Asthma doesn’t slow down Dougherty’s Michael Sawyer

ALBANY – Michael Sawyer has had to overcome more obstacles than most, but that has only helped fuel him. The Dougherty High School junior was cut from the middle school team and has battled through a severe case of asthma to become a key player for the Trojans.

Sawyer was diagnosed with asthma when he was in third grade. The diagnosis came after a lengthy bout with bronchitis. While finding out you have asthma would push many away, the discovery only drove Sawyer to work harder.

“A lot of people that find out they have asthma just want to sit down and let it be,” Sawyer said. “I did not want to do that. I wanted to play basketball, so I just worked hard and I broke out of it. I control it now.”

When he first started playing, Sawyer had to make adjustments to how fast he ran on the court. Once he lost a little bit of weight, it became easier to control his asthma.

Now, the asthma only bothers him during his first few minutes of action before he gets acclimated with the running and his lungs are able to expand.

“It will come up in the first four minutes of a game,” Sawyer said. “After that, I don’t have a problem and I will be good for the rest of the game.”

Before a game Sawyer gives his inhaler to a coach as a precaution, but he rarely has to use it.

When Dougherty hired Ty Randolph in 2014, it was the perfect fit for Sawyer. Randolph had worked in NBA player development for the previous five years with multiple teams including the Philadelphia 76ers and Detroit Pistons. He had also previously coached at Groves High School in Garden City near Savannah but left in 2009 to assist former NBA No. 1 overall pick Kwame Brown.

Brown, like Sawyer, also had to figure out how to play basketball while dealing with asthma. While working with Brown, Randolph learned how to control asthma and ways to build lung capacity to lessen the effect of the condition. Randolph’s arrival at Dougherty marked a change in Sawyer’s usage and training.

“He had me doing conditioning drills,” Sawyer said. “I was running like three miles at a time. He has helped me a lot.”

Randolph was able to use his experience to help Sawyer become accustomed to dealing with the affects of asthma.

“Working with different trainers in the NBA, it is a common thing with players,” Randolph said. “You have to train your body and run. With us, we play a fast-paced style. It is a real quick, tight burst and then you get off the gas.”

Sawyer’s mom, Edna, has noticed the impact that Randolph has had on her son’s asthma.

“She told me that over the past year and a half that I’ve had him, his breathing and his sickness has lessened tremendously,” Randolph said. “That is just from the techniques I have been using with him.”

Last year, Sawyer went from not playing many minutes to finding a spot in the Trojans rotation. The forward has once again maintained a role in the Trojans offense this season. Last Friday, he led Dougherty with 15 points in their blowout win over Cook.

“He is a glue guy,” Randolph said. “He is a piece that is a part of the team that if you are missing it is like a car. Your car is not going to run smoothly and you are always going to think you need a tune up. He just has the intangibles.”