athleticism, accomplishment and valor. Now, thousands of years later, those same traits are found in one high school boy who proves heroes come in all shapes and sizes.

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Posted by Ron at March 2, 2006 08:19 AM