Every athlete has their why.
Their reason for why they get out of bed every morning for early workouts, their reason for why they push through pain and stress to play the game.
For many it’s that love of the game or the dream to make it to the pros that drives them. For TCU cornerback Avery Helm, his why is his autistic younger brother Adrian.
“He’s the reason I put the pads on everyday, I’ve got to make sure he doesn’t work a job,” Helm said Wednesday at the end of practice No. 10 for the Horned Frogs.
Whenever the Florida transfer needs extra motivation or perspective to get through a trying time, he has a reminder on his arm that he always relies on.
“I have a puzzle piece tattoo with my brother’s name on it,” Helm said. “I put in a very specific location so I can always look down and remind myself that’s my reason that I need to wake up and do what I do everyday.”
The puzzle piece is one of the logos used for autism awareness and symbolic of the bond the two brothers have established. Helm’s father, also named Avery, said the two have been close all their lives and that Helm has been the perfect role model for his younger brother.
“Two very good young men, everything that they can do together they will,” their father said. “Adrian looks up to him. The relationship they have (is strong), because Adrian was non-verbal a good portion of the time and they always communicated by touch and just learning each other. I think that factored into how close their relationship is now.”
Adrian recently began speaking, a fact that lights up Helm’s face when he shared the milestone with the media on Wednesday.
“He just turned 10 years old, he just started talking not too long ago,” Helm said. “He’s putting sentences together, so it’s interesting to hear him talk to us. It’s a great experience to have him in my life, he’s opened my mind to a lot of different things.”
Among those is the way Adrian lives his life, with a sense of innocent joy that is rare for anybody to experience.
“To see somebody just be happy everyday and not really care about too much, that’s a good thing,” Helm said.
Being closer to Adrian and his family is among the reasons Helm decided on TCU when he was in the transfer portal. Helm starred in the Houston metro area at Fort Bend Marshall in Missouri City. Roughly a four-hour drive to Fort Worth, it’s been a lot easier on the Helm family with him being closer.
“It’s a lot better, my family was driving to Florida almost every weekend, but now I get to see them during the off-season,” Helm said. “They’ve been to my house pretty much every weekend. I’ve got an extra room for him, (Adrian) can come into the apartment and say it’s his apartment and go to his room and we’re chilling.”
For Avery, the proximity to home was an added bonus to his son finding the right landing spot for him. He cited Helm’s relationship and similar demeanor with cornerbacks coach Carlton Buckels as a factor that helped sway Helm to Fort Worth.
Helm also said the 3-3-5 defense was attractive to him as well. It’s safe to say Avery and the rest of the family don’t regret the decision. They’ve already noticed how Helm was begin to change for the better mentally and physically.
“He seems really calm and at peace now. You’re just looking at a different young man,” Avery said. “He’s at peace with his decision. He’s already picked up 15, 20 pounds. He came to TCU at 169, 170, he’ll have some more mornings where he’ll wake up at 188 and he loves it, he loves it there.”
The love is mutual as Helm has been one of the standouts at spring practice. The 6-foot-1 corner has good length and the physicality to match it.
“I’m enjoying the defense it’s mainly man, match coverage. That’s what I thrive in,” Helm said. “I’m very prideful, it comes with my position. I feel like you have to be confident, I think that’s very important in any DB.”
Sonny Dykes is among the many that’s been pleased with Helm’s performance so far. With Josh Newton being sidelined with an injury, Helm has had a chance to really establish himself in a deeper cornerback room.
Along with his physical tools, it’s the mental makeup that’s impressed Dykes the most.
“I like his mentality, I think he’s got the right mental makeup for a corner,” Dykes said. “It doesn’t seem like he gets rattled. He seems like he’s an emotionally mature guy. I like his length and athleticism. All the stuff’s there, he’s just learning how to play our style of defense.”
In a way Helm is the type of corner that is perfect for the 3-3-5 and he’s shown that by rarely giving up any catches during 11-on-11 portions of practice.
The thought of making sure Adrian is taken care of as he grows older will only continue to push Helm to go harder. He still has more to accomplish, but in the eyes of his brother he’s already won.
“He thinks I’m a king,” Helm said.
