Denton ISD Our Impact In Your Community Magazine October 2016 | Page 18

“At that time, I don’t believe anyone had orchestrated
that type of play with a special needs student,” said
Coach Atkinson. “I think we were one of the first, if not
THE first.”
Seven years later, when Coach Atkinson accepted
the Denton High School head coaching job in 2012,
he had one condition of employment - LaPlante,
who had graduated from high school, would coach
quarterbacks for the Broncos. And
their offices would be next door to
one another.
Standing on the sidelines of a
recent Bronco football game
decked out in a purple polo and
khakis, LaPlante looks like all the
other coaches. He acts just like
them too - slapping players on the
shoulder pads to fire them up and
yelling at officials when they don’t
toss a flag on a perceived penalty.
To Colton and the rest of his
teammates, however, LaPlante is
no ordinary coach. He’s informally
introduced to every varsity football
team by way of an inspirational
story and a highlight video that
shows the memorable 99-yard
touchdown run. According to
Coach Atkinson, when the video
finishes, there’s rarely a dry eye in
the film room.
The play usually brings, not tears, but a smile to
Colton’s face. Football provides the frame and
common language for these lifelong friends and
Colton said he relishes the time they spend together.
In fact, he can’t remember a time when he, football
and Lyndon LaPlante aren’t together.
“Watching him come to practice when he was in high
school, working hard day after day just to get the
chance to play in one play, in one game, drives me,”
said Colton. “He helped coaches and players just to
earn that one opportunity… And he’s still here.”
“He really pushes me. Sometimes I feel like I can’t
doing anything right, and he preaches to me to have
great effort and ‘play all out.’ That’s what I’ve tried to
do, and I’ve been doing it for him.”
Coach LaPlante, now 30, said he learned several
things from ‘growing up’ alongside Colton, including
how to be a warrior in the face of adversity and not to
be afraid. He has also learned how to be great friend.
“Colton is the best friend I’ve ever had,” LaPlante said.
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Wanting to make his best friend the best quarterback he
can be has pushed LaPlante even more. He and Colton
have spent hours together studying plays and watching
film. Genni said even at home watching college games,
LaPlante can often be found diagramming plays or
pointing out errors in others.
“There are nights when Lyndon will text me a link to a
YouTube video of a drill that he believes we need to try
in practice the next day,” Coach
Atkinson said. “He is a pure
student of the game.”
Colton hopes to have an
opportunity to play at the
college football next year. But if
that doesn’t work out, the player
and his coach have ideas about
how to stick together in the
years ahead.
Colton wants to pursue the
family business, and become
a head coach someday. If that
happens, he hopes to offer
Coach LaPlante a job on
his staff.
Either way, he knows he can’t
top his best friend’s best
moment on the football field
so he continues to use it
as motivation.
“The crowd was chanting ‘Lyndon! Lyndon!’ and I will
never forget it,” said Colton. “I don’t think I will ever score
as big a touchdown as he did that night.”
But he’s learned an even more valuable lesson.
It’s a lesson of friendship, trust and acceptance. It’s a
lesson passed down from his own father, even if that
wasn’t his intention from the start.
“One of the factors is this - someone on our team is
going to have a baby with Down Syndrome, a baby or
a family member or know someone with it,” said Coach
Atkinson. “Sometimes it’s all in the way you look at it
and that’s what I want them to learn. I think I want to
provide them with the opportunity that if you do have a
child with special needs they can do things, great things.
Don’t put limits on them - strive to reach their goa