“If I’m having a challenging day, it’s going to be a better day after Connor Martin starts talking to me. That’s the effect he has on everybody.””

Cinco Ranch head football coach Don Clayton

Cinco Ranch football, Cinco Ranch softball, the BP MS 150 and Texas A&M sports mean the world to Connor Martin. To those who know and are around Martin, though, the 24-year-old means so much more.

Since 2009, Martin has been a team manager for the Cougars’ football and softball programs. Though he graduated in 2012, he maintains those roles today.

“He’s meant as much to me as I have to him, I promise you that,” said Cougars softball coach Jerry Miller, who recommended to Martin that he join the football and softball teams as a manager in the fall of 2009. “He’s a remarkable young man.”

Martin has been a bagger at Kroger’s the last six years. He landscapes. He helps remodel properties for H2 Builders. He mows neighbors’ yards, and nothing satisfies him more than getting his hands dirty while working with mulch.

The last 10 years, he has ridden the MS 150 bike ride from Houston to Austin, taking advantage of his love of cycling, and he helps his father Robert with his job setting up trade shows for the automobile and drone industries.

“I love to stay busy instead of being bored. I like to make that moolah,” Martin said with a huge smile.

Martin is also autistic. Robert said his son has a cognitive disability. He has trouble communicating, has basic reading ability and is limited comprehending math.

Being around Martin, however, it’s difficult to tell. If Martin isn’t talking about how he’s a “fundraising expert” for the MS 150, he’s laughing about his nickname “C-Money” or expressing disappointment in the downward career spiral of Johnny Manziel, his favorite Texas A&M player whom he bears a resemblance to.

“Yeah, that’s what everybody says!” Martin laughed. “You’re definitely not the first … But he definitely needs to get his act together.”

Martin has difficulty solving two-plus-two, but as Miller said, “he’ll remember Kristen Rumley was our first pitcher, she wore No. 15 and she went to Dartmouth College.”

‘I JUST DO WHATEVER IS NEEDED’

“I don’t think (autism) affects him at all,” Cinco Ranch football coach Don Clayton said. “Sometimes when he texts me, I may not always understand it, but I pretty much get the idea of what he’s trying to communicate. I don’t look at him differently than any other kid we have. He’s got a good heart, he cares about people, he cares about the success of the team.

“If I’m having a challenging day, it’s going to be a better day after Connor Martin starts talking to me. That’s the effect he has on everybody.”

For Clayton’s program, Martin helps coaches get the video equipment ready. He loves talking to assistant coaches in the press box from the field to make sure headsets work.

For Miller, Martin is responsible for putting in and putting away bases and finding Miller’s fungo bat whenever the team warms up prior to games.

Martin’s all-time favorite Cougar football players are Trey Parker and Cole Thomas. His favorite softball players are Brittany Nollkamper and Karli Hamilton.

“I enjoy helping them out and being with the coaches and just having a good time,” Martin said. “I help with equipment, I hold up color cards. I pick up the balls, pick up things in the outfield. I just do whatever is needed.”

‘HE’S TOUCHED US ALL’

It can take Martin some time to get comfortable around new people and new things. He relies on routine.

The one thing he is outspoken about, though, is fundraising for the MS 150, a two-day fundraising bike ride from Houston to Austin every year that raises money for treating multiple sclerosis.

As of June 5, Martin had raised $20,616.50 by sending out a plethora of emails, text messages and in-person requests seeking donations. The amount of money is the most ever raised in a single year for a member of the Schlumberger Cycling Club, Martin’s team.

“He’s touched us all with his energy, positive attitude and determination,” said Margaret Pichon, the club’s fundraising coordinator. “He’s been a motivator for our club and happy to encourage others as we try to raise money to end MS.”

The fundraising is an example of Martin’s selflessness, a trait Clayton and Miller bring up repeatedly. The veteran, successful coaches admire Martin’s constant positivity and encouragement, so much so that Miller said the best of Martin comes out during losses.

“He loves winning, don’t get me wrong,” Miller said. “But you see the qualities of Connor Martin come out with the way he treats people in difficult times. It’s always an encouraging word, it’s always uplifting. He reads people when they’re down and tries to always cheer them up. I think his imperfections help him deal with the fact that none of us are perfect. I wish I could bottle that about Connor and give it to every kid I’ve coached.”

Martin shrugs when told of the praise. He said it’s been his way since Robert and his late mother Kim told him something at a young age that remains dear to him this day.

“I care about people. I care if they’re sad or hurt or mad,” Martin said. “Mom and Dad have told me since I was little, ‘Always think about other people before you think about yourself.’”

This spring, the tables were turned. So many people were thinking about Martin.

‘WE ALWAYS HAD A GOOD TIME TOGETHER’

Kim passed away March 18 after succumbing to a 20-year battle with breast cancer.

“It was disappointing and sad,” Martin said. “We always had a good time together. I remember when we always went on vacation together.”

Clayton and Miller said the impact of Kim’s death was profound.

“It was tough, just from the standpoint, in my time with him, that he’s never had to face the loss of life, especially someone near to him,” Clayton said. “What he had a tough time coming to grips with was the finality of it. That was very surreal for him, that there wouldn’t be any more doctors. That part, he was challenged with. But I felt we were all there for him for every moment that he was around us. We wanted him to know how much we love him, care for him and how much he’s a part of us. He had a sense that something was going to happen, and it wasn’t going to be good, but he still hung on to hope that it was going to get better.”

The death came during the middle of the season for Miller’s team, but Martin remained at the top of their priority list. Miller said as Martin was hurting, his players, past and present, hurt.

“It affected eight years’ worth of players,” Miller said. “His family has been involved with our program since the first day Connor was out there with us. There were kids who had graduated and gone off to college who came back to go to the funeral. It was important and emotional for all of us.”

Clayton remembers Kim as the prototypical mother. Every now and then, Martin will bring her up in conversation; he noted “that Italian restaurant” on Mason Road that the family would venture to often that was a favorite of his and her’s (Johnny Carino’s). Miller said Martin is a byproduct of the teachings, care and love of Robert and Kim.

“Even when she was challenged physically, she was still trying to find a way to make sure he got where he needed to be and was taken care of,” Clayton said. “She was the consummate mother. She wanted him to be a part of as much good as possible. She was a powerfully strong lady, to go through what she went through and see how she managed it. It wasn’t about her. It was about the people she was around despite fighting through tremendous pain. To her last breath, she was caring for him, loving him and helping him.”

‘HIS HEART IS SO PURE’

Martin still struggles dealing with his mother’s death. Since then, he has leaned on his Cinco Ranch and cycling club family. At home, Robert is often by his side, reinforcing correct pronunciation of words and offering encouragement.

Though nothing is the same, joy is still in the Martins’ household.

Every time Martin steps into his room, he is welcomed by a large Fathead poster of him celebrating a moment in a Cinco Ranch sports medicine polo shirt. He has Texas A&M memorabilia everywhere; he boasts with admiration about his 22-year-old sister Carly, who will graduate an Aggie in December. He has a Wheaties box with his face on it, with childhood photos adorning the side of the box.

Holding a Cinco Ranch cap, Martin talks about his love of Whataburger and Chick-Fil-A; he laughs happily when recalling how he used to work at Chick-Fil-A as the mascot cow, but couldn’t fit into the big costume so he had to be “the small cow.”

When he speaks, Connor Martin glows. His expressions sing. His mood inspires. And when others talk about Connor Martin, their words linger. Their emotions overwhelm.

“When you talk to kids, you try to paint a picture for them to help them cope with whatever negative they may be dealing with,” Miller said. “Connor gets that right away. His heart is so pure. Everything he does, he does for the other person. There’s nothing about Connor that’s false. He may be naïve on some things, but there is nothing underlying with him.”