Handicapped heroes

[by Kris SANTIAGO] - While surfing through the web for the newest basketball-related news, I came across an article about Kevin Laue, who recently signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Manhattan (NCAA-D1) in the upcoming college-basketball season.

It would not be a big deal if Laue, who spent his prep days at Fork Union Military Academy, would have two hands to work with.

Instead, he was born only with one but learned quickly to adjust and switched from soccer to basketball and never looked back. It's amazing to hear such stories over and over as they show you, that even with a disadvantage, you can be successful in life and reach your goals.

It's the typical American dream that results to sound often very cheesy but in some way, I still think it's important to mention the stories about people with a handicap that made their dreams of playing basketball coming true.

Like Mike Edwards, whom I watched playing basketball on television back then in the 90's while I was visiting my family in the States.

It was his dream to play for the University of Notre Dame basketball-team although having only one healthy leg.

I admired him for being so passioned and so motivated to achieve this goal, as I miss this passion for the game while watching other professional athletes these days.

Besides those two, there are more prime examples of basketball players with a handicap that overcame early obstacles in life to succeed on the court:

You may already know about Jason McElwain,  who scored a bunch of threes in a game for his high school,

Porter Ellett, from Utah is another prime example how successful you can be if you just try hard enough. The same goes for Dominique Dorsey in Texas.

Some others made it to the pros. Eddie Shannon is looking back on a fruitful professional basketball career that took him to many of the well-know leagues around the globe. Only a few know that he is playing the game while only being able to use one eye.

Lance Allred was the first deaf player to make it to the NBA while Mihai Zupan from Slovenia is a regular-fixture in his country's national-team (and as well for his country's deaf national-team) and the Euroleague.

All this players lead by example -They are simply amazing and are adorable not only for people with physical or mental disadvantages.

If you are more interested now on this topic:

The 2011 Special Olympics will be hosted by the beautiful city of Athens in 2011. Basketball will be played there as well.

Do not miss out the chance to support your country and the athletes involved!