At San Clemente High School they call him ?Train.? As in ?A-Train.? As in ?Alex.?
For four years, Alex Neidl, who has grown up with cerebral palsy, has been student manager of the varsity basketball team, asking each year if he could step off the bench and try out for the team.
?He?s got some deficits,? said the Tritons? coach, Marc Popovich. ?None of those things ever stop him. He's got such a great spirit. He's just so much fun to be around.?
On Thursday night, in the varsity team?s final game of Neidl?s senior year, he was in the starting lineup against Dana Hills High in the San Clemente High?s gym. When his name was announced, the floor shook with the crowd's thunderous applause.
The tip-off went to the Tritons. The ball went to Neidl, then into the hoop. The gym erupted.
?TRAIIIIIN!?
The ovation continued after Dana Hills scored to tie the game, San Clemente High called time out and Neidl returned to his role on the bench as team manager.
?Awesome,? Neidl said.
?It was pure joy,? his father, Mark Neidl, said up in the stands. ?I couldn?t contain myself. I had a couple of tears coming down my eye. I never thought this day would come, and thanks to the whole staff, to San Clemente and to everyone here. We're extremely grateful and very proud.?
Popovich said the decision to let Alex start the game was easy ?because of how much Alex has meant to our program. He has been with us since he was a freshman. It's been fun to watch him grow these last four years.?
At risk of dying in the womb, Alex was born 17 years ago through an emergency C-section, suffering seizures and brain damage, his father said.
?He?s a little developmentally delayed,? Mark Neidl said. ?It?s hard to tell. You can see by the way he walks that he probably has cerebral palsy. He?s had surgery three times on his legs.?
But he can play basketball. ?In practice,? the coach said, ?the kids will pair off and shoot free throws. The loser does push-ups. He?ll make seven out of 10, eight out of 10. There are kids who have to do push-ups because they got beaten by Alex.?
On Sundays, Alex plays in a program in Dana Point for kids with disabilities, his father said. Some varsity players volunteer to coach. At San Clemente High, Alex attends some mainstream and some adaptive classes.
Darian Nourian, a senior on the varsity team, said the players have loved being around Alex the entire four years: ?Same old Train, making me laugh, always being a great teammate.?
Nourian said the players were just as excited as Alex for him to be on the court Thursday night.
?Even though it?s one play, one shot, to see him go out there and make a basket means the world,? Nourian said.
When the seniors on the varsity team were announced and marched onto the court one by one before their final game to be recognized with their parents, Mark and Isabel Neidl were at Alex's side as the announcer told the crowd that Alex has a 3.18 grade-point average and that his most memorable experience was going to the second round of the playoffs last year.
He is a member of the Best Buddies Club, which unites students from mainstream classes with students in adaptive classes.
?It?s so amazing to me that our community is so willing to help our kids,? Mark Neidl said.
In an off-campus example, Alex takes a golf lesson on Saturdays from Rocky Rafkin at San Clemente Municipal Golf Course. ?Rocky has spent so much time with Alex,? Mark said. ?For what we pay for that half-hour lesson, we get so much more. Rocky has been a great mentor to Alex.?
Upon graduating, Alex plans to attend Saddleback College classes and adult-education transition classes.
And never mind that Dana Hills carried the evening, 55-52, on Thursday. Alex and his teammates will never forget Train's moment in the spotlight, his two-pointer as the crowd leapt to its feet.
Contact the writer: fswegles@ocregister.com
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Source: http://www.ocregister.com/news/alex-339752-san-clemente.html
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