While big name soccer stars such as Rooney, Ronaldo and Messi are constantly hailed as inspiring sportsmen, there’s one American teenager that is all that and more. And he only has one leg.
Nico Calabria is a 19-year old soccer player from Indianapolis. He is very good at his chosen sport and his passion for soccer is evident. The only difference between him and the soccer stars we see in the newspapers everyday? He has one leg instead of two.
Calabria started playing soccer from an early age. Despite only having one leg, he says that he never thought his passion for sports was strange or out of the ordinary – he simply did the thing that made him happy.
He is also a mountain climber. At the young age of 13, Calabria successfully climbed to the summit of Mt. Kilimajaro in Kenya. An accomplishment many able body climbers struggle to achieve.
It wasn’t until high school however, that Calabria became somewhat of a soccer legend. He was a part of his High School soccer team and also played soccer for his Varsity. During one high school soccer match, however, he scored a very impressive goal – and luckily someone caught that on camera.
Obviously, the clip of Calabria was uploaded onto YouTube and soon the video went viral – inspiring thousands of people, able or disabled, to follow there passion.
With such an amazing story, it wasn’t long before sports drink brand, Powerade, caught on. The company made a short, mini documentary about Calabria, which you can check out below (warning: tears rolling down your face is a big possibility)
Nico is now a part of the USA’s National Amputee Soccer Team.
If this guy doesn’t inspire you to follow your dreams, then I don’t know what will!
Source: Mashable