Put Kevin In!

After the story the other day about the selfish high school sports records, this is just a great story from the Orange County Register about one kid at one high school, and what high school sports should be about:

In the last quarter of the last home varsity basketball game of the season, Kevin Cogan watched from the bench. He watched the clock. He watched the score. He watched the game.

The clock ran on the scoreboard at Fullerton High School. Coach Bill Czech promised that if the team had a 20-point lead, Cogan would play.

The red lights flashed the score: 59 Fullerton Indians, 21 Buena Park Coyotes.

Three weeks before, Czech asked Cogan if he wanted to suit up and play in the game Friday. Cogan is a senior with cerebral palsy and manager for the basketball team.

The right side of Cogan's brain is dead, which distorts his visual perception and balance when he walks. He struggles to process information, especially math. But his disabilities didn't stop him from attending varsity games. Since his freshman year, he cheered on the team, which earned him recognition from the coach and eventually a courtside seat.
[...]

Cogan sat on the bench awaiting the coach's cue. Six more minutes were left in the game.

"Are you ready to go in?" Czech said.

"Yeah, Coach, I'm ready," Cogan said.

"OK, at the five-minute mark," Czech said.

All the players on the bench patted Cogan on the back.
Suddenly "Put Kevin in! Put Kevin in!" resounded in the stands packed with fans. Cogan's mother Jan, 54, held back tears as she watched in the company of her husband, Tim, 55, and dozens of family friends.

Cogan stood up, pulled off his warm-up and bared No. 43 on his jersey.

He rocked from side to side, like a seasoned sailor, onto the court.
"Kevin, go deep and cherry-pick at half-court," Czech said.
Czech shouted at his players to "pass it to Kevin."

Adrian Brown, 16, hurled the ball down the court. Cogan caught it and gingerly dribbled up to the basket and hit a layup, making the score 66-32. Fans from both sides of the stands roared and chanted, "Kevin, Kevin, Kevin."

"Everyone's heart warmed in the gym when Kevin made the layup," team captain J.J. Hernandez said. "We played hard defense to get a lead and get Kevin in."

When the final buzzer sounded, Cogan hugged Czech. Hundreds of people surrounded Cogan on the court to say "congratulations."
Cheerleaders lined up to pose next to him, like a teen idol, for photographs. The editor of the school newspaper asked Cogan for an interview.

Cogan broke away from the crowd to find Czech in his office.
"Coach, I don't know how I'll ever repay you," he said. "I'm now the new celebrity of Fullerton. Even the cheerleaders swarmed me."

"You owe me big," Czech said, grinning. "I knew you'd come through."

Thanks, Kevin, and thank you too, Coach Czech.