Young boy in wheelchair gets to score touchdown

[Mr. Scot]

Love stories like this: Wheelchair-Bound Boy Lives Football Dream

You would be hard-pressed to find a young football fan more devoted to the sport than nine-year-old Jason Smith Jr.

Jason, a fourth grader from Prague, Okla., has been an assistant coach for the Prague Red Devils of the Deep Fork Valley football league since he was in first grade, helping his father, head coach Jason Smith Sr.

While Jason's twin brother, Jalen, plays on the field, Jason has been confined to the sidelines of the sport he loves. At age three he was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a disorder that causes a weakening of the body's muscles. A few months ago, Jason lost the ability to walk and is now wheelchair-bound.

"He's never been able to run or jump or do things that the other kids do, so that didn't allow him to play [football]," his mother, Miranda Smith, said.

All of that changed last Thursday night, however, thanks to the ingenuity of a referee, Nick Loman, who had seen Jason on the sidelines calling plays at so many little league games.

"He [the referee] had seen Jason different times at so many different ballgames, and this time he just came up to my husband with the idea to put Jason in the game," Smith said.

"You're in, bud," Jason Smith said he told his son, grabbing Jalen's football helmet so Jason Jr. could suit up.

With that, Jason found himself on the field, carrying out the play he usually calls from the sideline and carrying the football toward the end zone. He was pushed past the goal line by his good friend, Andrew, with his teammates and even the opposing players by his side.

When Jason realized what he had accomplished, his parents said he grinned from ear to ear - his eyes also wide with disbelief.

"In the video you can hear Jason Jr. say, "They actually counted it?'" said Miranda Smith. "He's smart and he knows the game so they were all very excited that he counted it. We even got up the next day and checked online to see if they had really counted it and they did, so he was very excited."

"They didn't even care about the loss," Jason Smith said of the team he and Jason Jr. have coached for the last four years. "They were happy they got to do that with Jason. The boys would pretty much do anything for him."

The Red Devils' players would "do anything" for Jason because they know he would, and can, do anything for them. A few weeks earlier in the season Jason Smith had let his son take over as head coach for an entire game, calling all the plays, and the Red Devils won that game 28-0.

"He's just really good with his words," Jason Smith said. "He can make people listen at a young age."

Future head coach in the NFL?

[Hawk]

pretty cool...great memory for him and hopefully a little life lesson for everyone else

[PhillyB]

sound playcalling you say?

farewell chudzinski

[Mr. Scot]

Playcalling at age 9...wow.

Anyone else notice the little fella from the opposing team who dove like he was trying to catch him at the end? I'd happily tell that little boy's parents they've got a good kid.

[Iceberg Slim]

Good story...thanks for thar

[Seal (SmittyIsOurSavior)]

The kid at the end - "Hey coach, why can't we do this every play!?"

[Seal (SmittyIsOurSavior)]

Playcalling at age 9...wow.

Anyone else notice the little fella from the opposing team who dove like he was trying to catch him at the end? I'd happily tell that little boy's parents they've got a good kid.

He was also the first from the other team to run over and congratulate him.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

that's so much more awesome than walking

[MadHatter]

Duchene's MD is a terrible disease. We have a little 2nd grader in our neighborhood who has it. He is not yet confined completely to a wheelchair but is pretty close. We have a 5k run every year to raiseoney for him. His father pushes him the whole race in a wheelchair.

Sweetest kid you could ever meet.