Local Joe: TWHS student with autism chases his dream of becoming a sports broadcaster

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - On Mondays and Wednesdays of each week, listeners tuning into Backyard Radio, station 103.5, can hear a local sports broadcaster on the rise. For the past six months, Joseph Weaver has been producing, writing and hosting his own local sports show, informing his listeners all about sports teams in Magnolia and The Woodlands. Local Joe, how he’s referred to on his show, is chasing his dream of one day becoming a well-known sports broadcaster, but his story gets even more inspiring. Joe is 16-years-old, he is a junior at The Woodlands High School, and he has autism.

Listen to Local Joe tell his story, here.

“And here is your local sports update,” is how Local Joe introduces each one of his sports segments on Backyard Radio. The driven teenager is stopping at nothing to gain experience in the broadcast field. After all, not many 16-year-olds can say they have their own radio show. But for Joe, coming to this point was not easy. After being diagnosed with autism when he was in preschool, his family and teachers were instrumental in helping him get over his fears.

“It is very instrumental for autism to diagnose it while they are young so that they can work with them and get all the special services they need. That way when they get older and mature, it benefits them so that they are less dependent on people,” explained Kevin Weaver, Joe’s dad.

With Joe’s autism, if a rule is laid down, he will not break it. So when he was a child at school, he was told that he was not allowed to go on stage. However, problems arose when later on, he was being told to go on stage for school plays.

“He was terrified because he was breaking a rule,” said Kevin. “He would break down and cry. They worked with him all year to get over his fear and saying, ‘It’s okay now, you can do this.’

Joe eventually got over his stage fear, and in the fifth grade, decided to face it once and for all by singing at his school’s talent show in front of his teachers and peers—on stage.

“He did a Black Eyed Peas song, 'I got a feeling,' went on stage and sang it, and the kids stood up and cheered and clapped. The teacher just cried because of how much work he put into it to get on stage," said Kevin.

“They chanted my name,” added Joe with a smile on his face.

With encouragement and support, Joe began to realize that he could do anything he put his mind to. From a very young age, he had always been fascinated with sports. From basketball and football to NASCAR and hockey, Joe loved to watch any game or race on television, and would oftentimes practice his broadcasting skills by commentating for the sports he would watch.

“My love of sports kind of drove me to be a sports broadcaster,” said Joe. “I’ve always had an interest in sports ever since I was really young. I used to commentate when I would watch football games, so that kind of inspired me to be a sports broadcaster.”

With a growing love for sports and radio, Joe got involved with the Audio and Video Production class at The Woodlands High School so that he could further expand his knowledge on the subject. Then, one day, Joe’s dad was in a local coffee shop and saw a flyer seeking on-air talent for a local radio station in Magnolia. Kevin immediately gave the station a call and spoke with Tom Conley of Backyard Radio KYBY.

“We’re a Magnolia station,” said Tom. “We have a small market on the West side of The Woodlands and small markets in Waller and parts of Cypress, but the idea and concept of the station was local: localized, local talent, local production, local listeners, local sponsors, and Joe is local. In fact, it’s Local Joe,” laughed Tom. “Sports with Local Joe. And that is what it does for us. It gives us more local presence, and gives our listeners more local information. Kevin approached me first and reached out to me and said ‘my son wants to do sports,’ and I was looking for a sports guy anyway. He talked about his son’s autism. Joe and I got together, we did a few things, we did a few sample productions, and it was tough, really tough. I would tell you in six months or less he has turned a corner. He’s doing a regular weekly show now, and I have seen a big improvement. It just worked out that we got together, and with Joe’s hard work and his dad’s hard work, quite frankly it’s been good for the station, good for Joe and good for his dad.”

When talking about his show, Joe has a smile on his face reaching from ear to ear. Going from a fear of walking onto a stage to hosting his own radio show just goes to show how driven Joe is to chase his dream. He doesn't let his autism get in his way, and wants others to know that no matter the disability or fear, don't be afraid to conquer it.

“If you have a disability, or if you are a little nervous about pursuing a career, just don't be. Just face it head on. You need to keep going no matter what. Even if you do run into some walls, you just break through and keep going,” said Joe.

Aside from attending school, Joe puts on his broadcast show once a week that is played on Monday mornings and again on Wednesdays at 12:30 pm. Since starting his segment six months ago, Kevin and Tom have both seen a huge amount of improvement in Joe’s broadcasting skills.

“The success I’ve had with Joe is incredible,” said Tom. “I am very pleased with what he has done, and I am sure he is pleased with himself as well.”

With Joe’s success at Backyard Radio, he continues to gain experience in broadcasting with hopes to one day turn his dream into reality—into a career. Meanwhile, Kevin Weaver smiles with pride for his son. He and his wife have always been supportive of anything Joe wants to do.

“I am very impressed with how much he has grown so far. The questions he's asking the coaches and players have really grown, and it’s showing his maturity level. This is great experience for him and we are so proud of Joe. Not only for following his dream of becoming a sports broadcaster, but also how he has become who he is, especially with autism.”

You can listen to Local Joe on the radio every Monday and Wednesday on Backyard Radio, and who knows, maybe like his role model Joe Buck, Joe Weaver will one day become a household name for sports broadcasting. In the meantime, Joe continues to gain experience locally by doing what he loves, no matter the obstacle.

The experience alone is really helping me a whole lot. I’m learning a lot, and I know that’s going to help me a lot in the future,” said Joe.