Amazing High School Football player, but not what you expect

[BlackLabelJetsFan]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/preps/football/2005-09-22-martin_x.htm

Nose tackle has special abilities

By Christopher Lawlor, USA TODAY

Bobby Martin doesn't want pity. He only wants to make tackles. "I don't care who's in front of me, I just want to find the ball carrier and cause a fumble. That's my job," says Martin, a senior nose tackle for Colonel White High in Dayton, Ohio.

"My arms are my legs," Bobby Martin says about his unique experience on the football field.

He recorded his first varsity tackle Aug. 28 against Valley View (Germantown). After shedding the center, he found the quarterback, stopping him behind the line of scrimmage. It's a typical tackle for some, but not for Martin, who was born without legs.

His body ends just below the waist. Prosthetic legs aren't option because he lacks a lower body in which to affix them.

Martin, 17, uses his arms to walk on field. He measures 3-1, 110 pounds and is thigh-high to his teammates. Off the field, he uses a specially-designed skateboard to get around, nixing a wheelchair. He's already the school's most popular student and would like to design computer software after finishing college and play football.

"I don't want it (football) to end here," he says.

Colonel White coach Earl White has known Martin since elementary school. White coached wrestling at Roth Middle School and encouraged Martin to try out for the team. He took to the sport quickly, placing second in the city tournament as an eighth-grader. But he strayed from sports for his first three years of high school, attending two other schools, but has found a home at Colonel White and on the field.

"People who've been around Bobby for a while view him as normal," White says. "Not many could overcome what he has, but Bobby has and can walk. He just does it differently."

Martin's muscular upper torso allows him to walk on his hands. He shifts his body back and forth. "My arms are my legs," Martin says. "When I tackle, I must wrap my arms around their legs and just squeeze as hard as I can. He has no choice but go down (to the ground)."

His decision to play football received the endorsement of his mother, Gloria Martin. "She raised me to be dependent on myself," he says.

Said White: "Determination is what separates him from others. It's hard to deny him."

But Martin was denied a chance to play last week against Mount Healthy (Cincinnati) by the game's assigned officials, who cited improper equipment.

Dayton Public Schools athletics director Jonas Smith, who oversees five high schools, says: "They (the officials) said he wasn't wearing shoes and other (protective) pads. It was their call, but I was disappointed with the decision."

The Ohio High School Athletic Association this week cleared Martin to play the remainder of the season. Martin splits time between the varsity and junior varsity. He starts for junior varsity and recorded four tackles in his last game. On the varsity, he's participated in 10 plays and is on the punt return team, where he's made a tackle.

[TomShane]

I saw a news segment on this kid. All you can say is, you think YOU have it tough...? Real tough kid, though.

[Maxman]

I saw a news segment on this kid. All you can say is, you think YOU have it tough...? Real tough kid, though.

Yeah I see things like that and I think, man I wish TomShane would stop crying about his life.

It could always be worse!