GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.- He uses his differences to provide others with inspiration.
Johnny Agar’s story of perseverance while living with cerebral palsy hit the national spotlight last December when he was featured on ESPN`s E:60 program.
Friday that inspiration continued at Northview High School as Johnny took the stage and spoke to students.
It`s that message that touched Northview High School principal Mark Thomas deeply. He says he knew he had to share Johnny’s spirit with his students.
“It’s something that I dream about, you know, every person wants the ability to inspire at least one person in their life,” Agar said. “I think for me you know the opportunity from ESPN to inspire thousands upon thousands of people.”
Many students at the presentation were familiar with the Rockford native’s story: An athlete, living with the physical challenges of cerebral palsy.
“He had always wanted to be an athlete and participate and so this was his opportunity to be a part of it,” Johnny’s mom Becki said.
Johnny and his father Jeff have participated in several marathons and triathlons with Jeff pushing Johnny in a jogger, making him a part of the experience.
In August 2013, Johnny decided he was going to give his dad a break.
“A mile back, Jeff got Johnny out of his jogger and put him into his walker and then Johnny walked,” Becki said. “It was just a really moving experience much more than we had ever planned on.”
An experience that aired on ESPN and deeply touched Principal Thomas.
“When I was done wiping away the tears and after it moved me so much emotionally, as a principal I’m thinking this is exactly what we want to talk to our students about,” he said.
Thomas tracked down the Agar family, making the plea for Johnny to come speak to his students and Johnny eagerly agreed.
“To be able to share my story and hopefully they can take something away from it is a dream come true for me,” Johnny said.
As about 1,300 students crammed into the performing arts center, Johnny did just that, sharing his message of hope, resilience and the power of a positive attitude.
“You can never give up on your dream,” he said. “I've had a lot of situations in my life where failure was definitely an option and I’ve experienced my times of failure throughout my life but there’s things you can do to tell yourself you’re going to accomplish anything.”
Johnny and his father will be participating in the Bay Shore Marathon in May. He again plans to walk the final leg of the race.
