“My dreams never changed. I still had a burning passion to be an athlete. It was all I knew, and I didn’t want something like cancer or being an amputee to stop me from reaching my dreams. Though I was dealt a tougher hand than most, it was all up to me how I played that hand.”
in the tournament. There were only 6 teams in the tournament, but we took 2nd and 3rd place. To play, we had to sacrifice, pay our own way, take off of work, and be away from our families in hopes that it would one day pay off.” It was struggle after struggle after struggle, but Odom and Hyatt, encouraged by the other players who began to join them, continued to carry on. “It hasn’t been easy to start this team,” Odom says. “We have had many, many, many people not believe in us. For every success we have had, there were 10 times more letdowns and disappointments. Pursuing and chasing a dream that doesn’t exist and basically having to start from the ground up is frustrating, daring, very scary, and the most rewarding thing I have ever done. I just had to put everything in God’s hands and follow his path and plan for me and Amp 1.”
Seeing Some Success
In the meantime, Odom continued to receive messages from other amputees around the country who wanted to participate. “Before I knew it,” he says, “we had 7 or 8 guys all over the country who wanted to play.” Unfortunately, having players around the country who wanted to play together posed another major problem. With one in Texas, one in Utah, and others in
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Amp it up! magazine MAY/JUNE/JULY 2012
California, Michigan, New York and other parts of the country, how were they going to all meet in one location and practice and play together? “We knew that if this was going to go anywhere, we were going to have to sacrifice and commit,” Odom says. “At first, we had to pay our own way for everything. We entered in a small 3-on-3 tournament in Elgin, Texas, and were the only amputees
Odom and Hyatt finally found some success and were able to establish a fullfledged team. And more recently, they’ve started getting noticed and getting some support. Freedom Innovations, a prosthetics manufacturer, became a sponsor and helps pay for the team’s travel to games and to visit hospitals, clinics and schools where their presentations provide inspiration, motivation and hope to adults and children facing their own challenges. The company has also provided the players with high-tech prosthetic feet and/or knees to use in the sport. In addition, the team received support from the P.L.A.Y. Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides financial resources for amputee youths to participate in the arts, education and sports. With this support, the team has now played in Dallas, New York City, Washington, D.C., Kansas City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Detroit and Salt Lake City. They have played half-time at the Dallas Mavericks game, have played and had a photo shoot at the legendary Rucker Park in Harlem, and have played at the biggest 3-on-3 tournament in the country - the Nike 3-on-3 tournament in Los Angeles where one of their teams took 3rd place in its bracket. The team also plays in charity challenge games nationwide, including against able-bodied teams, to benefit physically challenged students, amputees