Will County Gazette

Liam Crotty said his teammates haven't treated him any differently since he told them about his autism.

Crotty, a placekicker for the North Central College football team, told the North Cook News that his teammates and coaches expect him simply to be a good teammate and to play the role he has been given.

“They understand, they accept it, and life has been going well since,” Crotty said.

Liam Crotty | NCC

Things have indeed been going well for Crotty. He earned the league's Special Teams Player of the Week Award for the game on Oct. 15.

His nine total points that day – on three extra points and two field goals – led the Cardinals to a 35-25 win.

Crotty said he was honored to receive the award, his first true honor in his football career.

“I know my parents were excited and family/friends from back home, but this team doesn't play for individual glory,” he said. “We're happy, but have to move on to the next week for the next opponent.”

Crotty, a native of Sandwich, Illinois, said he was diagnosed with autism when he was 6 years old. Tests showed that Crotty had high-functioning autism. In his high school playing days, he would have trouble communicating with the team as far as making suggestions, according to the article.

Crotty said autism is something that pops into his head each day.

“I'll ask, 'How come I have it?' I won't ever know, but it just happens to be who I am,” he said.

Crotty said he believes there's a certain gift he has when it comes to football.

“Maybe that's being able to block out all of the noise during a field goal; it worked against Wheaton,” he said. “That moment was insane, but the good thing is I didn't really think at all about the negative consequences. It's just a matter of preparation and concentration.”

Crotty estimated that his field-goal range is 50 to 52 yards. His practice routine includes 50 to 60 kicks a day, with 10 of them being one-step approaches and the rest being the normal three-step approaches.

“I have improved quite a bit,” he said. “I've changed my stance roughly three times to try and find something that worked. Learning the mental aspect of kicking in college, and being more specific in where to target the ball. I've learned how to line up correctly on the hashes, where I didn't do that in high school.”

Crotty is a broadcast-communications major at NCC, according to northcentralcollege.edu, with the goal of working for ESPN.

“So far, I haven't quite figured out a long-term goal, besides ESPN being the dream, but soon that will come quicker than I think,” he said.