cc licensed flickr photo shared by j9sk9s
Reffing, playing, and coaching basketball for the last 28 years of my life, I have seen many amazing games and moments. Last night, I saw something that had brought me to tears.
A few weeks ago, I saw this story about Eric Stitzenberger, a 16 year old boy with Down Syndrome who had really inspired the community of Drayton Valley in a basketball game. Here is an excerpt from the story:
The story began when the coach, whose daughter has a disability, saw Eric around Drayton Valley and thought he deserved to be part of something bigger than himself.
“We have a special group of guys on our team and we wanted to give Eric an opportunity and bring him into the family we have on our basketball team,” said Shane Dawson. “Eric is an inspiration to everyone in this school. He shows you can go through anything in life and still succeed.”
Having seen this story, I recognized Eric as he came into the gym and was extremely excited that I might have the opportunity to see him play. I was not sure if it would happen though, as this was a big game to the kids as it was a third place game in the tournament, and was the final game ever for many of the students that were in grade 12.
As the game progressed, it looked like the opposing team was going to run away with it. In the fourth quarter however, Drayton Valley started to come back and were within 10 points. As the game became very winnable, I saw the Drayton coach motion for Eric to come into the game and the entire building became electric. To him, there was so much more to this game than simply winning it. Before Eric even stepped on the floor, people were cheering his name and were excited that they might be a part of what happened earlier this season. The coach knew that there was more to this game than just what the scoreboard said.
On one of Eric’s first plays, there was a long rebound that came straight to him, and he shot it right back only to have it go in-and-out. As the game was winding down, Eric had a few attempts but was unsuccessful. Although he did miss, his teammates from the bench kept saying, “Give it to Eric!”, while the teammates on the floor kept working to give him opportunities.
With about 35 seconds left, Eric received the ball at the corner of the key, shot it, and made the basket. Swish! The crowd, the players, everyone erupted in cheering and applause. I even started to tear up to see how this young man brought everyone together to cheer for him; he is truly inspirational. The opposing coach had another chance to score but asked his players to just let the clock run out. Drayton Valley also had another chance to shoot, but they wanted the last basket to be Eric’s. Time ran out, and in a game that one team lost, it seemed like everyone that was there had won.
Some people have the amazing ability to inspire and bring people together for a common cause. Although Eric did that last night and in a game before, I believe that these are just the stories we know. For his teammates to cheer for him the way he did, you know that he has touched their heart long before that game, and will continue to inspire others for the rest of his life.
Awesome.
