On field, fears are forgotten

Don’t make him go left. He’ll pass and shoot all day on the right, but Jim Russell doesn’t try to hide his aversion to using his left foot.

“You know I don’t like it,” he chides sports coordinator Shannon Reeves.

On a wide open soccer field at East Roswell Park, Russell is at ease. He leads his teammates, drives the ball with authority from his backfield position and breaks into a smile in a snap.

He hasn’t always been this carefree, though.

Russell’s fear of people forced him into seclusion. It is one symptom of Asperger syndrome, a mental health disability characterized in part by social awkwardness and obsessive behavior.

It wasn’t that Russell opposed interacting; he just didn’t know how to do it.

“I never played with other kids,” said Russell, 26. “I’d play with toy soldiers and video games. I didn’t notice something was wrong until I was in high school. I couldn’t accept it.”

Although the disorder persists, the halting impact on his life is behind him, as Russell prepares for the soccer competition in the Special Olympics Georgia State Summer Games this weekend at Emory University. His progress is measured in ways small and large, most noticeably by his induction in August into the Georgia State Defense Force, which has a primary mission of supporting the National Guard.

In that world, he is Pfc. Russell, charged with duties such as crowd management, meal packing, escort assistance and serving as a parking assistant. It is a crowning achievement.

“For what we ask him to do, he is not limited at all,” Brig. Gen. Jerry Bradford said. “We are proud to give him an opportunity to serve. He does an outstanding job.”

And it came after years of futile tries to get into all branches of the armed services. At Centennial High School in Roswell, Russell was a member of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. But that, it seemed, would be the extent of his military involvement.

“It’s what I’ve always wanted. People don’t understand how the people before us fought for our freedom in this country,” Russell said. “I want to preserve it.”

The induction ceremony was at Just People, a program that supports adults with disabilities. It’s also the community where Russell blossomed four years ago. His success stories disguise past struggles with aggression and frequent outbursts. They hide continued battles with paranoia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The steps he has made put in the background the multiple boarding schools he attended in search for acceptance and answers.

“People with Asperger’s tend to want to do a lot of individual stuff,” Just People director Becky Dowling said. “We had to get Jim more involved, be social and be a part of the group. He had to become more comfortable with who he is and more comfortable in the ‘real world.’ “

That he is.

Russell bags groceries at Kroger. He has dated in and outside of the group. He is a talented photographer and cook, as well. He takes on challenges and doesn’t stop until he’s mastered them. His strength remains sports. For the second time, he’ll represent the Special Olympics team in Bicycle Ride Across Georgia, which covers about 420 miles in seven days. There is floor hockey and fishing, and of course, soccer.

“Out of the 20 people I have, he’s in the upper echelon,” Reeves said. “He’s a little stubborn on the field, but he has an understanding of the game. He plays defense for us because he has such a strong leg.”

Social anxieties still prevent him from playing in recreational leagues. But here, Russell is on top.

“Drop down and give me 50, soldier,” one of his teammates yells jokingly.

Russell can laugh out loud now, no longer frightened.

Event

Special Olympics Georgia State Summer Games

More than 1,500 athletes from across the state will compete in nine events Friday-Sunday at Emory University. www.specialolympicsga.org.