TCU punter Jordy Sandy kicking to give back

FORT WORTH, Texas — If the Horned Frogs fail to get a primary down, TCU punter Jordy Sandy is aware of followers don’t sometimes wait round to watch.

“I’m usually like people’s bathroom breaks,” Sandy, 29, mentioned. “They don’t want to see me punt.”

But Sandy has given followers good purpose to listen when he walks onto the sphere: For each punt Sandy lands contained in the 20-yard line, he’s donating $20 to the Hope Center 4 Autism, a nonprofit in Fort Worth that gives remedy and educational lessons for youths with autism.

“I just wanted to give something back to the Fort Worth community that’s been so good to me,” the Australia native mentioned.

SANDY’S 9,000 JOURNEY FROM AUSTRALIA TO FORT WORTH

Sandy grew up in Traralgon, Australia taking part in Australian Rules Football, which is analogous to rugby.

But he had goals of punting for a college within the United States.

“Obviously want an opportunity to further develop myself with an education,” Sandy mentioned. “The opportunity to play in front of big crowds and to play Power Five football, it’s amazing.”

Sandy labored at a paper mill in Australia with Tom Hutton, who punts for Oklahoma State. After ending their in a single day shift at 6 a.m., the pair carpooled collectively to prepare with Prokick Australia, an academy that teaches athletes how to punt an American soccer.

The pair made the four-hour spherical journey collectively 3 times per week, Sandy mentioned.

“We’ve already got our gear in the car,” Sandy mentioned. “We’d just rotate. He’d drive. I’d drive the next week. Yeah, it was pretty crazy.”

When TCU known as, Sandy advised WFAA he solely had about two weeks to transfer 9,000 miles to Cowtown and start his faculty profession as a Horned Frog.

Sandy mentioned his teammates do tease him about his age – “jokes about gray hair, just jokes about being a dad” – however they didn’t hesitate to step up and educate him the sport.

“Throughout my whole freshman year, I was still scratching my head at some of the referee’s calls and the flags,” Sandy mentioned. “That was confusing for a little while.”

“It’s like completely changed me as a person,” Sandy mentioned of his time at TCU. “Fort Worth in general, I love it here. I want to stay here once I graduate.”

As Sandy considered a means to give back to his new group in North Texas, he considered his group back house in Australia: That’s when his nine-year-old cousin, who has autism, got here to thoughts.

“I’ve seen some of the challenges and stuff that her family has been faced with,” Sandy mentioned. “I thought it was a good way for me to partner with something that’s close to home for me, but then something in the Fort Worth community that I could help benefit as much as I could and raising awareness for autism.”

Not solely does Sandy donate $20 to the Hope Center 4 Autism each time he lands a punt contained in the 20-year-line – he’s kicked 15 thus far this yr – he additionally volunteers on the Fort Worth nonprofit as soon as per week.

“We call him our ‘Punter from Down Under,’” Hope Center 4 Autism co-founder Susan Wood mentioned. “The kids just kind of flock to him. It’s very fun to watch.”

The Hope Center 4 Autism offers remedy and educational lessons for youths with autism. Wood, her husband and her daughter have been working the nonprofit for 15 years.

“We do outreach in the community. Lots of parent education and family education,” Wood mentioned. “Because autism doesn’t affect a child. It affects the whole family.”

In his weekly visits, Sandy has been working with the third, fourth, and fifth graders, taking part in video games like UNO or throwing a soccer. The children vary in age from 9 to 11 years outdated.

“It’s not just about the Hope Center,” Wood mentioned. “It’s about these children having a future and being accepted by the world. He treats them all the same. And it’s amazing.”

Melinda Opitz’s son, Gabe, attends the Hope Center. She advised WFAA she’s observed a distinction in her 11-year-old son since Sandy began volunteering.

“With Jordy’s help, (Gabe) likes going outside and being physically active,” Opitz mentioned. “He’s even watching the football games on TV and getting into that. It’s been a pretty drastic change in our life with (Sandy) being so involved and (Gabe) getting excited about TCU and just getting excited about learning with another adult that’s cool and a celebrity. And so he gets excited when he comes to school.”

Wood mentioned many individuals throughout the nation – TCU grads or not – have been matching Sandy’s donations or making their very own monetary commitments after listening to Sandy’s story.

“We had a lot of struggle during the COVID shutdown, and we had to furlough 17 employees. And it was devastating,” Wood mentioned. “Just rebuilding from as if it were the beginning again. So every little bit counts.”

So far, Sandy has donated $300 (15 punts). But the season isn’t over but.

“He didn’t think that this was very much. And it’s a lot,” Wood mentioned, getting emotional. “I love these kids and I love my job. I have the best job in the world. But I get frustrated because people don’t get it. I want more people to understand how amazing these people are. And he gets it. And he’s got a reach a lot farther than we ever could have reached because of the love for TCU and because of the love for Fort Worth.”

“We have hope here. Jordy’s giving back to our school and our community,” Opitz mentioned. “It’s very important to make that stand out a little bit more: That kindness is all around.”

Want to donate to the Hope Center 4 Autism? Click here.