Jason had never made the team but stayed on as team manager, and Coach Johnson thought a little playing time would be a fitting show of gratitude for his dedication. Jason set the crowd into a frenzy when, after missing his first shot, he sank six three-pointers and a jump shot in the final four minutes. His achievement, captured on videotape, made him a national sensation.
Letters still pour in from all over the world. People with autism write to thank Jason for serving as a beacon of hope for others. Still playing basketball In addition to his part-time job at a supermarket, Jason still plays in nightly pickup games at the "Y," but admits he has never been able to repeat the feat that got his name in newspapers and magazines from coast to coast.
Now there are even discussions about turning his life story into a book and movie. It kind of connected him more than anything. He became obsessed with basketball, standing in front of a hoop every summer morning, shooting from sun-up until he was forced inside at night. When he got to junior high, he eagerly tried out for the basketball team. He didn't make the cut. Debbie left a message at the school. She was desperate, and explained that Jason didn't have much in life, and could he please be on the team?
A student-manager position was created for McElwain, and though he desperately wanted to play, he was as passionate as anyone on the court. He wore a dress shirt and tie to games, and jumped up and down as if their winning baskets were his. He really acted like an assistant coach and a player in practice. He was just always there. Before Feb. He was not winning the big games, and tension between him and a few parents made him contemplate leaving. But he had rarely felt closer to a team than he did that night against Spencerport.
Johnson wasn't sure if he was going to be able to get J-Mac into the game. He had no idea how McElwain would react to the pressure. But his teammates resolved to build a huge lead, of 20 or 30 points, so McElwain would at least have a chance to play.
It has been 10 years, but the people who were there that night remember every vivid detail. Steve Kerr, a senior starter on that team, can still see McElwain excitedly lacing up his shoes in the locker room before the game.
The crowd waved pictures of McElwain's face on popsicle sticks, imploring Johnson to let him play. He couldn't hear anybody because [of] the crowd. As he made more and more, people started making their way down the bleachers. His mom had a bright green sort of workout suit on, and I could see her making her way down the bleachers. She wanted to be out there to congratulate him. It was wild. I still get emotional thinking about it. The Trojans went on to win the sectional title for the first time in Johnson's tenure.
They've won it five times since. Some parts he didn't completely understand, but he was the one who kind of kept everybody together in his own special way. He beat out Kobe Bryant for the award. He was flooded with mail from strangers across the world inspired by his story. Johnson says they were so nervous that it was a disaster. But something amazing happened with McElwain during those weeks in front of the camera.
He learned to write out his speeches and practice them, and became good on TV. His family says the exposure improved his communication skills dramatically. Back in the Rochester area, a woman named Lisa Ponticello was trying to come to grips with her 4-year-old son Alex's autism diagnosis, when she turned on the TV and saw McElwain. It had been a rough time for Ponticello, who knew very little about autism.
She constantly fretted about Alex's future. Would he play sports? Would he ever be able to get a job, to get married and have a family of his own? Then you see somebody who's that much older who had challenges along the way being able to be a productive member of his school's basketball team, to be a leader, in fact.
It just makes you think, 'Wow, kids with autism can do anything. McElwain got a job in the bakery department at Wegmans, a local grocery store. Johnson started making speeches all around the country, inspiring audiences with his tale about the night he took a chance and his life changed. He'd do 20 to 30 speaking engagements a year. One of his standard speeches is on leadership, the other on making your dreams come true.
People ask him all the time if he still speaks to J-Mac. By way of an answer, he will point to his phone, which typically has 10 or so recent text messages from Jason. Johnson is retiring so he can devote his time to public speaking. He also wants to do more work with Autism Up, an organization that supports families in the Rochester area. Even today, McElwain does things that surprise him. A few years ago, McElwain told the coach he wanted to do something competitive, maybe distance running.
The next day, he came back and said he was going to run the Boston Marathon. McElwain was undaunted. He asked Johnson to set him up with a training program, and he qualified for the Boston Marathon in He finished in Johnson hunches over and stoically tells his players everything they should expect. He's like the mayor of Greece Athena. Our goal is to get him out with a bang.
This was not supposed to be their year, not after they lost nine of their 10 best players, but then Athena knocked off the No. Though he's dressed for the part in a yellow dress shirt and tie, McElwain is often like an overgrown kid on the sidelines. His dad gets on him about this. He says he needs to act like a coach, not a player. But the seniors say they love J-Mac because he'll do anything for them.
If they want to shoot 1, free throws, he'll rebound every shot. Wisconsin Rapids. Cuba City. East Troy. Milwaukee Riverside. Fort Atkinson. Union Grove. Beloit Memorial.
Manitowoc Lincoln. The Prairie School. Saint Mary Catholic. Green Bay Preble. Oak Creek. New Berlin Eisenhower. Kenosha Tremper. Kenosha Indian Trail. Catholic Memorial. Fond du Lac. Wausau East. Newman Catholic. Port Washington. Racine St. Notre Dame. Appleton West.
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