a very nice story about an autistic kid

[empy]

i saw this story about a HS kid in upstate New York who suffers from autism that had the night of his life. very inspiring.

At Greece Athena High School, they are still talking about J-Mac's big night.

The soon-to-be graduating senior made his varsity basketball debut, and did in four minutes what will be remembered for a lifetime.

As a student assistant, Jason McElwain helps out the team. But, all that changed on Wednesday night, when coach Jim Johnson decided to give Jason his shot to suit up and play.

"He said this was my senior present, my chance to get out on the floor as an actual basketball player for the night," Jason said.

Jason, or "J-Mac" as he's known, is medically diagnosed as highly functioning autistic. He's also loved by his teammates and fellow students, and they came to the game with his face on signs. When he entered the game, they went crazy.

"My emotions started running wild.I actually sat down and I started to tear up and thought, 'Oh my God, this is happening,'" Coach Johnson said.

Jason got a pass and took a shot. He missed badly.

"His first possesion, he gets the ball and takes a shot and misses by six feet. I put my hands in my head and thought, 'Please, Lord, just get him a basket,'" Johnson said.

One minute later, he got his hoop--a three-pointer that set the gym on fire.

"I was very excited. The team was excited. Everyone was excited," Jason said.

But J-Mac wasn't done. He kept shooting and kept hitting--another three, then another, and yet another.

"I was on fire. I was hotter than a pistol," Jason said.

When he was done, he had hit a team record, tying for six three-pointers.

The crowd stormed the court and put Jason on their shoulders.

Athletic Director Randy Hutto said, "It was one of those special moments that as an athletic director, I thought, 'If I retired today, this would be the one thing that I talked about forever.'"

Jason's playing career is done, but his celebrity continues.

"I was late to every class. Everyone kept coming up to me and saying 'Congratulations,'" Jason said.

Levar Goff, the team's senior captain, said,"He's like a celebrity. He's loving every bit of it too. You see him smiling all the time."

Jason's job now is to help get his team ready for sectionals, but if they need a now not-so-secret weapon, they know they have J-Mac ready to go.

[GasJunkie]

Good for him.



Ot why j-mac? is he a wannabe black?

[empy]

i saw the vid...he's white. dunno why the nickname, accdg to the reporter his teammates gave it to him...

[falken]

Nice story. His name's Jason McElwain, hence, J-Mac.

[delprado]

.. nice story .

It seems to me na Asperger's Syndrome disorder meron itong si J-mac.
Somehow, it's normal for someone suffering from this disorder to achieve such
thing as per the description below:

"Asperger's syndrome carries with it superior intelligence and a tendency to become very interested in and preoccupied with a particular subject. Often this preoccupation leads to a specific career at which the adult is very successful. At younger ages, one might see the child being a bit more rigid and apprehensive about changes or about adhering to routines. "

Some experts even thought that Einstein and Newton were suffering from AS.

http://rarediseases.about.com/cs/asp...e/a/041003.htm

[endlessgwing]

saw this one too sa news, very inspiring

[empy]

that Asperger's syndrome seems like the opposite of ADD, which i think i have

[Chip]

i saw this on CNN

very uplifting talaga. it just shows that everyone is capable of greatness if given the chance.

[tebs]

saw it also sa cnn the other day. galing nga, naka-ilang 3point shots sya

hopefully he gets more exposure sa court after that

[falken]

Saw his video clip at metacafe, here's the link:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/79325/...d_20_in_4_min/