His time to shine

COEUR d'ALENE - In a lightning-quick move almost imperceptible to the naked eye, 14-year-old Jim Kinnard plucked the basketball from his opponent's hands and made a run for it.

He was focused and determined as he ran down the court in the Woodland Middle School gym Thursday evening, shoes squeaking, basketball bouncing.

He may have missed that particular shot, but everyone cheered anyway, because Jim had already won their hearts.

"He never lets us down," said Jonah Ponce, 14, a team captain for the Woodland Grizzlies. "Always cheerful, never see him with a sad face, always hardworking. Whenever we ask him to do something, he always does it for us. We're blessed to have him on the team."

For the final game of the season, the players of the eighth-grade boys "A" team wanted to give back to Jim, who has served as their team manager this season. Jim is not usually on the school court - he is developmentally delayed and spends most of his basketball time assisting and cheering for the team - but his peers made sure he was the star of that last game.

"We were looking at videos about little kids that have disabilities who don't play, but then they get the chance and score and we thought it would be cool if we could do that for Jim," said Cameron Johnson, 13. "And he's helped our team through. He does so much."

During the fourth quarter of the game against Canfield Middle School, Jim was tagged in and took his role seriously. His team members passed him the ball several times as they all wove between their opponents and when Jim would get to the hoop, they blocked and passed the ball back to him.

And, indeed, he made several baskets, causing the crowd to roar each time.

"They love him, he's a neat kid," said Woodland coach Austin Hoyer. "They came to me all together and said it'd be cool if he could get in to play a little bit. They said, 'We want him to play, coach.' I said, 'You got it guys. We'll get him in there.'"

Jim's parents, Jeff and Jann, proudly watched their son from the bleachers.

"It's just amazing," Jann said. "It's neat for Jimmy, and I'm excited to see how these kids grow - because they're the superstars because they help Jimmy out. It's a win-win."

"He's thrilled to be playing the big game," Jeff said.

Jim found out Wednesday he would be playing the final game. Before it began, he eagerly leaned from the boys locker room, alert and ready for anything.

"Yep, I'm going to play with them," Jim said. "We've done pretty good this season."

In his role as manager, Jim goes to all the practices and helps where he is needed. Hoyer, who previously was a special needs teacher, said Jim reassured him beforehand that he would not get tired and would play the entire game if necessary.

Hoyer said it is very rewarding to see the interactions between Jim and his peers and how the players have accepted him as one of their own. Plus, Jim has an abundance of friends throughout the school.

"Having Jim there really brightens your day," Hoyer said. "Jim goes to the cafeteria and during lunchtime will go to every table and talk to people, just to say hi. I think that goes to show, not just this group of kids, but our school in general, how very accepting of people our students are."

All the players were excited to talk about Jim's game day and how "pumped" he was to get on the court.

"When we gave him his uniform, he went into the locker room and changed into it like right away," said Travis Jerome, 14. "It was pretty cool and a fun experience for us to see him be happy because we always get to play basketball and we don't always realize that some people don't get to."

They all agreed that having Jim play was just a small way to reciprocate everything he has done for them.

"If there's a chance that there's a special needs (person) or anyone that can't make the team, just let them have their time to shine," Jonah said. "Maybe it's for just 30 seconds, but it'll probably be one of the best 30 seconds they'll ever have in their life."