Cool Kid Shane Yoshiyama exemplifies spirit of teamwork

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- Our ABC7 Cool Kid for Thursday, June 4, is Shane Yoshiyama who's pairing up fellow Edison High School athletes with special needs students for an unforgettable experience.

While Yoshiyama was spending time with two of his mentors, an idea popped into his head. His two mentors have a brother with special needs, and Yoshiyama was inspired by how they all interacted together.

"I was just kind of hanging out with them and I was thinking, man wouldn't it be awesome if Dean got to experience the same things that his two older siblings got to in high school," Yoshiyama said.

So, he organized a track meet at Edison High School in Huntington Beach, pairing up athletes with special needs students. He said everyone who was involved really got something out of it.

Yoshiyama sees this track meet as the first of many ways to include students who might not have had as many opportunities.

"With more experience and more compassion, with more knowledge with any group of individuals, you come to understand them a little bit better and you understand that you don't have to ignore them," he said.

Yoshiyama wants every student to have the complete high school experience, and is making sure it happens.

Watch Danny Romero's report in the video above.