AUGUSTA — One Augusta Independent School student is overcoming odds and participating in his favorite sport.
When Augusta resident Tiffany Taylor was 16 weeks pregnant with her son, Gabe Taylor, she was told he would be born with spina bifida.
Spina bifida is a birth defect that occurs when the spine and spinal cord do not form properly, according to the Mayo Clinic.
“The doctors said he would be paralyzed from the chest down,” she said. “But, when he was born, he moved his legs. At one day old, he went into surgery and they removed a mass off his spine.”
Gabe Taylor, who is a 14-year-old eighth grader at AIS, said playing basketball has been his passion since he was a child and it was something he was able to do with friends and family for years.
“I’ve been playing since I was two,” he said. “I played until I was about 12 and I couldn’t keep up with everyone else, because of my legs.”
Gabe Taylor said he and his mother were at a spina bifida meeting when a parent approached them about Gabe playing wheelchair basketball for the Cincinnati Dragons.
“A parent came up to us and talked about the wheelchair basketball,” he said. “They invited me to a practice that same night. I’ve been on the team, now, for about three years.”
According to Gabe Taylor, when he first began playing, he was unsure about the team.
“We weren’t very good,” he said. “Eventually, I started playing in varsity and now we’re ranked sixth in the country.”
There are some difficulties to playing wheelchair basketball.
“You have to have a lot of upper body strength,” he said. “When you first start playing, it’s hard. You have to work to learn how to shoot. When you’re playing basketball, you’re usually running up and down the court dribbling, but with this, you’re pushing the wheelchair and then trying to dribble and shoot.”
The team will be playing in the national wheelchair basketball tournament March 28-31 in Chicago.
“I’m really excited,” Gabe Taylor said. “I never thought that would happen.”
When he is not playing basketball, he enjoys playing video games.
“I just like to play games and hang out with my friends, if I’m not at practice,” he said.
After high school, he plans to play wheelchair basketball in college, while studying culinary arts.
AIS Principal Robin Kelsch said he was proud of Gabe.
“Gabe is a remarkable young man, who has never set limits for himself,” he said. “He has overcome many obstacles because of his determination, hard work and belief in himself. We are proud of Gabe and all of his accomplishments on the basketball court.”