HIGH SCHOOLS; Student-athlete is their teacher; Armstrong's Evan Wilson knows a thing or two about competition and victory, and shares his enthusiasm with his grateful teammates and coaches.(SPORTS)(John Millea)
Minneapolis (Minnesota) Armstrong’s Evan Wilson knows a thing or two about competition and victory, and shares his enthusiasm with his grateful teammates and coaches.
Almost every step of the way, Tim and LaRinda Wilson wondered if they were doing what was best for their son, Evan. Through preschool, grade school, middle school and high school, they wondered if mainstreaming was the best path for their child with Down syndrome.
Would he be teased? Would he be pushed around? Would anyone help him, keep an eye on him?
Now they know. Evan and 539 other seniors celebrated their graduation from Armstrong High School on June 7. That day brought memories, cheers and some tears, but they were tears of joy. And they were shed by lots of people – including coaches and Evan‘s fellow athletes – at the public school in Plymouth.
Armstrong wrestling coach Bill McCloskey had a hard time keeping his emotions in check as he spoke about what he and his wrestlers have learned from having Evan on the team for four years.
“It’s an incredible thing,” McCloskey said. “I’m trying not to tear up here, thinking about him and all the special things he’s brought to the program.”
The coach added: “You can always count on him for a smile, whether it’s his smile or him making you smile. As tough as things can be sometimes, he’s an inspiration all the time.”
Evan also played football and was on the track team. Oh yes, he’s an Eagle Scout, too. This spring he played adapted softball, which is a typical activity for special-needs students. He might be the most heavily recruited athlete at Armstrong, with coaches tugging at him to join their teams.
Dan Enna, an assistant football coach, also is the adapted softball coach. Knowing what kind of spirit Evan brings, he convinced him to play adapted softball this spring.
“He’s a great kid, he’s a great athlete, he really contributes and it’s a pleasure to have him on the team,” Enna said. “He’s always smiling, he’s always leading. He’ll say in the huddle, `C’mon guys!’ He’s just a fantastic kid.”
Alex Rubin, one of Evan‘s fellow senior athletes at Armstrong, was a first-team All-Metro basketball player who helped the Falcons to a runner-up finish in Class 4A. He has known Evan forever, going back to a kindergarten-age soccer team.
“He’s definitely a popular guy,” Rubin said. “Everyone loves him.
It doesn’t matter; girls, guys, they all love him. There’s no reason not to like him.”
Talk to anybody who knows Evan and they’ll tell you a great story. Tim, LaRinda and Evan sat in their family room and spoke about the time...
• When Evan was a new middle school student and the subject of teasing by another kid. One of Evan‘s friends – who just happened to be the biggest kid in school – told the offender, “You mess with Evan and you mess with me.”
• When a few high school kids walked behind Evan in the hallway and made fun of him, only to turn around and find some football players walking behind them with a clear message: Lay off our teammate.
• When Evan scored a touchdown – “I scored four or five touchdowns,” Evan corrected us – because coaches and players from both teams knew it was the right thing to do.
• When Evan received a wrestling trophy from the nice people at Andover, and a large framed poster with photos of Evan playing football from the nice people at Wayzata, and on and on.
“As a parent, you can only be grateful to have people from other schools reach out and make it great for everybody,” Tim Wilson said.
McCloskey said Evan was not only an athlete, but also a teacher.
“With Evan, it was never about winning and losing in terms of how we think of winning and losing,” he said. “For him, it was about how many points he scored. If he got beat 20-4, well, he scored four points. Every time he wrestled, it was a celebration. That was another lesson we learned from Evan; he sees victory in another way.”
Evan, 19, is the middle child of five. This fall he is off to Brigham Young University, living with his big brother, Brigham, who is a student there. Evan has a job lined up in the student union, he will audit some classes and volunteer in the BYU athletic department.
And once again, he’ll be the most popular guy in school.
And once again, he’ll be the most popular guy in school.
John Millea is a sportswriter and columnist for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Reprinted with permission of the Star-Tribune.
Copyright ©2011 National Federation of State High School Associations. All Rights Reserved.
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