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2 count on me Powerful Stories of PERSEVERANCE in sports Brad Herzog As shown by the wonderful stories in Count on Me: Sports, athletics can not only reveal character, but also inspire it. Shannon Miller, two-time Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics The true tales in Brad Herzog s books show how the games we play can teach seriously important life lessons. Jake Delhomme, former Super Bowl quarterback for the Carolina Panthers

3 Copyright 2014 by Brad Herzog All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Unless otherwise noted, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher, except for brief quotations or critical reviews. For more information, go to Free Spirit, Free Spirit Publishing, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Free Spirit Publishing Inc. A complete listing of our logos and trademarks is available at Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Herzog, Brad. Powerful stories of perseverance in sports / Brad Herzog. pages cm (Count on me: sports) ISBN (paperback) ISBN Athletes Conduct of life Juvenile literature. 2. Athletes Biography Juvenile literature. 3. Sportsmanship Juvenile literature. 4. Character Juvenile literature. I. Title. GV697.A1H '2 dc ebook ISBN: Free Spirit Publishing does not have control over or assume responsibility for author or third-party websites and their content. Reading Level Grade 5; Interest Level Ages 8 13; Fountas & Pinnell Guided Reading Level V Edited by Alison Behnke Cover and interior design by Michelle Lee Lagerroos Cover photo credits: background Bruxov Dreamstime.com; clockwise from top left: AP Photo/Scott A. Miller; Cal Sports Media via AP Images; AP Photo/ Kevin Larkin; AP Photo/Damen Jackson via Triple Play New Media; Press Association via AP Images; AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens. For interior photo credits, see page Printed in the United States of America S Free Spirit Publishing Inc. Minneapolis, MN (612) help4kids@freespirit.com Free Spirit offers competitive pricing. Contact edsales@freespirit.com for pricing information on multiple quantity purchases.

4 Dedication For Judy Mozersky, who continues to persevere and inspire. Acknowledgments Thank you to Judy Galbraith, Margie Lisovskis, and the rest of the crew at Free Spirit Publishing for having the courage to pursue a series of books celebrating stories of character in sports. I found Alison Behnke to be both insightful and inclusive as an editor, an author s dream combination, and Michelle Lee Lagerroos put in overtime making sure the designs were just right. Finally, I am grateful to Aimee Jackson for bringing me to Free Spirit in the first place and for her unwavering support and friendship.

5 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION... 1 UNHITTABLE...5 Baseball New York, New York, United States 1993 When life throws a pitcher a curveball, he tosses a no-hitter. BEAUTY IN MOTION...9 Track and Field Rome, Italy 1960 A young woman overcomes a tough start to become a track superstar. HEART OF A WINNER Golf Leon, Mexico 2011 Two organ transplants don t stop a golfer from achieving his dreams. - DECIDING TO SOAR Fencing West Peabody, Massachusetts, United States 1976 With the help of self-belief and a sword, a girl discovers her potential. THE FIGHT OF HIS LIFE...23 Boxing Los Angeles, California, United States 2011 A boxer s biggest bout is the fight for his reputation.

6 RELENTLESS RACER...27 Handcycling London, England 2012 One man could have let a horrific accident end his racing career. Instead, he simply changed his course. CHANNELING STRENGTH Swimming English Channel 1926 A long-distance swimmer who refuses to quit becomes Queen of the Waves. MOVING FORWARD Basketball Bristol, Connecticut, United States 2011 A top basketball player takes on her most challenging opponent. EYES ON THE PRIZE Distance Running Sydney, Australia 2000 Being legally blind won t keep this runner from competing. C IS FOR COMEBACK Basketball Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States 2012 A college basketball player returns to make a very big point. JUST SKATE Speed Skating Lillehammer, Norway 1994 A speed skater has one last chance to turn heartbreak into heroics.

7 ON TARGET...55 Archery Massa-Carrara, Italy 2005 An unexpected new challenge doesn t stop a world-class archer from aiming to be the best. CONQUERING A CONTINENT...59 Cross-Country Skiing Antarctica 2012 One woman challenges herself in the most unforgiving place on Earth. THE MATCH THAT WOULDN T END...63 Tennis Wimbledon, England 2010 Two men compete like champions in the longest match in pro tennis history. FINISHING TOUCH...69 Track and Field Barcelona, Spain 1992 Sometimes finishing a race last is the most impressive feat of all. HARD TO TAKE DOWN Wrestling Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States 2011 Perfection is within reach for a wrestler born with one leg. FACE TIME Wheelchair Basketball New Brighton, Minnesota, United States 2010 An athlete in a wheelchair rolls into the pages of Sports Illustrated.

8 LITTLE GIANT...83 Figure Skating Sarajevo, Yugoslavia 1984 Illnesses keep threatening to bring down a figure skater, but he always rises up again. TECH TRIUMPH Basketball Winsted, Connecticut, United States 2008 After 265 straight losses, a girls basketball team maintains a winning attitude. HIS NAME IS PRIDE Baseball Montreal, Canada 1993 A baseball player who was born hearing impaired works his way to the major leagues. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY...95 INDEX ABOUT THE AUTHOR

9 INTRODUCTION In 2005, when motocross racer Ricky James was 16 years old, he crashed during a race. James was thrown headfirst from his Yamaha YZ80. He crushed his spine, broke his wrist and a couple of ribs, and had a collapsed lung. He spent seven hours in surgery. Afterward, doctors told him that he would never walk again. He would be paraplegic paralyzed from the waist down. Not walking wasn t what worried James the most. I didn t think about never walking again, he said. The only thing that mattered to me was that I couldn t race anymore. It turns out he was wrong. Within a year, James had adapted a hand-cranked bicycle to racing. But James s world had changed forever. He adapted to life in a wheelchair. That meant figuring out new ways to do what were once simple tasks showering, getting dressed, tying his shoes. At the same time, he set some very big goals. Within three years of his accident, he began competing in triathlons. These 1

10 2 Powerful Stories of Perseverance in Sports three-part races include swimming, biking, and running. First, James had to learn how to swim. I wanted to pick up a new challenge, he said. I wanted to prove that I was an athlete. Only a few months later, James traveled to Hawaii for the Ironman World Championship. He used his new swimming skills to cover 2.4 miles in the ocean. He rolled along for 112 miles in his hand-cranked cycle. Finally, in an adapted race chair, he completed a 26.2-mile marathon. Twelve hours and 44 minutes after he started, he crossed the finish line. It would be an impressive feat for anyone. For a young man who had fought for his life only a few years earlier, it was inspiring. Of course, Ricky was just staying true to the word tattooed on his right leg. It read: PERSEVERANCE. The stories in this book celebrate that word in all its forms. Perseverance is defined best by the people who display it. It can mean courage and strength, as shown by the wrestler who became a champion even though he only had one leg. Or perseverance can mean toughness, as in the story of the golfer who had his heart replaced twice but never lost his spirit. It can translate into grit and determination, displayed by the boxer who was wrongly imprisoned but never gave up the fight for his freedom. Or it can mean the bravery

11 Introduction 3 and the resolve of the woman who swam across the English Channel. Perseverance can appear in the form of endurance, like the tennis players who didn t back down, even when their match took three days. Sometimes it means strength of mind, as shown by the fencer with dyslexia who turned newfound selfesteem into gold medals. All of these stories share two important things. They all feature obstacles that seemed to stand in the way of reaching a dream. And they all feature amazing athletes who show us that it is possible to overcome nearly any challenge. Whether it s on the speed skating track, the pitcher s mound, or the frozen lands of Antarctica, these tales of perseverance are about people and possibilities.

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13 baseball UNHITTABLE September 4, 1993 New York, New York, United States It was a Saturday afternoon in Yankee Stadium. New York Yankees pitcher Jim Abbott stood on the mound and stared at his catcher. In the stands, the fans cheered themselves hoarse. The Yankees were in the midst of a pennant race, but that s not what had the crowd in a frenzy. So far, not a single batter for the Cleveland Indians had managed to get a hit. At age 25, Abbott was on the verge of making history. Then again, he already had. I believe you can do anything you want if you put your mind to it, Abbott likes to say. Growing up in Flint, Michigan, he had set his sights on making it to the major leagues. He wanted to be called a big leaguer. Instead, he was called cruel names. Some kids nicknamed him crab because he was born without a right hand. But Abbott figured he would just have to become a one-handed baseball star. A few people told me that I wouldn t go far in sports, he said. I didn t listen. 5

14 6 Powerful Stories of Perseverance in Sports In high school, Abbott became the starting quarterback and punter on his school s football team. He was even better in baseball. Playing first base, shortstop, and left field, he batted.427 as a senior. In 1985, he was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the amateur draft. But instead of joining the minor leagues, he decided to go to college. At the University of Michigan, Abbott became a national sensation as a pitcher. To pitch and also field from the mound, Abbot had to make a tricky series of moves. With a lefthanded baseball glove where his right hand would be, he pitched with his left hand. After he threw the ball, he switched the glove onto his pitching hand. To make a fielding play, he cradled the ball and glove in the crook of his right arm. Then he grabbed the ball and threw it with his left hand. Some opponents tried to take advantage of Abbott s system. In one high school game, a team bunted eight times in a row. But Abbott became a very good fielder. He threw out seven of those eight bunters! In three seasons pitching for Michigan, Abbott had a 26 8 record. In 1987 he received the James E. Sullivan Memorial Award as the nation s top amateur

15 Unhittable 7 athlete. He then earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. At the 1988 Summer Olympics, he pitched the team to a gold medal. Abbott s success didn t stop there. Next, the California Angels (now the Los Angeles Angels) Switch Hit Growing up, Shay Oberg watched Jim Abbott pitch in the big leagues. Despite having been born without a left hand, Oberg herself was a star Little Leaguer. She went on to be a high school star, too. As a senior in Billings, Montana, she earned all-state honors. At the plate, Oberg batted from a left-handed position. She used her right arm to slap at the ball with a backhand stroke. She hit well, but she couldn t generate much power. So she worked harder. She also tried new things. In college, where she played for Montana State University Billings, she decided to experiment as a switch-hitter. That meant she batted left-handed against right-handed pitchers and right-handed against left-handed pitchers. In 2008, as a junior, she hit three home runs all of them right-handed. As an opposing coach said, Oberg showed that anybody can do anything if they want to work hard enough.