FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 2013
Courtesy of The Lowell Sun, Written by Sarah Favot
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - At a long table with the Merrimack College Warriors' backdrop behind them during a press conference held in their honor, 3-year-old Matthew and 6-year-old Noah Davidopoulos were drafted to the college's men's lacrosse team.
The draft, made official by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, made Matthew and Noah members of the team.
Matthew, who was sitting at the table in his motorized wheelchair, has spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic disease that attacks nerve cells in the spinal cord.
The boys, who live in Lowell, were matched up with the Warriors through Team IMPACT, a Boston-based nonprofit organization that sets out to improve the quality of life for children facing life-threatening illnesses.
Team IMPACT matches up children with local colleges, where they are drafted to a team for the duration of their treatment and beyond.
The boys were presented with gifts from the team during the March 18 ceremony, including workout gear and their very own lockers in the teams' locker room.
The boys then headed out to the field to experience a team practice.
The boys' father, Paul, said the whole afternoon was tremendous.
"They welcomed our kids in like family," he said. "At one point during the practice, they had a huddle, and they called the boys in from the sidelines and gathered around Matthew's wheelchair."
The boys plan on attending some practices, home games and some away games.
"It was extremely magical, not just for Matthew, but our other son, Noah," Davidopoulos said. "It was nice to see Noah be involved. That's part of the whole idea of the program."
The program not only provides an experience for the young people, but also gives the players inspiration from the strength and courage of a chid fighting through adversity, according to Team IMPACT.
Matthew's doctors said he was not expected to live past age 2.
As the Davidopoulos family was leaving the athletic field last week, Noah turned to his parents and asked how soon they could come back.
Matthew, whose cognitive abilities are unaffected by SMA, answered his brother's question.
According to Davidopoulos, Matthew answered, "We have to go back really soon because we're part of the team."
