WEBVTT 00:00:08.802 --> 00:00:09.954 As you can see, 00:00:09.954 --> 00:00:13.029 I was born without fingers on my right hand. 00:00:13.029 --> 00:00:16.002 And also my right leg was several inches shorter 00:00:16.002 --> 00:00:17.374 than my left one. 00:00:17.374 --> 00:00:19.413 They broke the bones in the leg, 00:00:19.764 --> 00:00:23.000 then they screwed metal spikes into the bone. 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:24.806 It has not only spikes, 00:00:24.806 --> 00:00:26.707 but wires that go all the way through the leg 00:00:26.707 --> 00:00:28.211 to stabilize it. 00:00:28.211 --> 00:00:29.418 I have to walk on it. 00:00:29.418 --> 00:00:30.747 I have to stretch it out 00:00:30.747 --> 00:00:33.894 so that my muscles don't just get all atrophied. 00:00:33.894 --> 00:00:35.416 People always ask me, "Does it hurt?" 00:00:35.416 --> 00:00:36.647 Yes, it does, 00:00:36.647 --> 00:00:38.751 but I focus on what I can do, 00:00:38.751 --> 00:00:40.415 not on what I cannot do. 00:00:40.415 --> 00:00:41.561 I want to talk with you guys 00:00:41.561 --> 00:00:43.524 about overcoming obstacles. 00:00:43.524 --> 00:00:45.279 Everybody has obstacles, 00:00:45.279 --> 00:00:46.442 a disability, 00:00:46.442 --> 00:00:47.250 a hurdle. 00:00:47.025 --> 00:00:48.362 We face a choice: 00:00:48.587 --> 00:00:50.862 Let the obstacle overcome you 00:00:50.862 --> 00:00:52.865 or overcome the obstacle. 00:00:52.865 --> 00:00:55.457 Maybe some of you have heard of Jim Abbott. 00:00:55.457 --> 00:00:57.670 He was a Major League baseball player. 00:00:57.067 --> 00:00:59.155 He won a gold metal in the Olympics. 00:00:59.758 --> 00:01:01.589 He played for the Yankees, the Angels. 00:01:01.589 --> 00:01:03.781 But he threw a no-hitter, 00:01:03.781 --> 00:01:05.885 and he only had one arm. 00:01:05.885 --> 00:01:07.251 When he was a kid, 00:01:07.251 --> 00:01:09.635 he came home mad one time 00:01:09.635 --> 00:01:10.500 and told his dad, 00:01:10.005 --> 00:01:11.837 "The kids won't let me play baseball 00:01:12.332 --> 00:01:14.303 because I only have one hand." 00:01:14.303 --> 00:01:14.398 His dad replied, 00:01:15.253 --> 00:01:16.918 "No, the kids won't let you play baseball 00:01:16.918 --> 00:01:19.573 because you stink at baseball. 00:01:19.573 --> 00:01:22.650 You can't change the fact that you only have one hand, 00:01:22.065 --> 00:01:24.587 but you can change the fact that you stink." 00:01:25.172 --> 00:01:27.635 So, his dad began to practice with him, 00:01:27.635 --> 00:01:28.898 and he got good. 00:01:28.898 --> 00:01:30.665 He overcame obstacles. 00:01:30.665 --> 00:01:33.484 Teams would try to exploit his weak side. 00:01:33.484 --> 00:01:34.862 They would try to bunt to the side 00:01:34.862 --> 00:01:36.517 that he had a missing arm. 00:01:36.517 --> 00:01:37.839 But they never succeeded 00:01:37.839 --> 00:01:39.923 because he practiced and practiced 00:01:39.923 --> 00:01:41.918 fielding bunts to that side. 00:01:41.918 --> 00:01:45.254 There's no dishonor in having a disability, 00:01:45.254 --> 00:01:48.746 and I won't let anyone diss my ability, 00:01:48.746 --> 00:01:50.713 but I don't want anyone's pity either. 00:01:50.713 --> 00:01:53.252 I will not use the obstacles I face 00:01:53.252 --> 00:01:56.260 as an excuse for having a pity party. 00:01:56.332 --> 00:01:57.755 I will practice harder, 00:01:57.755 --> 00:01:57.843 play harder, 00:01:58.635 --> 00:01:59.753 and push myself harder 00:01:59.753 --> 00:02:01.589 to keep getting better. 00:02:01.589 --> 00:02:03.172 Last season I started 00:02:03.172 --> 00:02:05.895 on my varsity high school basketball team 00:02:05.895 --> 00:02:06.939 as a freshman, 00:02:06.939 --> 00:02:09.277 and I won Rookie of the Year. 00:02:09.277 --> 00:02:11.794 I was one of the top scorers on the team. 00:02:13.061 --> 00:02:15.130 One of the things that I find funny 00:02:15.679 --> 00:02:17.957 is that people judge me by appearance. 00:02:17.957 --> 00:02:18.605 They say, 00:02:18.605 --> 00:02:21.380 "Oh, look at this one-handed whitey with the limp. 00:02:21.038 --> 00:02:23.726 I don't want him on my team!" 00:02:24.068 --> 00:02:24.157 But what they don't know 00:02:24.958 --> 00:02:27.650 is that I don't just have a disability, 00:02:27.065 --> 00:02:28.952 I have an ability. 00:02:29.537 --> 00:02:32.319 One of my favorite moments from this last season 00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:34.163 was we played a team 00:02:34.163 --> 00:02:36.005 that we had never played before. 00:02:36.005 --> 00:02:37.672 And when the game started, 00:02:37.672 --> 00:02:40.296 you could tell that they were dissing my disability. 00:02:40.296 --> 00:02:43.372 I mean, they double-teamed our tallest player. 00:02:44.056 --> 00:02:46.803 They just were playing really soft on me, 00:02:46.803 --> 00:02:47.662 and they just, 00:02:47.662 --> 00:02:48.977 you could tell they thought, 00:02:48.977 --> 00:02:50.933 "What can this guy with one hand do?" 00:02:50.933 --> 00:02:52.657 So, they left me open for a three. 00:02:52.657 --> 00:02:53.912 I made that one. 00:02:53.912 --> 00:02:55.438 They left me open for another one. 00:02:55.438 --> 00:02:56.413 I made that one. 00:02:56.413 --> 00:02:58.370 Then, they started to get frustrated, 00:02:58.037 --> 00:02:59.484 so they actually fouled me. 00:02:59.817 --> 00:03:01.495 I made both free throws. 00:03:01.495 --> 00:03:03.364 And they called time out. 00:03:03.364 --> 00:03:04.819 And as we were in the huddle, 00:03:04.819 --> 00:03:06.864 I could hear the other coach 00:03:06.864 --> 00:03:09.406 yelling at his players about me. 00:03:09.406 --> 00:03:11.420 They went from not covering me at all 00:03:11.546 --> 00:03:13.700 to double-teaming me. 00:03:13.007 --> 00:03:14.961 It's all about overcoming obstacles. 00:03:15.654 --> 00:03:17.840 It's true, I have a disability, 00:03:17.084 --> 00:03:18.540 but so do you. 00:03:19.296 --> 00:03:20.755 I also have an ability, 00:03:20.755 --> 00:03:21.826 so do you. 00:03:21.826 --> 00:03:24.100 Everyone has obstacles to overcome. 00:03:24.001 --> 00:03:26.047 Some are visible like mine. 00:03:26.146 --> 00:03:28.070 Some are less visible. 00:03:28.007 --> 00:03:29.022 Maybe your obstacle is 00:03:29.022 --> 00:03:30.734 that you come from a poor neighborhood. 00:03:30.932 --> 00:03:33.967 Maybe people say you'll never amount to anything. 00:03:33.967 --> 00:03:35.352 Prove them wrong. 00:03:35.352 --> 00:03:37.886 Maybe your obstacle is that you have a learning disability, 00:03:37.886 --> 00:03:39.774 and people think that you're dumb. 00:03:39.774 --> 00:03:41.110 Prove them wrong. 00:03:41.011 --> 00:03:42.392 Maybe people judge you 00:03:42.491 --> 00:03:44.216 because of the color of your skin 00:03:44.216 --> 00:03:46.070 or your family background. 00:03:46.007 --> 00:03:47.389 Prove them wrong. 00:03:47.452 --> 00:03:48.577 I know a lot of people 00:03:48.577 --> 00:03:50.622 who take one look at me and judge me. 00:03:50.622 --> 00:03:50.709 They say, 00:03:51.492 --> 00:03:53.508 "Oh, that kid can't be any good at basketball. 00:03:53.652 --> 00:03:55.408 One leg, one hand." 00:03:55.408 --> 00:03:57.433 If someone things you can't overcome the obstacles, 00:03:57.658 --> 00:03:59.591 prove them wrong.