Doctors told Mike McQuay’s parents that their son might never speak, might never be able to live and work on his own. But the McQuays were undeterred, and Mike Sr. took it upon himself to form the Jersey Hammerheads, a swim team that trains in the Raritan Bay YMCA. Rigorous, hard-headed, but always compassionate, Mike Sr. pushes his athletes—all of whom face the challenges of autism—to be bigger and better than their initial diagnoses. The results are palpable: in the pool, the team excels, winning meet after meet and even, in one case, moving on to the national Special Olympics.
Outside of the pool? The young men and women see themselves differently, as successes, with real goals that bleed over into other facets of their lives. Swimming reduces the tics of a swimmer who also suffers from Tourette’s.
“[W]ill leave you inspired and grateful.” — The Knockturnal
Director’s Biography
Lara Stolman: Lara Stolman has a BA in Political Science from Columbia College of Columbia University and JD from Yeshiva University's Benjamin Cardozo School of Law. Her work has appeared on NBC, MSNBC, TLC, AMC, VH-1 and The New York Times' website.
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