Why this autistic US teen is passionate about high school football

Sports can empower children with autism, building confidence and showcasing their abilities on and off the field. Photos: 123rf

Byron Lewis is the only player on the powerful football team at Westinghouse High School (WHS), Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, the United States who starts on both offense and defense. He is an imposing six foot four inches, 127 kg senior, a standout lineman who has dreams of winning a state championship this year and possibly playing in college.

Oh, and by the way, he is autistic.

“I don’t think anyone thought he would turn out like this,” said Ayodeji Young, Lewis’ first coach three years ago in a youth league. “I don’t want to sound too sappy, but what he is doing, this is the stuff for a movie. Really, this is Disney movie stuff.”

Lewis is autistic, but starts on both offense and defense for his school’s football team. Photo: TNSBut movies are often fictional. Lewis’ story is as real as one of his tackles on defense or blocks on offense, and right here in heart of the city of Pittsburgh is a high school teenager authoring one of the best feel-good stories this fall in Western Pennsylvania football.

Football has helped him thrive in a life with autism. And now he actually might inspire others.

“I think he is a great story of hope,” WHS coach Donta Green said. “He is a story of encouragement for other kids with diverse abilities to go after what they want. The thing is, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to be on this team and to be contributing to our success.”

An autistic child playing sports certainly isn’t unprecedented. There have also been numerous stories in high school sports over the years about an autistic teenager maybe being a team manager or being part of a team and getting into a game on senior night. But here is Lewis, actually playing a major part on a team with state championship aspirations.

“He doesn’t hide and he’s not self-conscious. He’s just his authentic self, and that’s something you have to admire about him,” Green said. “The man I am today, I don’t know if I would be as brave and courageous as Byron is, to go out there every single day and every single week and be around guys who are slightly different than him and feel a part of everything.”

Jesse Torisky is the president and chief executive officer of Autism Pittsburgh, the longest-running autism advocacy organisation in the country.

“It is so encouraging to hear stories like (Lewis’) because so many people on the spectrum struggle to work with their peers and interact with peers because of their autism,” Torisky said. “For him to be able to do this is quite an accomplishment and should give encouragement to other people in our community.”

On the front of WHS are three small banners next to each other that read, “Together we can... We will... We must.” That’s Lewis.

“Nobody on the team talks about Byron having autism. It’s normalised,” said Josiah Collins, a junior standout defensive lineman for WHS. “We love Byron. He’s just one of us.”

‘Byron is special’

Autism is a developmental disability that affects a person’s ability to communicate, learn, interact with others and behave. There are different degrees on the “autism spectrum,” and Lewis is on the high-functioning end.

Lewis sat inside the locker room at WHS and talked about everything from what his teammates and coaches mean to him, his school and what football has done for his life. He gave straightforward, mostly short answers to questions and laughed some.

“I think I was around five when I was diagnosed with autism,” Lewis said.

Sports help kids with disabilities develop resilience in a supportive environment.

Lewis attends Pace School in Churchill, Pittsburgh, a school whose mission is to “provide individualised education with mental health, behavioural and autistic support services that empower students.”

Lewis has attended Pace since he was 11. He can play sports at WHS because Pace is a special education school that doesn’t have sports.

Young said Lewis was unsure about the game at first but picked up on things quickly, eventually started to fit in and started to play.

“I had a conversation with the staff that we had to take it a little easy on him because the learning curve for him might be a little different than everyone else,” Young said. “The biggest hurdle was the players because, you know, kids can be mean. There were a couple incidents, like sometimes Byron just wouldn’t stop after a play. Kids would say, ‘Why don’t you just chill?’

“But we had a conversation with the kids and said Byron is just special. The kids don’t know what autism is. We told them it just means he learns a little differently. After that talk, the lights clicked on with the other kids. It was something that was so warm-hearted to see. From that day forward, he was their brother.”

The future

Green said Byron is probably one of the most lovable kids he has ever coached.

“I hope and pray that people who lead other programs create an environment that is inclusive for a lot of different people to be part of. I know there aren’t too many programs in this country that would be a good fit for Byron. To know I’m part of one that is for him is greater than any accomplishment I could ever achieve on the field. It makes my heart smile.”

Lewis said WHS football has changed his life.

“If I wouldn’t play football, I would just be at home all the time playing my video games.”

Teammate Collins said, “What we take pride in is looking out for Byron, but we look out for all of us. Byron is real protective of us, too.”

Much of the credit for Lewis’ development should go to Green, whose disciplined style of coaching has turned around WHS’ programme. But Green is about much more than wins, wanting to develop players as people and also helping put WHS players into colleges.

At pre-season training camp this year, Lewis would always want to lead grace before team dinners.

“Honestly, it took some time for our coaching staff to get acclimated to him, trying to feel him out to see how much he can handle mentally and physically,” Green said. “But he blew us out of the water with how much he can comprehend concepts. If you didn’t know, you’d never think he has a diverse ability. He could teach some of our defense. That’s how well he comprehends it.”

Torisky said, “Oftentimes, it is the autism that can be an asset. It lets them focus to a greater extent than the neurotypical person might be able to.”

With Lewis’ size, athletic ability and talent, Green believes he could play on the college level.

“The challenge is finding a place with a programme where he could succeed off the field, too. We’re trying to work on some things.”

Lewis said he would like to play in college. “If I don’t, I’ll just probably get a job. This team means family. There’s a brotherhood. I love this team. I love this game. It’s just everything to me. And it’s fun, too.”

Lights, camera, action. – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/Tribune News Service