Jack Long: "Sport has helped me to better understand my autism"

Jack’s remarkable achievements have led to him being shortlisted in the top 10 for SportsAid’s prestigious One-to-Watch Award.

The annual Award, launched in 2006, recognises Britain’s brightest young sporting prospects and has previously been won by Olympic champions Tom Daley and Alex Yee and Paralympic gold medallist Hollie Arnold.

The top 10 athletes have been selected from around 1,000 rising stars, supported by SportsAid, across more than 60 different sports in 2024.

Jack now feels ready to make the step up to seniors and will look to make his mark at major competitions in the lead up to the next Paralympic Games - the pinnacle of wheelchair basketball.

“I was getting invited to a couple of senior camps just to help the seniors train, so my main ambition is to start being invited just as someone who's ready to compete,” he said.

“Getting invited to senior camps more regularly would definitely be at the top of my list of things that should happen, but I'm hoping that happens more in the short-term.

“I'd say long-term, there's a European Championships next year for seniors, so competing for a spot in them, even if I don't make it, would just be great seeing how far I've come in the past year. 

“And then my final long-term goal would have to just be going to LA, the 2028 Paralympics. Going to LA would be great because all that I've worked for is that.”

Jack’s rapid rise has not gone unnoticed. However, his journey to this point has not gone without adversity, with Jack having to demonstrate mental resilience on countless occasions to bounce back from hard times.

One of his more recent setbacks came in the form of an untimely relegation with the National League team he was playing for, forcing Jack to be starved of top-flight action and the attention that comes with it.

The top division team went on to fold [not the club as a whole] as a result of the downturn in results, leaving Jack in a precarious position at a pivotal time in his early career.

“My team obviously dropped down to Division One last season, which I took really hard because I felt like I was finally going places in my career,” he added.

“I was primed for that season to be my big breakout year and I wanted to try do some new stuff and be more of a main player in the team, so when we got dropped down and the whole team folded, it was quite hard for me. 

“I'm glad I stayed with it and used it to develop other stuff for myself and just kept pushing forward, knowing that after this season, I could move back up to the Prem and join a different team and have new challenges ahead of me. 

“I think having the GB U22 camps and all the coaches there believe in me, even when I was playing at a lower level, that definitely helped push me through.

“They didn’t think that now he's playing at a lower level, that was worse for the team. They still believed in me and supported me in the ways that I was just as valuable as a member of the team.”

Jack is also open about his struggles with autism, something which he has refused to let hamper him in his pursuit of sporting success.

In fact, the Bristol native says wheelchair basketball has allowed him to learn a lot about himself and his condition.

“I grew up with autism and it used to affect me quite a lot in parts of my life,” Jack said. “I used to not understand why I would do stuff and how I'd handle stuff.

“I think through sport and through just growing up, I've managed to understand it a lot more and be able to deal with it a lot more.

“I understand it's never going to go and that's just it. But understanding that has helped me persist further in just day-to-day life, like I don't get as worked up over stuff.

“I can carry on playing basketball and not get too stressed about it. That's something I'm quite passionate about. I want all people who have it to understand themselves. 

“It's hard growing up when you're young because you don't really understand what's going on, but eventually as I've grown up, I've managed to understand it so I'd say I'm quite passionate about that.”

Jack has been provided with crucial financial support by SportsAid over three years – with the charity also offering personal development opportunities through workshops and visits. 

The typical value of a SportsAid award is £1,000 with money generated through a combination of commercial partnerships, trust and charitable funds, and fundraising activities.

In his efforts to balance his sporting pursuits with university, Jack has hailed the impact of SportsAid, easing the ever-prevalent financial burden that comes with being an elite athlete.

“They offer a lot of stuff and the money is great because this sport isn't well funded and this is how life is,” he said. “All the support that we get is great. 

“Just being able to afford petrol sometimes, because obviously being a uni student isn't cheap, or pay for hotels for camp, it's genuinely helped out loads.”

SportsAid’s annual One-to-Watch Award is being supported by Aldi – the charity’s Official Supermarket Partner. The winner of this year’s Award will be revealed in December with each of the top 10 receiving cash boosts and special in-person visits at their training environments to celebrate their achievements.    

Photo Credit – with thanks to British Wheelchair Basketball