High School Football Player with Muscular Dystrophy Scores Touchdown

posted on Nov 04 by Roseanne in the Disability News, Fun, Muscular Dystrophy, Wheelchair Sports category

Physical limitations haven’t stopped high school student Trent Glaze from pursuing his dreams. In the final minutes of a recent game, the Ohio student who has been using a wheelchair for the past ten years scored a touchdown for his team.

Despite his muscular dystrophy, Glaze joined the Falcons football team as a sophomore. He quickly became coach Tom McCurdy’s “right hand man,” learning the plays and coaching his team members from the sidelines. This year he was even named team captain. So it seemed fitting that when an opportunity came at the end of the recent game, and with spectators chanting his name, Glaze took to the field on his wheelchair. He grabbed a handoff from the Falcon’s quarterback and raced into the end zone, fulfilling a dream he had had for ten years. “I told the coach I wanted to go out with a bang,” said Glaze. When he scored, team members and fans alike swarmed the end zone to congratulate him. Said Falcon’s linebacker Brice Winegardner of the play, “It means a lot. I’ve been waiting for this a long time.”

Glaze’s dedication to his team has been inspiring to many. He has shown up for all the games and events since joining the team, even though he could only participate from the sidelines.  “He’s a participant, he’s a player, he’s a coach,” said Fairfield Union junior high coach Rich Mason. “He inspires them. He doesn’t ask for anything, and he gives everything.” Glaze would like to one day become a coach himself, something that Falcon’s coach McCurdy sees as very possible. “He listens hard to what we try to teach, and he gets after the guys,” he said. McCurdy called the touchdown one of the greatest moments in his 33 years of coaching.

Her son’s dedication is no surprise to his mother, Debbie Glaze. “Whatever he puts his mind to, he does. He hunts, he plays all the wheelchair sports.”  She adds, “This kid’s just wholehearted with everything. It just means the world to him that the coach asked him to be on the team and be a captain.” Glaze was also voted Fairfield Union High School’s homecoming king this year.

After the game Glaze was typically quick to praise the Falcon’s offensive comeback, especially scoring two touchdowns prior to his own, but he clearly cherished his time on the field. “I’ve still got butterflies….It’s going to be in my memory for the rest of my life. I’ll never forget it.”

To watch a video of Trent Glaze discussing his touchdown, see below or visit: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/02/trent-glaze-wheelchair-touchdown_n_1071877.html

Sources:
www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/02/trent-glaze-wheelchair-touchdown_n_1071877.html
www.theblaze.com/stories/heart-warming-wheelchair-bound-football-player-scores-touchdown/
www.nydailynews.com/news/national/wheelchair-bound-football-player-takes-field-scores-game-final-touchdown-article-1.971624