Tucker
Ryan asked me to go with him to the Gifted Games. He had a young friend and client who was going to be participating in the events named Davey. The kid had autism, and not too long ago he had been assigned one of Ryan’s dogs to help him with his social anxiety.
When we showed up to the events, there were different activities going on all around. The games were being held at the local high school track, with a crowd of people sitting in the bleachers and a row of tables set up at the entrance where the athletes were registering and getting their name tag stickers for the different events.
Ryan searched the crowd, then he found Davey, along with his dog and parents standing in front of the bleachers. He waved at them and we slowly approached.
“Hi, Davey,” Ryan said. “Are you ready to compete?”
“Yes. I’m going to run, jump, and throw!” Davey replied enthusiastically. Dang, that kid was cute!
“Davey, I would like to introduce you to my friend, Tucker Lee.” He motioned toward me.
“Hello, Davey.” I knew not to offer my hand, as Ryan had told me touch was difficult for Davey.
“Hello, football star,” he replied.
I laughed. “Well, I used to be.”
“I want to play football,” Davey responded. “But I don’t want anyone to touch me. Nope.”
An idea struck me, and I suggested, “Well, you know… There’s a version of football called flag football. It requires very little touch. Someone takes a flag hanging from you instead. It can be very fun.”
Davey seemed to brighten up with that bit of information. “That might be good.”
His parents came over and introduced themselves while Ryan spoke with Davey some more. I was impressed by Davey. I was told he had started out with severe autism when he was younger, but over the years he was becoming more engaging and talkative. I could tell his parents adored him and they had a great strength that seemed to transfer over to Davey.
Someone used a whistle nearby to draw attention to an event getting ready to start, and Davey jumped when he heard it. He immediately began petting his dog while rocking back and forth. Eventually the rocking subsided and he seemed to find solace.
Ryan noticed what happened and asked Davey, “Hey bud, you okay?”
“That was loud.”
“Yes, it was. You will be hearing whistles a lot today. Do you think you’ll be okay?”
Davey rocked for just a bit, then when he stopped, he replied matter-of-factly, “I will be fine. I have my dog.”
“Good. Are you excited about competing?”
“Yes. I’m going to run, jump, and throw!”
Ryan and I laughed. His exuberance was contagious.
A helper came over to introduce herself to Davey and his family. She explained how she would be Davey’s assistant for the day, and how she would be taking him to the various events and helping to set him up with participating. This way his family could spectate, take pictures and videos, and cheer him on.
Davey seemed unsure initially, but after his mother nodded at him in approval, he found the courage to walk off with the stranger. She, Davey, and his dog walked down to the field. We followed a few yards behind.
The first event for Davey was the fifty-yard dash. It was followed by the one hundred-yard dash. He won first place in the first dash and proudly wore the blue ribbon on his shirt. Everyone who knew him teared up at the sight.
There was a break for lunch and Davey’s assistant returned him to his family. We all walked over to the tables offering refreshments. They had dog bowls on the ground for the dogs assisting that day.
We all found a spot at the bleachers to sit, with Ryan and I sitting on the lower seats, and Davey and his family sitting right behind us. We lunched together, talking mostly about Davey and a little bit about my career and accident. I tried to keep that part of the conversation short.
Soon Davey’s assistant showed up to escort him on to the next event. He participated in the Long Jump followed by the Soccer Throw. Each event was held in such a way to make it the least stressful for the participants. They could take their time about competing.
After the Soccer Throw, Davey noted to his parents, “I am tired. Can we be done now?” With that, we began wrapping up.
As Ryan and I walked back to the car, Ryan stopped and turned to me. “I have an idea, and I want you to really think about it before saying no.”
“No,” I said flatly. Ryan blinked, and I laughed. “Okay, okay, just kidding… What?”
“After listening to you and Davey talk about flag football, it gave me an idea. Would you consider coaching kids like Davey in flag football, maybe even setting up something for the local disabled kids?”
I stared at him thoughtfully. “I was actually thinking the same thing. I would love to do something like that, helping kids like Davey.”
“Yeah. I mean, football has so many therapeutic factors to it, like teamwork and camaraderie, problem solving, exercise, and confidence building. It’d be great for kids like him. And since I’ve helped so many families of disabled kids over the years, I could easily get the word out and help organize something.”
“I love this idea.” I was so excited, my mind was already racing with the possibilities and what I needed to do. Once I got a hold of myself, I gave Ryan a big kiss. “I love you, Ry. You know that?”
Ryan smiled, his big brown eyes lighting up. “I love you too, Tuck.”
“We make a pretty damn good team, don’t we?”
“Yup. We are teammates in life.”