Lake Oswego’s Justin Metke finds his place on the court
The incoming junior tennis player works to overcome epilepsy and brain surgery
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COURTESY PHOTO - Lake Oswego’s Justin Metke (left, with 2019 senior Sid Daga) had his right frontal lobe removed to deal with complications from epilepsy but still has found a place on the Laker tennis team.
There are many things about Justin Metke that are, well, just ordinary.Justin is going to be a junior at Lake Oswego High School this fall and he also plays for the Lakers boys tennis team.
Besides having to deal with all the normal stressors that come with being a high school student/athlete, Justin does it with the entire right frontal lobe of his brain missing.
Back when Justin's parents, Jeff and Teresa Metke, welcomed their third child into the world, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.
But at the age of 1, Justin started to have seizures and doctors diagnosed him with epilepsy. While a serious condition, nearly 3.5 million people in the U.S. have epilepsy and it is a manageable disorder.
But "manageable" clearly has different meanings in some instances. When Justin was 3, doctors told the Metke family that he would need surgery to fix a condition called cortical dysplasia — it's one of the more common causes of epilepsy that occurs when the top layer of the brain does not form properly.
However, Justin's surgeries only made his seizures worse. In response, doctors put Justin into a drug-induced coma, and later, had to remove the entire right frontal lobe of his brain. Following the surgery, Teresa Metke described Justin this way: "... What that looked like is that he came out of that with no speech, no eye contact, in a wheelchair and couldn't even hold his head up. … It was awful. The biggest thing about that now is that your front right lobe is your executive function, your attention to detail and the big one is your impulse control."
Removing the right frontal lobe of Justin's brain affected both his physical and cognitive abilities. In response, his parents looked for outlets that would help Justin push his physical and mental limits. For the Metke family, what filled that need was — and is — tennis. Justin has been an active member on Lake Oswego High School's tennis team for each of his first two years in high school. While many might see a player with a disability as a hindrance, Lake Oswego tennis coach Alex Hart sees it differently.
"I remember the first time watching him play and being surprised at how well he can hit the ball. He really does have good hand-eye coordination, and it always catches his new teammates and opponents off guard," Hart said. It's not just at the high school level where Justin's ability to play tennis has been noticed. Justin's father described that, when the family first started playing tennis a handful of years ago, Justin's interest was piqued and the family eventually began discussions about whether he might play in high school.
"Justin plays at Stafford Hills and he also plays at Lake Oswego Tennis Center through Special Olympics so he plays a lot … and he loves it," Jeff Metke said. "Justin hates to run, but we said 'If you're gonna be on the tennis team, you've gotta run on the treadmill,' and he was willing to do these things because he wants to be a part of the team. That was a huge shift … for him to be able to work that hard and to just hold it together because they practice five days a week for two hours each day. It was a big thing for him to be able to do that."
Teresa Metke said that despite her son's challenges, everyone — from the players and coaches associated with Lake Oswego High School's program to the people at Stafford Hills and the city's tennis center — has treated Justin just like any other kid. She added that the tennis community's treatment of Justin has enabled him to reach new heights that he might not otherwise have been able to achieve.
"What's great is that they treat him like everybody else," she said. "I think sometimes people have a tendency to use child gloves on kids with disabilities and it's the worst thing for (Justin). He needs someone to just treat him like a regular kid and that's what they do." That treatment — working with Justin like anyone else his age and letting him have fun, compete and grow — has undoubtedly played a role in his unexpected growth.
"He should be doing everything that you're expecting everyone else to do," Teresa Metke said. "Guess what? He'll live up to it. They told me after Justin's last brain surgery that he would never ride a bike. He rides beautifully. He learned to wakeboard this year. He's the best paddle boarder. So, he does all these things that with the part of his brain missing they never thought he would be able to do. He's overcome these huge pieces. … I think that his will is just so strong."
What makes the partnership between the Metke family and Lake Oswego High School's tennis program so special is that both sides benefit from Justin's presence on the team. Justin's older sister, Danielle, is often spotted with her husband at matches and practices.
"... You wouldn't blame them if they spent all their time and energy focused on supporting Justin, but they go out of their way to support the whole team and coaching staff as well," Hart said. In the coming years, Justin is hoping to break through to the varsity team at Lake Oswego, but regardless, just being surrounded by the team's other students has been life-changing for Justin. The morning after the Metke family hosted a team dinner during the spring season, Teresa Metke said that Justin described the event as the "best night of his life." At the end of the last two seasons, Justin was honored as recipient of the Coach's Award from the program, which recognizes perseverance and inspirational play. When Justin was asked about what his favorite part of being on the team was, he said, "Matches, team dinners and friends." As a sophomore, Justin went 2-0 in Three Rivers League JV matches. He begins his junior year at LOHS on Aug. 27 and his next tennis season with the Lakers starts in the spring. But Justin will likely be on the court a lot before then, getting ready for his three favorite things — more matches, more team dinners and more friends.
