There wasn’t an announcement. Lawrence High School junior Matthew Whaley heard his name called, rolled into the shot put circle, threw the shot, then waited for his next throw.

So simple, but that’s just the way he wants it.

Whaley, 18, was born with cerebral palsy. All he’s wanted, he said, is to be treated just like everybody else.

For the past three years, he’s served as a team manager for the football team, watching his favorite sport up close. But after having surgery on his right leg more than a year ago, his rehabilitation doctors at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City wanted him to do more than just watch.

“(The doctors) asked about what activities Matthew had been participating in,” said Jennifer Thomas, Whaley’s mother. “And I said, ‘football.’ And they kind of looked at me funny, and I said, ‘Yeah, he’s the football manager.’ They said, ‘No, no.’

“They told him he needed to be participating in track because he could use his upper body since that is the strongest.”

That was the first time Whaley even considered participating in track and field.

It wasn’t always as easy for him to participate in sports. In 2005, when Whaley was 8 and living in Scott City, it took a lawsuit in federal court to win the right to join his older brother’s summer baseball team. He was honored in Washington, D.C., by a national disability rights group for his effort.

“I really didn’t think he was going to do track because of the baseball thing,” said Blair Whaley, Matthew’s younger brother, a freshman at LHS. “It tore his heart and made him think he couldn’t do as much.”

He was expecting another battle to participate in track and field this season, but Lawrence High coach Jack Hood immediately gave the go-ahead and had him practicing alongside the rest of the team’s throwers.

“We’ve evolved past treating people like Matthew as different,” Hood said. “He has no fear. He has no hesitation. He has no doubt. And as a coach, that’s pretty easy to coach. First thing I said was ‘hi’ to him today and what’d he say? ‘Let’s go!'”

At his first track meet, Whaley threw the 12-pound shot 4 feet, 10 inches. He shattered that mark at the next meet at LHS, tossing it 6 feet, 3 inches.

When Whaley heard that he crossed six feet on his throws, a huge smile whipped across his face.

“Wow, I didn’t expect that to happen,” Whaley said to his family watching.

To those who know Whaley, they weren’t as surprised. They know how competitive he is whether it’s throwing or trying to fill up water bottles as fast as possible on the football sidelines.

“Oh yeah, he’s very competitive,” said Benjamin Martin, Whaley’s paraeducator this year. “He takes everything very seriously. He always wants to be at practice on time. He always fights for what he needs, too. Everything turns into a competition with him.”

Whaley credits LHS assistant principal Mike Norris and former Kansas University and National Football League player Keith Loneker Sr. as his biggest advocates. But he’s started to advocate for himself, starting with participating in track, roaming the football sidelines and using an iPad to help himself in the classroom. He emails school officials to set up meetings and sets up his own physical therapy appointments.

“I make sure to get my point across, but the appropriate words might not come out,” Whaley said with a smile. “There’s no question whether I get my point across or not. … The more I’ve advocated for myself, the easier it seems to be getting.”

Whaley’s goal is to become as independent as possible, and his first season in track and field is only pushing him closer to where he wants to be.

“Everybody kind of pushes me to the limit,” Whaley said. “I kind of like being pushed to the limit because it tests me.

“If you want to hit the ‘test me’ button, go ahead.”