http://www.insidebayarea.com/top-stories/ci_14077985
Player inspires, to new heights
By Jeff Faraudo
Posted: 12/27/2009 07:46:13 PM PST
Updated: 12/27/2009 07:50:21 PM PST
RIVERDALE, N.Y.
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For Skip Connors, whose son, Jackson, was born in the spring without a right hand, the biggest fear was the unknown.
Kevin Laue chased away that fear.
Connors read in The New York Times about how Laue, a 6-foot-10 graduate of Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, signed a national letter of intent in April with Manhattan College, making him the first one-handed Division I scholarship player in NCAA men’s basketball history.
Connors, who lives in New York City, is friends with Manhattan coach Barry Rohrssen. Last summer, the coach arranged for Connors to meet Laue on campus in the tiny Bronx community of Riverdale.
“I don’t know why,” Connors said, “but one of the first things I asked him was, ‘How do you tie your shoes?’ “
Laue bent down and tied a knot with his right hand. “I looked up and he was real teary-eyed,” Laue recalled. “He was like, ‘My son can do anything.’ “
“I still get choked up,” Connors said. “It gave some clarity to a few things.”
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[JR: Inspiring. I don't push a lot of "sports" stories. MC toots that horn well. This one shows what I believe is the Jasper ethos -- inspiring others. Evidently Laue upholds that value. Brother Scanlan and Coach Rohrssen did well. Laue inspired one man.]
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