Spectators can immediately notice there’s something different about the waterboy for Panther Valley’s football team.

During the timeouts, he limps to the huddle and favors his right arm.

What’s also noticeable is that he wears a broad, unyielding smile.

That’s because Caleb Gottschall loves the job. He enjoys football, he’s very sociable and he finds the camaraderie with the football players extraordinary.

Caleb, 17, a junior at Panther Valley High School, is not your typical football manager. He’s reliable, dedicated and courteous, but he has some physical afflictions that make the position an unlikely one for someone like him.

Caleb is an epileptic. Although he had seizures before, one in particular that occurred when he was eight years old was devastating. The seizure didn’t stop, and he had to have surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to literally disconnect parts of the right side of his brain. His left side is partially paralyzed. The seizures stopped after the surgery.

He also is on the autism spectrum.

Yet, Caleb is present for every football game — home and away. He doesn’t miss any practices. And he never complains.

During basketball season, he’s also a manager for the varsity basketball team.

“I enjoy every single play of football,” he gushed, adding that it’s his favorite sport. He said he “loves” being part of the team.

“I wish I could play football,” he admits.

Caleb is the son of John and Tayler Shemansik of Summit Hill. John said that Caleb enjoys all sports, adding, “Sports is all he watches on television, nothing else.”

He’s a big fan of the Philadelphia Eagles. He goes to most Eagles home games as well as training camp. Last week, he traveled with his mother to the Meadowlands in New Jersey where the Eagles played the Giants.

His bedroom is adorned with Eagles decor. He has autographed photos and helmets, an Eagles blanket on his bed, and lots of Eagles clothing. His most prized possessions are an autographed photo of Jason Kelce, and a helmet signed by Kelce and Carson Wentz. His favorite player was Kelce before his retirement in 2024.

Prior to visiting the Meadowlands, Caleb confessed that he has a goal to travel to every NFL stadium. So far, he has seen eight of them. Besides the “Linc” and the Meadowlands, he has been to games in Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville, Carolina, Buffalo and Pittsburgh.

John said it wasn’t easy for Caleb to land the job as a high school sports manager.

He said the idea was raised at an Individual Education Plan (IEP) meeting involving Caleb. “The school sets goals and we brought it up that maybe he would want to be a water boy and manager for football.”

Before the school could approve, there had to be assurance that he would be accompanied by an aide. When no aides could be found that would be available for the sporting events, both parents agreed they would accompany him at the events.

He got approval by the second game of last season.

Not only do John or Tayler have to be with Caleb at every game, one of them must also accompany him to every practice.

Besides being a team manager, Caleb has also joined the high school’s bocci ball team.

As an example of how the players of the sports team support Caleb, this writer attended a bocci game involving Caleb at the high school last year and in the audience was the entire basketball team, cheering him on.

He takes regular gym classes and said that when teams for events are needed, players often pick him to be on their team.

And it was a football player that actually suggested we do an article on Caleb and how he helps the team.

John said, “You can’t ask for a better bunch of kids than the athletes on the team. There’s a lot more to sports than the records, and these kids show that every day with him.”

A major project each year for Caleb is helping with the fund-raising campaign for the Eagles Autism Foundation. Last year, the team headed by Caleb and his parents raised $16,000.

John said they are hoping to raise $25,000 this year. The campaign occurs in the spring.