Sacramento State’s youngest football ‘player’ gets a moment in the sun
The most active fellow on the Sacramento State practice field Tuesday was the smallest one.
It was Jayson Hellman, wearing a green jersey No. 12, his last name splashed across the back.
While the Sacramento State football team conducted workouts as a backdrop, Hellman bolted through his own solo drills, a kid in his element. He hit a sled. He ran sprints. He raced players. The only thing more striking than the tall mohawk snaking across his head was his smile.
Hellman is 7 years old. He earned his day in the sun. This was the first time in nearly a year Hellman was this active outdoors, on a grassy surface, free as the wind. No tubes, no wires, no chemo, no doctors poking and prodding.
”To see him smile and enjoy this means the world to me,” Hellman’s mother, Melissa Gonzales, said as she watched Jayson. “Because he’s been isolated with illness and with COVID-19 a concern, he has no friends. He has these guys, though. He’s never been happier.”
Life has not been easy for Jayson. You could not tell by the way he speaks with such enthusiasm. If Spider-Man isn’t his favorite topic, then football is. The walls on his Citrus Heights home includes action figures in helmets or costumes.
Hellman endured his first surgery when he was 2. That’s when he was diagnosed with Fanconi Anemia, a rare disease that results in a decreased production of blood cell. In the summer of 2019, Hellman received a bone marrow transplant.
He had to quarantine for months while his immune system rebooted. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit in March, meaning more sheltering in place and no contact with children his age, outside 3-year-old sister Lylah.
Hellman became part of Sac State’s football program in July through Team IMPACT. Tuesday was the first time Hellman could meet players and coaches in person. Team IMPACT pairs children who undergo chronic illness and have endured the emotional toll of isolation by having them become a part of a collegiate sports team.
Hellman giddily stood as the man of the hour after practice, surrounded by members of Sac State’s leadership council that included safety Marcus Aponte, receiver Parker Clayton, quarterback Jake Dunniway, receiver Tao McClinton and lineman Brandon Weldon. Each attended the mock letter-of-intent signing party on the deck of the Broad Fieldhouse, located just beyond the end zone scoreboard. It was a festive, socially distanced, mask-wearing event that included balloons, Sac State helmets and pizza.
When asked during practice who his favorite player was, Hellman enthusiastically said, “The coach!”
That would be Troy Taylor.
Later, Hellman said his favorite player was Dunniway, the quarterback. They share the same jersey number. And even later, Hellman said his favorite was Clayton, which makes sense since they both are known for their sticky hands.
Sac State is going through workouts for a season that will not come until next fall. The Big Sky Conference in early August elected to go with a spring season, and Sac State opted out of that season on Oct. 15 when Taylor and players were concerned with the short turnaround from a spring season ending in May with a training camp scheduled for August.
Hellman has provided perspective through inspiration. He has joined the Hornets in Zoom workouts, and he tutored players on how to communicate through the Marco Polo app.
“That’s real life,” Taylor said of Hellman. “We’re here as a team to give back and not just take. Our guys are good about that. Here’s a kid who’s a huge Hornets fan, and we’re lucky to have him come out and support us.”
Taylor added, “He’s a happy dude. We can all get caught up in our own world, where everything seems like the most important thing. We aren’t playing now but we will next fall. There are bigger issues out there. Jayson’s a great example of that.”
Said Dunniway, “Giving back to somebody that hasn’t had a lot of social interaction means a lot to us. He looks up to us, but we want to commend him on his bravery and everything he had to go through.”
Gonzales, Hellman’s mother, said she is thankful to Sac State. She was moved almost to tears talking about it. Hellman’s stepfather, Paul, also attended the practice.
“Jayson hasn’t had it easy, but he still smiles and laughs a lot,” Melissa Gonzales said. “He lost his father, Jay at 40 when he was just 2, from heart failure. He hasn’t been in any schools. There’s an 80-percent chance he may get cancer with his immune system the way it is. The life expectancy for this is 30.
“But look at him. He’s happy and smiling. He’s running. We’re going to enjoy every day.”