Sports on the Spectrum

A Podcast Series



ABOUT



About Sports on the Spectrum


"The purpose of Sports on the Spectrum is to provide a forum for athletes and coaches with social, emotional and/or developmental health conditions (like autism, ADHD, bi-polarity, depression, etc.) where sports has been life changing in addressing or assisting these types of conditions. I want to connect with and help others who also have conditions that aren’t well understood, and who share my love of playing and/or coaching sports, to talk about experiences on and off the playing field. I created Sports on the Spectrum not only to tell my story, but to share our stories. It’s my hope that together we can encourage more people with these conditions to try sports! And that perhaps we can help others to better understand all of the great things that people with autism, ADHD, depression, etc. can do - including playing or coaching sports." -- Keegan Fleigner



Keegan Fleigner was born in Santa Monica, CA in 2003. While in first grade, Keegan was diagnosed as being on the Autism Spectrum. Shortly thereafter, Keegan’s parents considered the possibility that team sports could help Keegan in building his comfort and skill level in interacting with his peers through the structure that sports provided. As a result, Keegan has undertaken a journey into sports that has fundamentally transformed his life.


Basketball: Starting at age nine, Keegan played year round in the Santa Monica YMCA Basketball League for seven years. By the time he left the league at age 16, Keegan set league records for games played as well as most three-pointers made and earned multiple all-star selections. By his final season when the League had expanded to 30 teams and 250 players annually, Keegan was only the second player inducted into Santa Monica YMCA Basketball Hall of Fame. In 10th grade, after transferring from Santa Monica High School mid-year, Keegan joined the Pacifica High School junior varsity basketball team mid-season and became their starting center, winning the Coaches Award at season’s end. Keegan played varsity in 11th grade and was a co-captain of the varsity basketball team in 12th grade.


Volleyball: In 10th grade, Keegan played on Santa Monica High School’s junior varsity beach volleyball team. Upon transferring to Pacifica High School, Keegan became the starting middle blocker on the school’s varsity indoor volleyball team, which finished its 2021-22 season in second place in the Liberty League in Southern California CIF with a record of 10-4.


Running: At ten years old, Keegan started running with his father in 5K races throughout Southern California. While in 9th grade, Keegan ran on Santa Monica High School’s fall cross-country and spring track teams. Outside of school, Keegan won the Open Division – beating 1,000 other runners – in the Long Beach Grand Prix 5K Race in 2018.


Academics: In 2019, Keegan was awarded the Santa Monica High School Freshman Renaissance Student of the Year, one of only two classmates selected among a class of 850 9th grade students. After transferring to Pacifica High School in 10th grade, Keegan maintained his outstanding academics, becoming an AP Scholar with Distinction. Keegan graduated from Pacifica in 2022 Summa Cum Laude with a 4.3 GPA, also winning the school's prestigious Ryan Award, given to the senior who best personifies "perseverance, character, and heart" in their activities.


Keegan is currently a rising sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin, where he intends to graduate with a major in Informatics (Human-Centered Data Science) and a minor in Sport Management. He currently has a 3.5 GPA and completed courses such as Programming for Informatics, Statistics for Informatics, Building Winning Teams, and Introduction to Sport Management during his freshman year. He is also an active member of Longhorn TIES, an organization dedicated to enhancing the UT student experience for those who identify as neurodivergent. His long-term goal is to run the analytics department and/or become General Manager for a NBA team.


Awards & Scholarships: In April 2022, Keegan was one of only 20 winners (from over 5,000 applications) of the prestigious Foot Locker Scholar Athlete Scholarship, winning a substantial cash award for college. The Foot Locker Scholar Athletes program recognizes "student-athletes who go above and beyond in their communities, offering financial support as they pursue higher education while continuing to be community leaders and changemakers."


Keegan was also named a Taco Bell Live Mas Scholar as part of “the nation’s next generation of dreamers, innovators, and creators” and won a Equitable Excellence Scholarship for "students who do great things through courage, strength and wisdom in pursuing their ambitions", Mary Lagman Foundation Second Chances Scholarship, Orange Ribbons for Jaime Scholarship (in honor of Jaime Guttenberg, a 14 year old student killed in Parkland, FL high school shooting in 2018), and CJ Pony Parts Scholarship. Thanks to all of these organizations for supporting Keegan's dreams and ambitions.