The “McElway Basketball Story” is a video that chronicles the events surrounding Jason, a high school age boy with autism. Jason had been his high school basketball teams water boy for all of his high school career. One game day coach decided to suit Jason up and let him have the experience of being in a jersey with the team, he did not promise court time though. But, in the the last four minutes of the game coach pointed to Jason and sent him out to play. His rotation didn’t start well, but he ended up scoring six, three point shots! This video really warmed my heart. It shows that when you give people a chance, they will often rise to the occasion. Despite the fact that Jason may not be considered to be like the rest of the basketball team due to his autism, he was just as capable a basketball player as the rest of the team. This shows that inclusion and equality is a good thing and can have very good results. This video not only portrays the physical outcome of inclusion, them winning the basketball game and Jason scoring so many baskets, but also the physiological result, Jason states that he has never felt so special in his life. Inclusion and equality has the power to do many great things.
This video really makes you think about what makes an athlete. As by dictionary.com an athlete is described as someone who is a, “person trained to compete in sports or exercises involving physical strength, speed, or endurance”. Does this mean an athlete can not just be someone with a passion for sport, who may not be the best, but enjoys it? I believe that this video shows the merging of these two ideas. Jason was not thought to be the most talented basketball player, but he had dedication and passion. When he hit the court he surprised everyone with his apptitude for the sport. This is who an athlete should be, someone who has an undying passion for the game with some skill, a merging of these two principles.
This idea can be applied to individuals development through sport. There is a quote of Vince Lombardi’s that goes, “If you can’t accept losing, you can’t win.” I think this summarizes well the personal growth that can occur in sport. Losing is a powerful thing, you learn so much from it. It teaches you many lessons, one of which is getting up again. That is how you win, by learning how to be a graceful loser, and getting up again everytime, learning from your mistakes. This is a hard lesson for many people to grasp, but once it is it’s an invaluable trait. This illustrates how tuly winning isn’t the ultimate goal in sport. Winning sure is sweet, but losing is an amazing learning oppurtunity. Sport in general is an amazing learning oppuryunity. That is believe, learning and personal growth, is the ultimate goal of sport.
Julie's Exercise Science 