Lisa Jackson admits that she thought wrestling was merely something of a diversion for her son Billy, an extracurricular activity that could possibly help her extremely shy child come out of his shell a bit socially.
Then she went to last weekend’s Class 5A regional and realized that it was so much more.
“That was the first time I’d actually saw him wrestle — it was very, very moving,” Jackson said. “I didn’t realize how passionate he is about it; he’s always wanted to excel, but football wasn’t very good and it didn’t happen in track — this has been so good for him.”
So good that Jackson, who wrestles at 171 pounds for Heritage, won three matches to advance to the state championships at the Pepsi Center. So good that, despite a record of 12-22, the worst of any qualifier in his weight class, it didn’t matter that he lost a 15-2 decision Thursday to Tanner Huber of Fort Collins in his preliminary match.
The truth is that, win or lose, Thursday’s score was irrelevant — the numbers incapable of augmenting or detracting from the triumph that Jackson represents.
One of seven children, Jackson has shown signs of autism, the developmental disorder that affects the brain’s normal development of social and communication skills.
“He may not say 10 or 15 words in a day,” said Butch Risoli, the athletic director at Littleton High. Jackson attends Littleton, but because the school doesn’t have a wrestling program, he’s allowed to compete for Heritage.
Similarly, it’s rare for Jackson to make eye contact. After each match, Heritage coach Ray Barron insists on shaking hands and having a brief conversation with his wrestlers. Whereas that was a problem before with Jackson, it’s become increasingly easier as the season has progressed.
Lisa Jackson says it’s not that her son can’t communicate, it’s that, more often than not, he chooses not to. She points out that, when he was in fifth grade, Billy won a spelling bee, and she’s always fought to try to keep her son in mainstream classes. Billy Jackson has never been officially classified as autistic.
“He’s just really, really shy and he learns differently,” she said.
“When I talk to him he talks back, but he never starts the conversation,” said Mike Miller, a Heritage senior who has wrestled with Jackson since middle school. “I know he likes (rap artist) Afroman — he makes me listen to that.”
Jackson has come far enough that he’ll occasionally go out with the rest of the team for meals, and when a number of players got their hair dyed blond before the state championship, Jackson joined them.
And, just as important for the kid who has longed to be successful athletically, he has held his own on the mats as well. Entering action Thursday, Jackson had 57 escapes on the year, tied for third on the state’s all-time single-season list.
“He finished third in an early-season tournament, then there were some bumps in the road,” Barron said. “There are a lot of good kids in his weight class, and so there would be highs and lows — he’d win a big match, then he’d lose a big match.
“I’m sure at one time, somebody must have told him to be careful because he might hurt someone because there are times when he’s just too nice. That’s one thing that he still has to understand, that you have to get those people on their backs and pin them.”
“I used to be too nice,” Jackson said in protest. “Now I’m getting better.”
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com
