Equipment manager Carson Watters loves basketball, loves working on his junior varsity high school team, but never imagined he would ever get to play in a game.
The Philip Simmons HS freshman has worked hard all year, said his coaches, and deserved to show what he could do on the court.
“Seeing him go in and the look on his face when they called him into the game,” Carson’s mother Mary Watters said, “because he didn’t know it was going to happen, I can’t even describe it.”
15-year-old Watters has Down Syndrome. He’s trained the whole year as player-manager of the Iron Horses, and was able to show it when, with the clock running down, his teammates passed him the ball and he did rest.
“I made my lay-up,” he told reporters from ABC post-match.
His mother Mary knew ahead of time that the coach was going to sub Carson into the match, but they kept it a secret from him. She said that his freshman year has been anything but difficult, despite some apprehensions
“We really were not sure how the kids would respond,” Mary told GNN. “He had been at elementary school with some of them, but we really were not sure what the response would be since high school can be a socially difficult time for all the kids, and sports can be so competitive. We were absolutely blown away with how the team embraced Carson.”
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“We are more encouraged than ever about Carson’s future and potential for involvement in mainstream activities,” Mary continued.
“More than anything, we hope it will encourage parents of kids with different abilities to seek involvement for their children in mainstream activities and encourage the general public, kids and adults, to embrace and recognize the enrichment, value and contribution that everyone can give, regardless of ability or differences.”
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