(upbeat music) - You walk into a gym with 40 other athletes and that can be a little intimidating.

And we laugh because on the forms that everybody fills out, they're like, our athlete hates loud noise.

And as you've seen, our practices are loud.

And then they get out there and it's like, they can't hear a thing.

They're just focused on the basketball at hand.

- Some of the highlights from when we play at halftime are just staggering.

It's a seven minute scrimmage that we can't script that Connor's gonna hit a 30 footer from the logo in Chapel Hill.

Jackson is gonna hit a step back 25 footer in front of a sold out crowd at App or Lucas at Carolina is gonna hit a three pointer.

- And the crowd goes crazy and the kids feed off of that and then they celebrate.

- Have you always loved coming here?

How many years have you been coming to Journey League?

- Since 2016.

- Oh, wow.

- Yes ma'am, I love basketball.

So it's my first year at school.

- The social part is that it helps people like us to make a lot of new friends.

- He's able to come here and not only get to play the game he loves, but then engage.

That's really the glue to what Journey League is all about is this social network that these kids and parents have ended up creating.

- Great job.

(crowd cheering) - Cut up the potatoes or the onions?

What do you wanna make?

- Probably the potatoes.

- So they won't make you cry.

- I know.

- Yeah.

- I know that's what I was thinking.

- Okay.

- Chandler is now 28.

She has autism.

- Well, don't you guys usually have a song for something and when you guys are cooking, there's always a song.

- You wanna drop something on the ground?

- What is that one?

I see an apple sitting on the ground.

I'm gonna eat it dirty, dirty.

- I'm gonna eat it dirty.

- I'm gonna eat it dirty.

- You want some salt?

- Yeah.

- She's insulting.

- That's insulting.

- Who tells bad jokes?

- We do.

- We do.

- We had just moved to the Triangle area and we wanted to help her meet someone 'cause she wanted to go to the prom and she didn't know anybody.

- Yeah, I first went to prom at my high school in Cary back in May 2016.

'Cause that was the year of when I graduated.

- We had tried a program like this, similar to this in California.

And Mike was integral in that and he was a great coach, made the kids just really have fun doing the basketball program.

And so we thought, well if we did the basketball program here, if we started that, she might meet someone that she's comfortable enough to take as a friend to the prom.

- I went to the Green Hope prom with a guy that I knew from Journey League.

His real name is Caleb, but he goes by Scoob.

- I went to like, I think 11 proms.

I think that was a fun experience.

She's a good friend, Mike's an over and they're such good people.

- For both of them, you know, to not have the same experiences as most kids, you know, the pageantry of a prom.

It's special that a special needs kid can actually partake in something that the other kids experienced.

- So they both really got into everything.

- And they danced.

- And they danced, they both danced like crazy.

- Caleb, we have a very special relationship.

I think it's easy to assume that everyone goes through the same struggles as you.

So it's easy to dismiss their struggle, but I think seeing like how Caleb goes through life in a way that, you know, he probably has a lot more struggle, internal struggle that we don't know about, but he doesn't really let that affect him that often.

Or, you know, he doesn't dump it on people.

It's, he just changes your perspective a little bit.

- The whole summer of 23, the summer and fall, he was sick.

It took quite a while for them to figure out what was going on.

And it ended up that he had an infection in his heart, which then went to his leg, to his knee.

And they, before they could do his open heart surgery, they had to repair the aneurysm in his knee so that the infection would not travel back to his heart.

And when they did that, a nerve was cut.

- Well, then he had his heart surgery just a few days after he had his aneurysm in his leg removed.

So they didn't even know if he'd get his legs back again, he'd be able to use them.

- I was stuck in hospital for like three weeks and some days, yeah.

It was hard, yeah.

- How did you feel when you were able to play sports again?

- I'm happy.

I think, like, to see my friends again, and everyone, everyone saying like, like, "Hope you get better soon."

- Get well soon, buddy.

- All right, go.

- Hey, Scoob, get well soon.

- Get well soon.

- Just fast, fast.

- Get well soon, Scoob!

- Get well soon, Scoob!

- Get well, Scoob!

- Get well, Scoob!

- Get well, Scoob!

- Get well, Scoob!

- Get well, Scoob!

(cheering) - I think just like, having people lift you up all the time and give you strength, and like, just to know that they have my back.

♪ Don't keep me going, I'll break a bone ♪ ♪ So don't you make me break a bone ♪ ♪ I'm in your field, you're running the team ♪ ♪ I'm bending your fields, I'm adjusting to your speed ♪ - When I was a junior in high school, I met Coach Mike, and he was one of the assistant basketball coaches.

And I got to know his stepdaughter, Chandler, who has autism, and he came to find out that I have a cousin who has autism as well.

So he was like, "What do you think about starting a basketball league "for that population?"

You know, for individuals with special needs.

I was like, "Let's do it."

So we did it.

We started with about 10 athletes at a local YMCA, rolled the ball out, had a great time the first night, and fast forward to today, we've got seven locations, and over 400 athletes in the program.

(upbeat music) - We're creating really a sense of family, and belonging, and relationships for the entire community, whether it's the athletes, their parents, our volunteers.

- And Coach Mike does not coddle these kids.

- I heard.

- He doesn't.

- I heard kids fight.

- Yeah, like nobody wants to, like push them, they're talented.

This is not fake talent.

They're really athletes, like they're really athletic, so we love that.

- This is my first time being here with you all, and you can just feel it.

- Definitely.

- You feel the heart, the joy.

- Yes, because people really don't understand what it is to be a special needs parent.

If you don't have those safe spaces, and even when you have inclusive activities, you always have to be like, where's my child?

What's my child doing?

Who's near my child?

I can't explain what this league means to me, and what it means to my son, and for him to feel like he has best friends.

Now he's 15, he's never had best friends.

He's never been invited to a birthday party, like none of the things.

And this right here is just like, because we hang out outside of Journey League, so it's a blessing.

It really is.

(crowd cheering) (birds chirping) - I thought the jingle was here, but it's at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

- Oh yeah.

- So you gotta move one BJ forward.

- Right?

- Mm-hmm.

And then take that one, and hop over.

And pick it up.

Well, you could drive around it.

And then take this.

- BJ has, he's socially awkward, as someone from the outside looking in would describe him.

But when you come to Journey League, Coach Mike, for example.

Coach Mike doesn't care about anybody's disabilities.

You know, he's going to talk to you like you're smart, because you are smart.

He's going to joke with you, because you're a human being.

You are everything these other teenagers are.

You just have a little bit of quirkiness with you, and that's okay.

So BJ is seen as somebody who's good at sports, not the autistic boy.

He's super athletic, and he's super competitive teenager, period, you know?

The autism label isn't what leads him.

- Turn it around.

Watch this.

Basketball is a team of Journey League that I play.

I like to dribble and shoot the ball, and play defense.

Yeah, Coach Kel, Coach Mike, Coach Kevin.

I like them because they're nice to me.

They play really well.

- The opportunities that Journey League gets with different colleges and universities, it's the acceptance and the love that people really give you.

So like, they'll go play at a basketball game, they get to play during the halftime show.

And the response that the audience gives everyone, it's like they're louder than the regular game.

You know, they root 'em on, and it shocks me because I'm like, y'all are really doing it out here.

Y'all are really killing it out here, and everybody loves y'all.

- It's been to Chapel Hill, and it's been a really interesting university.

I feel excited and happy.

- Please welcome to the court, Journey League!

- Every time we play, people ask to say, "Why do you play so many college, and some now NBA halftimes?"

And yeah, we love it.

And the athletes love the applause.

When we practice, we're only practicing in front of Journey League parents and volunteers that are very well acquainted with our athletes.

But when we play in front of 20,000 people, there might be somebody watching who could give one of our kids a job.

There might be somebody watching who could fund an academic program for one of our athletes to continue training or their academic career.

And it's those little moments that not just raise awareness, but raise possibilities.

- Coffee!

- A small, hot decaf whole milk.

- Yes.

- So that's their white ginger milk.

- A small 2% cappuccino.

- A lot of times as parents, we don't know everything that goes through their mind.

But when they have the opportunities or if they get asked a question like, "What do you see for your future?"

- I wanna go to college.

- Have kids that have, like, that's me, that has what it needs.

I think I can impact kids' lives.

- There are multiple job ideas, but the main ones are to be a good person, show sportsmanship, be a team player in any way possible.

- If I had to say a dream for the future is that I hope to possibly, at the current job I work, maybe I hope to possibly get a promotion and maybe become, like, a manager, maybe become, like, team lead possibly someday.

- I like the opportunity that my team got to play at the NC State game.

It was a very special opportunity.

Every time, you know, I go into work, it does give me a lot of confidence.

- We're not like any other coffee shop where we do, like, a lot of the same things over and over.

- Thank you guys so much for another fantastic season.

Let's give it up for Apex!

(crowd cheering) - My name is Ryan Clute, and I've been with Journey League for several, several years and being a part of this team means so much to me.

- So I love you guys, and keep on dreaming and believing, and never give up.

- I cannot wait to see all of you again.

- Always be yourself and always be awesome!

- So much fun.

I can't wait for next season.

Go Journey League!

- We always have a good time.

We laugh, we dance, and I've made many friends here.

I can be myself and everyone is always kind.

Thank you for all you do to help us be successful, and I look forward to the next season.

- One, two, three, Journey League!

- Wow!

- We shouldn't put a ceiling on him, you know?

I think he, and everyone that does Journey League with him, I think they have a lot more potential than what people see, and I think if everyone gave them more time, and patience, and opportunities, that the whole world would be a much more beautiful place.

(crowd cheering) (gentle music) [Music]