Centreville — Juwaan Espinal, 15, was born with cerebral palsy and is wheelchair-bound. But that doesn’t mean he can’t live a life as full of joy and meaning as possible.

Now 15 and a sophomore at Centreville High, he has a loving family and has been unofficially adopted by both the Wildcat varsity and freshman football teams. And both he and the players couldn’t be happier about it.

“This school has done so much for him,” said Juwaan’s mother, Ibis Espinal-Banks of Centreville’s Singleton’s Grove community. “Both the freshman and varsity teams went out of their way to make him feel a part of them.”

Born at only 5 months gestation, Juwaan weighed just 2 pounds, 12 ounces at delivery. “But he was a little fighter,” said Espinal-Banks. And as he grew up, he always loved sports.

“He wants to be like everybody else.”

— Ibis Espinal-Banks, Juwaan’s mom

His sister, Shanelle, a 2012 Westfield High grad, now attends Mary Baldwin College. But when she was younger, she played SYA soccer and basketball, plus basketball at Westfield, and Juwaan was her biggest cheerleader. The family later moved to Centreville’s boundary area and, now in high school, Juwaan wanted to be part of a team, too, like his sister was.

“I told him, he might not be able to compete on a team like she did, but he could still be part of one,” said his mother. “So I talked to the varsity basketball coach, Drew Murphy; and Juwaan’s freshman year, he became an honorary team manager, wore a jersey and sat behind the team bench.”

Juwaan was also a huge football fan. He knew Westfield grad Eddie Royal — who went on to become a wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers; and through that acquaintance, he’d developed a love for football.

“So this year, I reached out to Varsity Football Coach Chris Haddock and, with no hesitation, he gave Juwaan a jersey with No. 1 on it and made him co-captain of the first game,” said Espinal. “He also introduced the players to him and gave him the game ball.”

From there, things took off. “Freshman Football Coach Thomas Lamb e-mailed me, asking me to bring Juwaan to meet his freshman team, and they adored him, too,” said his mom. “They adopted him completely and wanted him at every home game and in the locker room for speeches. They won the championship undefeated — and when they took team pictures, the players insisted that Juwaan be in them. They wheeled him to the center of the photo, themselves.”

She said both the freshman and varsity teams went out of their way to make her son feel like one of them. For example, said Espinal, “Juwaan couldn’t make it to the last two varsity games because the weather was too cold for his 46-pound body. So one of the players had his girlfriend Facebook-friend Juwaan and give him the play-by-play. And at the end, she wrote to him, ‘We miss you; the game wasn’t the same without you.’”

The players also made the homecoming dance special for him. Juwaan went with his aide and a friend, and almost all the members of the freshman team, plus some of the varsity players, were there. “They were so loving to him,” said Espinal. “When Juwaan came in, they all went over to see him, take pictures and dance with him. He smiled, laughed and screamed with joy.”

He’s been on Facebook since seventh grade, but only had about 40 friends. Since homecoming, that number has rocketed to 400.

Juwaan’s nonverbal, but very smart, said his mother. “He can nod or shake his head to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions,” she said. “He also has a communication device to click on pictures and words to make sentences. His wheelchair has switches attached to it and he hits them with his head to operate them.”

He’s now learning to use an electric wheelchair so that, someday, he can “run out” on the field with the team. “That’s his dream,” said Espinal. “He can’t do that alone in a manual wheelchair.”

At school, Juwaan attends some regular classes, plus smaller, slower-paced classes for English, reading and math. “We’re happy with the school, administration and students,” said Espinal. “Centreville High has done so much for him. Some of the freshmen players sit with him at lunch. And when he’s wheeling around school, the team, cheerleaders, classmates and friends say ‘Hi’ to him; he’s very popular.”

He also boasts a 3.8 GPA. “He’s doing well in school and I attribute that to his having all these kids around him, encouraging him and being his friend,” said his mom. “He especially likes science and English and wants to be a sports announcer. Juwaan’s in the communication class at school that does the announcements and in-school TV program and loves it. He did it at Centreville Elementary and Stone Middle School, too.”

Basically, said Espinal, “He wants to be like everybody else; that’s why I wanted him to be included. Whatever’s possible for him, I will make happen for him. As a parent, you want to provide the best for your kid and protect him. But he has a great support system at school — the administrators, teachers, students, coaches, his peers — and that’s what makes a family. They treat him like one of their own.”

He also participates in Best Buddies. “Centreville High was the top school for the most money raised for it,” said Espinal. “And Juwaan won a trophy from the Virginia Best Buddies; he raised more than $2,000 for its October [2012 fundraising] walk. And he got to meet President Obama when he came to Centreville High.”

Before Juwaan started high school, his mother worried about him, envisioning her child sitting alone in a corner. “But the acceptance they gave him at Centreville is just awesome,” she said. “It makes me happy to see it. The parents there should be proud of their children. Juwaan’s so happy, too; he loves school. He wakes up at 5 a.m. and he’s ready to go. I’m so grateful to all of them.”