No excuses: Kyle Chaboya sparks Calaveras football team despite cerebral palsy

Kyle Chaboya has been a member of the Calaveras football family since the eighth grade, and the terms of his participation are the same now as they were then.

Chaboya can wear the pads and jersey. He can stand on the sideline, peering through the mask on his helmet, but knows he won’t ever play a significant down for the Redskins, a perennial Sac-Joaquin Section playoff team.

Chaboya was born with cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that permanently affects muscle development, mobility and posture. He spends most his time in a walker or wheelchair.

“I’ve never been on the field. They will not allow (me) with my walker,” said Chaboya, whose 5-foot-2 frame is gnarled but tough. “They don’t want me to get hurt. I understand that.

“It makes me happy the way I’m doing it now, putting on a full uniform and being on the sideline with these guys. It’s always been my dream to step onto the field. I hope that one day I can achieve it, but if I don’t, at least I’ve had this (opportunity) in high school.”

On this day, the second of the Mountain Misery football camp at Central Catholic, Chaboya leans against his walker, cheering the action from the line of scrimmage.

He moves with the huddle, pushing his walker through the grass. The crimson practice jersey hangs loosely on his shoulders, and the thigh pads swim in his uniform pants.

Chaboya can’t run a route, chase down a running back or throw the ball downfield, but that doesn’t make him any less a member of the Stanislaus District’s football fraternity.

Chaboya has won over even the grizzliest of its coaches.

“I tell you, it’s the greatest feeling to see him out here. For myself, and I think I can speak for others, he’s an inspiration for us,” said Escalon coach Mark Loureiro, who served as the Mountain Misery camp director. He and Central Catholic coach Roger Canepa marveled at Chaboya’s tenacity and will as he trailed the team onto David Patton Field for a scrimmage. “You see a kid come out here every day and go through the drills and push that cart around like that, it’s amazing.

“A lot of times, you got kids who say ‘I’m sunburnt’ or ‘I’m sore’ or ‘I can’t do this or that.’ You don’t hear that kid say anything. He appreciates every day he gets up and gets to come out here.”

Truth is, there’s no place he’d rather be. Chaboya is a lifelong San Francisco 49ers fan, and he was heartbroken when linebacker Patrick Willis suddenly retired because of feet problems.

“He was my favorite player,” Chaboya said.

His love affair with the game was sparked by his grandparents and later stoked by the Calaveras coaching staff, beginning with the Junior Redskins varsity program. Chaboya joined the youth team in eighth grade.

For the last four years, he’s pushed his walker up and down the sideline at Frank Meyer Field and other Mother Lode League sites, willing his 125-pound body to keep pace with the high school Redskins.

“He’s a good kid,” Calaveras coach Jason Weatherby said.

Calaveras made 17 consecutive postseason appearances before falling a game short last fall. The Redskins were beaten by Amador 13-8 in their league finale, snapping the second-longest streak in the section. The loss still simmers.

“It hurt a lot. It hurt all of us, knowing we worked our butts off all season, knowing we had that one shot to go at the end,” Chaboya said. “It hurt us, but we’re planning on coming back this year and getting our spot back.”

Chaboya wants nothing more than to finish his football career in the postseason, and he understands the importance of each leg in the journey. The Redskins must win the summer, he says, if they want to compete late into the fall.

From his field-side seat at Mountain Misery, tucked in closely with his teammates, he liked their chances.

Chaboya has watched closely the evolution of quarterback Dylan Byrd and the Redskins’ passing game. Byrd and Chaboya have been friends since the Chaboya family relocated from Patterson to the foothills in 2005.

Byrd took his lumps last fall, throwing for more interceptions (8) than touchdowns (3), but he’s older, stronger and much more comfortable in the offense. He also has two sure-handed outlets: 6-foot-3 tight end Shane Torre and 5-11 wide receiver Trevor Ramirez, both of whom shined at Mountain Misery against Central Catholic, Sonora and Ripon Christian.

But ask Byrd for a difference-maker and his eyes dart back toward the sideline, scanning the crowd for the smallest in the bunch. He appreciates Chaboya’s courage and commitment and his unwavering support of the team.

Byrd believes, when it’s all said and done, the team MVP might actually be the one player who can’t play.

“He’s more committed to this team than any of us could ever wish to be,” said Byrd, a 6-4 junior. “He’s suiting up for practice. He’s suiting up for games. He’s running sprints when he can. Watching this kid, it really makes all excuses seem invalid. His love of the game really pushes us.”

While Chaboya’s body fails him, his mind does not. He is a master motivator, an inspiration in presence alone, but his football acumen makes him a treasure in the sideline huddle or locker room.

“He doesn’t like to lose,” Byrd said. “If you need a motivational speech, he’s your guy.”

If words and a little bit of willpower are the full extent of his impact on the game of football, Chaboya will gladly give you all he has. He’s a chatty teenager with a remarkable sense of purpose and place. He’s comfortable in his role as an honorary teammate – or an inspiration to others – because he’s comfortable with his disability.

Cerebral palsy doesn’t define him. Or confine him. Chaboya also is a member of the wrestling team – the one sport he’s allowed to compete in without his walker. He takes on all challengers from his knees.

“I don’t mind telling people what I have. If anyone has a question, feel free to ask me. I’m OK with it,” he said. “I think it’s very nice for other people and teams to look at me that way. It warms my heart to think a kid with a disability is an inspiration to others.

“Hopefully, that fuels their fire and helps them get done what it is they need to get done.”

This story was originally published July 27, 2015 at 3:48 PM with the headline "No excuses: Kyle Chaboya sparks Calaveras football team despite cerebral palsy."