Tarik El-Abour fell in love with NASCAR when
http://www.ochomesnloans.com/andy-lee-jersey-c-1_17.html he was ten years old, and it was an affection that knew no bounds.
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He loved the wheels, the motors, the laps, the stats, the names, the colors and the cars,” remembered Nadia Khalil, Tarik’s mother. “It occupied this little boy’s mind and life all week long for three years, one car race after another, not missing a race, on Sundays, not missing a lap, and knowing enough information to speak about each driver, each announcer, each team, the course…everything.”The passion overtook Tarik to the point where he would reconstruct each race on the living room rug using toy cars.
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He would line them up, all equal distance apart and duplicate the races,” Khalil said. “Even on the turns. And it would take him hours and he would not get up until the cars where perfect. Then he would just walk away from these masterpieces each day and start all over the next. This kept him occupied in between races. They were masterpieces. I would take pictures because I just wanted to remember how beautiful they were. I would walk into the living room and see this race track in still life, waiting to be changed up for the current day.”Khalil marveled at the precise workings of her son
’s mind.“
He would do this so effortlessly and it would be something that would have taken me hours to do,” she said.At about the same time, Tarik
’s father, Abed El-Abour, signed his son up to participate in San Marino National Little League baseball.“
It was the first time he had ever played in his life,” Khalil said. “He was amazed. He went to his first coach, John Mayberry, and said ‘I want to hit the ball.’ Coach Mayberry said ‘Well, if you want to hit the ball, you have to learn to go out in the field and catch the ball too.’ It was on. He wanted to learn every aspect of the game.”Tarik was diagnosed with autism, a condition that fully manifested itself through the trappings of the game of baseball.
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That is when I started to see the workings of the autistic mind,” said Khalil. “I started to see how numbers had a lot to do with how he thinks. Those of us without autism think in concepts, he thinks in numbers. The greater the number http://www.firestormkennel.com/derek-newton-jersey-c-1_21.html of times he did anything, the better he was at it. Just like us. However, the way the numbers worked in his mind went way further than anything I could have yet imagined. He knew he had to practice. He knew he loved it. He told me that when he grew up and played baseball, he would buy me a house wherever he plays, so that I could watch his games live. He did not know yet how different he was. He did not know yet how autism was going to speak for him before he could speak for himself.”Recently, it has spoken in a loud voice. On June 21, 2016, Tarik El-Abour signed a contract to play professional baseball for the Sullivan, NY Explorers. He has since re-upped with the Plattsburg, NY Redbirds for 2017.
He was congratulated by Eddie Gonzales, owner of the Empire Pro Baseball League and later, when recognized by former Major Leaguer Reggie Sanders shortly after inking the deal, Tarik said
“I haven’t done anything yet.”Well, yes he had. Tarik El-Abour had become the first autistic player in known professional baseball history.
The plaudits continue to roll in for the 2010 graduate of San Marino High School. Earlier this year, Tarik was asked to throw the ceremonial first pitch before the Kansas City Royals April 14 game against the Los Angeles Angels (
“Tarik was more worried about throwing the opening pitch than meeting Albert Puhols,” Nadia said with a chuckle) and he was recently named to the Empire League All-Star team and was named Geno Smith Womens Jersey Rookie of the Year for 2016.It has been a long and sometimes painful journey from NASCAR races in the living room to snagging fly balls in center field.
