Everett Williams is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Gilbert High School for AZPreps365.com

Sports can be a powerful force, perhaps more than any other factor in life. For some, sports are not just an activity after school but a way to express oneself, to learn and mature as sports provide a structure for valuable life skills.

For Gilbert High School senior Eli Jackson, sports have been the outlet he needed. Jackson was born addicted to many substances and he entered into foster care after his birth. When babies are born already exposed to addiction, they can have issues mentally, socially and emotionally later in life.

Eli Jackson was adopted into the Jackson family in Gilbert, AZ. (Photo courtesy of Suzie Jackson)

Jackson also has been in special education and self-contained academic classes since a young age. He is in the academic SCILLS program at Gilbert, a program that helps students with certain cognitive impairments and provides alternate, hands-on teaching methods to help children succeed.

Jackson is one of the top runners for Gilbert’s track team and has made his way to the top in Arizona. Jackson runs a 10.91 100-meter dash, good enough for Top 20 in the state, and a 21.92 200-meter dash that places him eighth. Working through some of the challenges that were associated with the circumstances of his birth, Jackson has developed into a track star for Gilbert. It’s not often that a person predisposed to addiction and in special-education classes is meters ahead of the pack.

Sports have allowed Jackson to find an identity and cultivate his socials skills with the team. They also have allowed him to develop professional skills like maintaining a job by providing structure in his life. Jackson learned to truly work hard while being part of something bigger than himself thanks to track.

“We’re just happy that he’s found something,” said Eli’s mother, Suzie Jackson. “I think the friendships that he has made have been incredible. Those kids are just such good kids.”

Jackson has seen his social skills jump tremendously since he began running. He has developed friendships that keep him motivated to continue to pursue track throughout high school.

“The bond keeps us together,” said Jackson. “Any time I feel like slowing down, I think of my friends and I can just easily pick it up.”

Track helped Jackson with some of the anxieties he has in life such as his identity. For the longest time, Jackson struggled to find what drove him.

“When I come on this track, it’s always like ‘you’re fast’, ‘you’re this, you’re that,’'' said Eli Jackson. “Obviously, I had my own struggles. But these guys are very friendly, they’re very open, they’re very understanding. It’s been like that ever since I came here as a freshman. A lot of them know I’m adopted and stuff, we talk about it. They’re very supportive and understanding of that.”

Jackson's passion for track has propelled him not just in the sports world. (Photo courtesy of Suzie Jackson)

“It was something that he had that he was good at,” said Eli’s father, Brett Jackson. “It was something that he was noticeably better than other kids. And coming up, that wasn’t the case in other areas. So, I think that was one area that he was really able to shine.”

Eli’s sense of belonging in not only school, but his own family changed as well. The Jacksons adopted eight children while having four of their own. Track gave him individuality at a young age and taught him the valuable lesson of believing in your own work.

“I think also with our family, we’ve had some honor students,” said Brett Jackson. “It (track) gives him something to be able to say: ‘I have something that I shine in, I can relate to you guys, I can be included, I have my thing.'”

Being around other high school athletes granted Jackson an opportunity to mature and develop confidence. Jackson is an African-American student at Gilbert and was raised by white parents. His background is vastly different from others and this affected his confidence growing up.

“I think, too, that being with the track team, with guys who are athletes and kind of popular kids in school, they were good role models that he could learn from,” Brett said. “Even just socialization. Being able to say that he belonged, that he was just as good as those guys.”

Mentally, track kept Jackson in check. It gave Jackson a moment to release some of the energy that builds up in his mind due to his ADHD.

“It’s just been fantastic for him to have that outlet, to have the body keep up with the mind,” said Marilee Ade, the transitions coordinator at Gilbert High School for children with individual educational plans (IEP’s) and Jackson’s third period social studies teacher. “Track was exactly what he needed.” 

Many children who face learning difficulties need a place to express themselves and focus their energy. It gives them an opportunity to be their genuine selves and learn to develop their soft skills while also enjoying what they want to pursue.

“I think a lot of parents want their special kids to be at peace,” said Ade. “Having them involved in sports I think is amazing for them, it gives them an outlet, it keeps them active. Especially if they have ADHD, they have that mind and that impulsiveness, they need an outlet for that.”

Jackson used track as an outlet to express himself and gain valuable life skills. (Photo courtesy of Suzie Jackson)Jackson learned from his fellow competitors what it was like to hold responsibilities as well. Jackson was able to practice how to work with others and be a leader while doing something he loved at Gilbert. His teammates became a large part of his growth.

“They really took him under their wing and because of that he was able to get a job,” Brett Jackson said. “Being able to socialize and interact with people, to follow directions, I think track has done so much for him to learn those skills.”

Jackson has a job at Joe’s Real BBQ in Gilbert and enjoys the discipline that he managed to develop by being included in the track team. His duties include cleaning tables, greeting customers, even working in the dish room washing dishes.

“When we hire kids that have a sports background with coaches that train and push them, they generally are pretty easy to fit into a work environment,” said Paul Brown, manager at Joe’s Real BBQ. “They’ve learned what working hard means physically. Those kids seem to fit in a little faster and easier because they’ve had that experience of pushing themselves and being coachable. Eli fits that.”

Jackson has accepted a scholarship to run track at Mesa Community College. Individual educational plans (IEP’s) and special education have a well-supported program at MCC and Jackson will be able to use his accommodations academically there.

Jackson has excelled in the workplace due to his discipline learned from track. (Everett Williams/ AZPreps35)

Track has been such a critical part of Jackson’s development as a young adult as it has given him an avenue to thrive at his own pace. Sports are important for the development of every child, not just a child against many odds. They provide the groundwork for a well-rounded individual who can succeed from a physical, mental and social stand point.

“We’re just trying to get him as many opportunities to see that the sky is really the limit,” said Suzie Jackson. “That he can do hard things and we're just excited to see where he’s going to end up.”

Jackson has circled the same track for four years at Gilbert, yet has grown into something the Jackson family didn’t imagine. Because of the opportunities with track, Jackson has been given a chance to follow his goals and continue to prosper as a man.