High School Wrestler Inspires

There are several reasons why I have such a passion for athletics. The first of those reasons is because of the thrill and the disappointment of winning and losing. Think about it, if losing was not disappointing and frustrating, would winning be thrilling and quite frankly awesome? No, so in order to love one you must also love the other. The second reason I love athletics is because of the action. I sit down and wonder to myself, how boring would this world and this life be if we did not have any athletics or games. I'll tell you it would be horrendously boring. The third reason I love athletics is because of the inspirational stories that they bring. From the story of a high school football team coming together to win a state championship while facing the adversity of desegregation in the civil rights period, to a track star with no legs competing in the Olympics, to a girl who continues to surf and dominate at it after having one of her arms bitten off by a shark, to high school autistic students getting the chance to feel like a star just by making one irrelevant basket; the list simply  never ends and moments/stories consistently get add to the list. While playing around on ESPN.com, I ran into one of these stories.

New Jersey high school senior Anthony Ferraro is an avid skateboarder, surfer, guitarist and has even played some soccer and basketball, but he is best at wrestling. Now, this might seem completely normal to you, as it does to Anthony, but you cannot overlook the fact that Anthony is blind.

Being born five weeks early, Anthony had to fight for his life very early on. He developed jaundice and dropped to only 4 pounds. From there he was transferred to Jersey Shore Medical Center, where it was discovered he had also contract E. Coli. However, this was only the begining.

A few months later one of his Uncles noticed that his eyes were moving rapidly, so his mom took him to more doctors and little could be known because of his young age. Then finally when he was three doctors diagnosed Leber’s congenital amaurosis, a degenerative retinal condition. He has been legally blind since birth, but he can see some variations of lights and shadows out of a pin sized hole out of one of his eyes.

Anthony began to wrestle when he was in middle school. In his seventh grade year he finished with the record of 3-10 and was pinned in the first round of the end of the year tournament. He then joined Rhino Wrestling Club and began to train hard to become a better wrestler. Surprise, it worked! By the end of his eight grade year Ferraro won the tri-county championships.

Anthony contunied his success throughout his high school career that recently ended in a regional tournament loss. Despite that loss, his senior season was still very successful with the record of 34-2 and was ranked number 3 in Region 6, all against able bodied competitiors.  He was also able to gain the eye of two college wrestling programs: Division I Rider and D-III The College of New Jersey.

What is inspiring about Anthony is his desire to be independent. His parents say that he uses several helpful tricks to do tasks. When he pours drinks, he keeps one finger in the glass to feel when it is filled. At the pool, he counts steps on the diving board to gauge the distance. He learned to skateboard on half pipes by memorizing the dimensions. He also refuses to use a cane except at night. "I'm very good at adapting to places," he says. "If I get the layout of a place, within two or three times I have it memorized."

Both his parents and Anthony have credited wrestling to his growth and understanding in life.  "I don't look at it from a wrestling standpoint," Ferraro says. "I look at it from a life standpoint. The lifestyle you develop from wrestling, the training and discipline, will help out in the real world. Just knowing you have to get up and work out -- down the line, if you have obstacles with a job, you'll know you've been there before. Wrestling has helped me develop a life." 

"People tell me I inspire them, and when someone tells you that, it's the best feeling in the world," Ferraro says. "If I do inspire people, that's the best thing I could ever hear. I never thought anyone would care about me and my wrestling, but now I see that I can help kids. To be honest, I don't always want to do interviews, but if I can help one kid like me, that's a big accomplishment. I get that part of it, but the last thing I want is sympathy."

Continue to inspire and change the minds of many doubters Anthony!

-JM 

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ORIGINAL STORY: 

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/9032132/blind-high-school-wrestler-anthony-ferraro

http://www.nj.com/hssports/blog/wrestling/index.ssf/2013/03/st_john_vianneys_anthony_ferraro_has_battled_through_blindness_to_find_success_inspire_others.html