He hasn’t played a minute, but that doesn’t matter.
He has a uniform — number 19 — and is on the sidelines with the team during games, cheering on friends who have been by his side for years as classmates.
Sandifer, age 18 and a Troy High School senior, has autism and is mostly nonverbal.
That hasn’t stopped him from building great rapport with fellow students and teammates as well as most everyone he encounters, said his mother, Amber Robinson.
Sandifer was added to this year’s football squad after he expressed a desire to head football coach Matt Burgbacher to be with his friends on the team.
Burgbacher, Robinson said, took things from there. Soon, Sandifer had a uniform, a number, a locker and was added to the team roster.
Sandifer attends practices on Tuesday and Thursdays, eats with the team at dinner on Thursdays and is on the sidelines in uniform and pads at home games. For away games, he wears his practice uniform.
When on the sidelines, he is accompanied either by his dad or stepdad, for safety reasons. “We are very cautious for his safety and make sure he is very safe during games,” Burgbacher said.
The team is enjoying a good season, too, and is headed toward the playoffs.
Sandifer listened as his mother discussed his autism, his interaction with classmates and his football season during a conversation at the Troy McDonald’s.
She said he likes standing with the team, eating chicken wings following wins and, when possible, riding the bus home from games with the team.
Robinson said her son was comfortable with classmates and began going to all the football games as a freshman, watching from the stands. After the games, he’d wait outside the locker room to fist-bump the players.
This year that game experience went way beyond.
“They did everything they could to make this a great experience for us. That means a lot,” Robinson said. “Everyone has been very, very cooperative with us. I couldn’t imagine a better experience for Derrec.”
The cheerleaders also include Sandifer in team activities such as decorating team member lockers before games and their home front doors for senior night as well and providing players with goodie bags before game day. “They are treating him like any other member of the football team, and it is wonderful,” Robinson said.
“The biggest thing I have learned from Derrec is no matter what kind of day you are having or problems you may think you have, you can always be happy,” Burgbacher said. “It’s a choice, and Derrec is always excited when he comes in the locker room or sees any of his teammates in the hallway.”
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