A heartwarming display of sportsmanship went viral recently involving a high school student who was on the basketball court for the first time, his teammates and their opposing team in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
As posted originally by Facebook user Kimberly Berry, her son Logan Fudala (#50), made his first appearance of the season for the Gladstone High School freshman boys basketball team and was able to make a basket in the game.
In the screen recorded video below, you can see as Gladstone was pushing the ball up court, they gave the ball over to Logan, who after a few tries and assists from the opposing team (the Kingsford Flivvers) and fellow teammates, he was able to make one before exiting the court in a cute way.
“Thank you to Gladstone Coach Martin, Gladstone & Kingsford Freshman Boys Basketball teams for showing such kindness & support to Logan while he participated in his first basketball game last night. His teammates are so good with him! I am so incredibly proud of Logan and his determination to reach his goals. My heart is forever grateful 💜🏀,” Berry said in her post.
What made the viral shot story special was how Logan got there to begin with.
Described from Berry herself, Logan has Dandy-Walker Syndrome (in short terms, a rare congenital brain malfunction), and severe autism.
“Many people don’t know about Logan’s Dandy-Walker, they just recognize the autism,” Berry said. “Dandy-Walker is pretty rare so it’s easier for people to understand Autism, but we do try and raise awareness for both.”
Kimberly was told originally that if Logan lived, he would not have been able to walk, talk, or breathe on his own. However over time, she has seen her son prove people wrong every single day in every way possible.
“For me as a mom, the gains he has made are huge for me. It’s a slow process, but he gets there.” Berry said. “The last couple of years, he’s set the goals for himself, and is really becoming more social and so wants to be a part of things.”
“For Basketball, he (Logan) came home & announced he was going to tryouts (a few years ago, he wasn’t able to go into a gym due to the buzzer- terrified!). Last year he would just sit w/ the team during games & go to practice. Now look at him – he wanted to play! In eighth grade, he decided to run for class president & won!! He works really hard, he is so brave – he is amazing! I’ve always had the mindset that I’m not going to set the bar so low that there are no expectations for him – let’s give him the tools he needs and see where he goes.”
And behalf of all of us here at PSE, we wish Logan the best of luck with his teammates for the season! Hope you get to shoot more baskets, young man! Good luck!
**Original Video/Photo Courtesy to Kimberly Berry/Facebook**
