Kid can do it ALL on one leg!!!

I found this particular article by Mike Fields, and the overall issue of athletes with disabilities to be very interesting and necessary to consider when thinking of sport and gender. The article highlights a kid named Adam Bender who is a catcher for a little league baseball team. He is a unique catcher because he only has one leg!!. We watched a YouTube clip of Adam as he caught, batted, fielded, and ran the bases. I felt that he was incredible and extremely motivating. To see someone at his age with his disability to have the same amount of determination if not more than his peer was truly inspiring.

In class we were given a question to answer, about which term would be more acceptable when referring to individuals who have unique disabilities. The correct answer was "a person with a disability," however a classmate of mine made an interesting point about a different option for addressing these individuals. The option was a "person that is differently abled." He explained his answer as an individual who has only one leg, still walks, but walks "differently." Although his answer was not the most popular answer, I still felt that the reasoning behind the answer made alot of sense, seeing that there are many athletes, and people in general who actively participate in society, doing normal things such as walking and running, however their daily routine may be slightly different, and they way to participate in society may be accomplished by a different means.

For example there was a guy where I am from named Bobby, who was born without legs. He used the aid of a skateboard to help him get around the city, using his arms and hands as his guides. He seemed to get around just fine, and even found himself following his desire to play football as a lineman for a high school varsity team. His participation in football sparked many curiosities, controversy, and concerns, I'm sure, but the fact that he was out there on the field was truly an amazing thing to witness.

I believe, that people with disabilities such as Adam and Bobby, prove that things that seem to be setbacks in life are only opportunities to reach other peoples lives, to bring hope, and inspiration. :-)

We also discussed the issue of how athletes with disabilities relate to sport and gender. When asked if we knew of anyone who was an athlete with a disability, all of our answers were male athletes. This rose the question of whether or not it was more acceptable for a male with a disability to participate in sports than a female with the same disability. This was interesting to think about, and a couple female classmates explained that society tends to cuddle females more in general and cater to them, and react in a more sensitive way, which is one explanation to the question. While this may be very true, I think when it comes to the athletic world many of those stereotypical concerns are somewhat looked past.