It was Jan. 25, at Strawberry Crest High School, and the Chargers boys’ basketball team was celebrating Senior Night.
The Chargers had amassed a double-digit lead over Spoto and were playing under a running clock.
Then, what seemed like an ordinary Senior Night became a moment to remember for one senior — and everyone else in attendance that night.
Kevin Garcia was called into the game, marking his first varsity experience.
His teammates did everything they could to set up shots for him.
Five 3-point attempts went up, but none went through the net. Then, as time was ticking down, Garcia was fouled when bringing the ball up the court off an in-bound.
Two foul shots went up. Both went in, each followed by loud cheers from the crowd.
The buckets were Garcia’s first and only points in a varsity game and fulfilled a longtime dream of his — dressing for and scoring in a varsity high school basketball game.
On May 23, Garcia, a special-needs student, received the Freddie Solomon Moral Courage Award at the Tampa Bay Sports Commission’s annual banquet.
To make the night even more memorable, Garcia was called up on stage later in the ceremony by Tampa Bay Rays Manager Joe Maddon and was presented with an award for David Price to commemorate his Cy Young Award win as the “Rays Most Memorable Moment.”
Price wasn’t in attendance to accept the award, so Maddon — after being touched by a YouTube video shown during the Freddie Solomon Award presentation — invited Garcia to the Rays-Yankees game the following night at Tropicana Field, to present the award to Price.
It was just another reward and memorable experience for a courageous young man that overcame odds to make his playing dreams a reality.
LOVE OF THE GAME
Garcia has a learning disability that also affects his speech. When he was in middle school at Turkey Creek, Garcia was diagnosed with scoliosis during a screening.
It was recommended that he have surgery, so in the summer of 2010, he had 22 bolts put into his back.
A fan of baseball and basketball since he was a young boy, Garcia expressed an interest in playing a sport in high school.
“He’s always loved sports, so I wanted to find one that he would enjoy playing but would still be safe for him where he wouldn’t get injured,” Kevin’s mother, Francis, said.
Two years ago, SCHS head basketball coach Andre Lewis heard about Garcia and his interest in playing, so he welcomed Kevin to practice and had him run through drills with the team.
“I didn’t treat him any differently than any other kid going out for the team,” Lewis said.
Kevin ended up on junior varsity and played for two seasons under head coach Steve Channer.
“Every game, he was able to come to he played in,” Channer said. “He was a great example of a team player.”
While he enjoyed his time on JV, playing on varsity was the goal for Garcia.
“I just wanted to keep training hard and working because I wanted to play varsity,” he said.
Leading into Strawberry Crest’s Senior Night in January, Lewis discovered that this would be Garcia’s last season of being varsity eligible. Garcia turns 19 this month, and although he could stay in high school until he is 21, 19 is the cut-off for FHSAA sports.
“Coach came to me with the idea of giving up my jersey for Kevin for Senior Night,” Channer’s son, sophomore guard Isaiah Channer, said. “I was just a sophomore and knew that I would have my moments and that this would be one of the last opportunities for Kevin, so I was happy to do it.”
So on Jan. 25, Garcia dressed in Channer’s No. 15 jersey. Whether his team had a sizable lead or not, Lewis said he planned to get Garcia playing time.
“It was really heart-warming,” Lewis said. “Having him dress out was one thing, but seeing him play and score brought it to another level.”
STAR TREATMENT
After being picked up by a limo at his house and getting VIP treatment at the Rays game — including spending about two hours on the field with Maddon and taking a private tour of the stadium — Garcia got to present the Best Rays Moment Award to Price.
He went home with many keepsakes, including a signed bat, Ben Zobrist’s batting gloves and his own No. 15 Rays jersey.
“It was really cool meeting all the Rays players,” he said. “I liked meeting coach Maddon, too.”
Garcia now will take culinary classes at Brewster Technical Center, in Tampa.
“He’s always loved to cook, and I have him help me in the kitchen with food prep a lot,” Francis said.
As for his future playing career, Garcia has even bigger dreams.
“I’d like to play in the NBA,” he said. “Maybe for the Miami Heat, when I get taller.”