Allee

Alma's manager thrilled to be part of a team

By Kevin Taylor

Alma Schools 

Allee Little couldn’t imagine a life without her constant companion — the wheelchair she frequents the hallways and classrooms throughout Alma’s sprawling high school campus. 

You’d be hard-pressed to wipe the friendly smile off her face, too. 

But none of it might have played out had it not been for Shannon Thomasson’s phone call. 

“I did not know Allee until Shannon called me and talked to me,” explains former Alma coach Charla Parrish. “I said, ‘Yeah, let her come in, and we’ll let her do whatever she can.’

“She came to practice every day and wheeled that wheelchair from the (arena) to the softball field. “

“I could never thank Coach Parrish enough for just giving me a chance,” Little said. “I hope that seeing me inspires other adults who may be in the same position as her and to give those kids a chance. I hope it also inspires kids like me to put themselves out there and try out for something they may never have thought about doing. When they told me I was going to athletics I was like, ‘Really? You’re not going to put a girl in a wheelchair in; what am I going to do?’

“It’s one of the greatest things I’ve ever had the pleasure of being a part of.”

Little’s mom and lifeline, Kristin Houck, wanted to get her daughter involved in an extracurricular activity so that she could miss one day a week without being counted absent.  

“It started as a way to fill a spot because I was taking physical therapy (Van Buren) every Wednesday afternoon,” Little said. “I needed something I could leave and it wouldn’t have any consequences. My mom went to the school and said she needed somewhere to go and they said, ‘All we have is athletics.’

“My mom was like, ‘Put her in athletics.’ So that’s how it started.”

Initially, Little would become Parrish’s softball manager. But soon, she branched out to other sports.

Allee Little is bucked up and ready to hit the road before Alma’s game with Mansfield. 

“She (Parrish) also coached volleyball at the time, so she asked me if I wanted to do volleyball in the fall,” Little said. “I started there and loved it, too. I met some of the best girls — Samantha Crook and Mia Nichols. I made wonderful relationships with those girls and they just welcomed me with open arms. Sam, specifically, was going on to basketball and she Allee, you have to come to basketball; you’re going to love it.

“We met with coach (Codey) Mann and asked if I could manage the basketball team, and they said sure. The rest is history; I’ve managed all three sports for all four years. I’m in my last season of basketball and I’m so sad.”

This past fall, toward the end of the volleyball season, Alma coach Kim Weaver instructed public address announcer David Wright to introduce every member of the team, from the starters to the managers. 

That included Allee Little. 

“I loved that,” Little said. “There’s something about just being included. For them to call me, to put me at the same level as all the other (players), and make me feel as important as the rest of them. You would never know how important that is to kids like me, who sometimes struggle with fitting in and belonging somewhere. It’s hard to find people so welcoming and to be included and valued like that, it was so special to me.”

Alma principal Brian Kirkendoll has looked on from afar, as Little’s classmates have treated her like one of their peers. 

“It shows what our school district is all about,” Kirkendoll said. “She’s always been connected to everything and everyone. She never gives up and wants to be involved.”

Classmates 

Alma’s 2025 senior class will graduate with 272 students. It’s been a phenomenal ride, Little said.

“We are such a tight-knit class," she said. "A lot of them grew up around me. They don't treat me any different."

“You see her in the hallways and she always has a smile on her face,” Alma senior Israel Towns-Robinson said. “You talk to her and she always talks back; it’s a really big deal.”

Alma senior basketball standout Miles Kendrick first met Little in middle school. Two years ago, he chuckles, Allee helped him pass Biology.

“Allee’s been through a lot in her life but she comes to school every day with a smile on her face,” he said. “We had a class together my sophomore year. It was Biology; she’s the reason I passed that class!”

“I can’t play, but I still play just as critical of a role in supporting them,” Little said. “ Jordan Gramlich (basketball player), she pulled me aside the other day and said, ‘I just want you to know how much I appreciate you for always being there and supporting us. Even when we lose or are mad at each other, you come in and are always positive.’

“I appreciate her saying that.” 

Early diagnosis 

From an early age, Kristin knew she had to toughen up, especially after she and her husband, Jason Little, divorced when Allee was just four.

“I was diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy when I was six months old," Allee Little said. "We knew that I would be in a wheelchair, and we didn't know if I would ever be able to walk. We didn't know cognitively if I would have an intellectual disability. That was a lot of fear for my mom. She didn’t know if I would be bullied.”

Neither happened — Allee’s lack of reading and writing at a high level or being bullied. 

"I had a wonderful kindergarten teacher, Mrs. (Peggy) Moody," Little said. "She fostered an environment of teaching the kids that, while Allie is different than us, we treat her the same, and she'll be involved in the same things we're involved in. 

"She made me feel no different."

Family Bond

A 2003 Van Buren graduate, the former Kristin Robertson married Jason Little and the couple welcomed their only child, Allee, in 2006. But the marriage didn’t last. 

“My parents got divorced when I was four,” Allee Little said. “My parents (Kristin and Garrett Houck) have been married for 12 years. I’m just so grateful for Garrett. I don’t know, honestly, where I would be if I didn’t have that male figure.”

Allee has three siblings, including half-brother Tucker Houck, an Alma Middle School sixth-grader. 

“Tucker plays basketball, football, and baseball,” Little said. “And I have some half-brothers, but they go to school in Charleston.”

Little’s biological father, Jason, has two other children, Jace Little and Mason Little. 

Alma’s new bus 

Being part of the team notwithstanding, Little spent much of her high school career traveling to and from games with her mom Kristin, or dad Garrett. 

That changed three years ago with the addition of a new bus. 

"I've had a great experience at Alma; I've had nothing but great response all the way through. from teachers, administrators, and my friends. They don't treat me any differently. As I've gotten older, I've been a real advocate for accessibility in the school. People like Travis Biggs (Alma assistant superintendent)  have come to me to ask, 'What can we do to make this more accessible?'

“I've become an advocate for accessibility and inclusion.”

One of Alma’s new green coaches includes a wheelchair-accessible lift that helped Allee become even more of a team member. 

"I just wanted to ride to games with the team," she said. "Before, I was having to ride to games with my mom. I've been so grateful to be part of Alma and their love and willingness to help."