TO INSPIRE IS BACK. We may have found one of the most inspirational stories in all of sports.
At the age of 14, a confident multitalented athlete (Nick Mayhugh) suffered a seziure and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Despite being told by Doctors that he would never play soccer again, Nick set out on a journey to prove them wrong while struggling with being fully accepted as disabled. Since being told that he would never be able to play sports again, Nick has won 3 gold medals, 1 silver, shattered 2 world record in track and was named Team USA Soccer player of the year.
In addition to his athletic accomplishments, Nick is also a motivational speaker and advocate for disability rights. He uses his platform to inspire others to pursue their passions and to challenge societal norms around disability. Through his determination and resilience, Nick has proven that anything is possible with hard work and perseverance.
Make sure you sub and hit the bell to be notified of all posts!
For more Playmaker Content: https://www.youtube.com/@Playmakr
Shop Playmaker Tees & more
https://playmakerbrand.com
Check us out on our socials:
https://withkoji.com/@Playmaker
Check out Playmaker HQ for more:
https://PlaymakerHQ.com
Playmaker is all about stories, highlights, and in-depth behind the scenes moments of your favorite athletes and celebrities.
At the age of 14, a confident multitalented athlete (Nick Mayhugh) suffered a seziure and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Despite being told by Doctors that he would never play soccer again, Nick set out on a journey to prove them wrong while struggling with being fully accepted as disabled. Since being told that he would never be able to play sports again, Nick has won 3 gold medals, 1 silver, shattered 2 world record in track and was named Team USA Soccer player of the year.
In addition to his athletic accomplishments, Nick is also a motivational speaker and advocate for disability rights. He uses his platform to inspire others to pursue their passions and to challenge societal norms around disability. Through his determination and resilience, Nick has proven that anything is possible with hard work and perseverance.
Make sure you sub and hit the bell to be notified of all posts!
For more Playmaker Content: https://www.youtube.com/@Playmakr
Shop Playmaker Tees & more
https://playmakerbrand.com
Check us out on our socials:
https://withkoji.com/@Playmaker
Check out Playmaker HQ for more:
https://PlaymakerHQ.com
Playmaker is all about stories, highlights, and in-depth behind the scenes moments of your favorite athletes and celebrities.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 I'll never forget when my doctor told me I would never be able to play soccer again.
00:04 You know when I over-exert myself my brain tends to just shut down.
00:13 Gotta throw that shit harder than anything.
00:26 I know, I feel like it's not going anywhere.
00:28 I know.
00:30 You're not gonna feel it.
00:31 Now they've got a little bit of tempo work.
00:34 So they've got 5 times 200 meters with 2 minutes rest.
00:38 So it's not all out sprinting.
00:40 It's a little bit of some cardiovascular work, some work capacity stuff.
00:44 Just trying to build up their system so that, especially for Nick,
00:49 because we're going to attempt the 400 as well this year.
00:51 So he's got to have a little bit more gas in the tank.
00:54 My disability is neurological.
00:57 So longer days like this, over 200, 250, is a little tougher on my brain
01:03 since my brain can't recover as quickly as I would like it to
01:06 or on shorter distance stuff.
01:08 So you just kind of have to push through it.
01:11 And you know when I over-exert myself my brain tends to just panic and shut down.
01:16 My mom actually had a really rough pregnancy with me.
01:23 I was premature, umbilical cord wrapped around my neck,
01:27 which caused me to have a stroke in utero,
01:29 which then led to me having a seizure at 14
01:32 and then being diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
01:36 I hid it from my friends, my teammates, my college coaches that recruited me.
01:40 You know, I hid it from everybody.
01:41 And I mean, even some of my family members
01:43 just because I didn't want to be looked at as any different or any less.
01:47 Soccer was sort of an escape.
01:49 It gave me the opportunity to be faster, be stronger than everybody.
01:53 But as I got older, you know, things got tougher.
01:56 I had so many questions and so many dots that never connected.
02:00 And when my neurologist finally told me,
02:03 the lack of range of motion, nerve function,
02:05 the sensation and everything that you were feeling,
02:08 that's what cerebral palsy is.
02:10 My neurologist looked at me and my mom and my dad
02:13 and told me I would never be able to play soccer again.
02:16 I knew from that day forward I had to make a decision.
02:18 You know, I could either feel sorry for myself for now being labeled as disabled
02:22 or I could use it to motivate me to, you know, do what I want to do.
02:27 And that was to be a professional athlete.
02:29 To believe in yourself is probably the biggest thing to me personally.
02:43 Manifestation, visualization, anything that is sort of mental
02:47 is such a big piece that I think is lost in a lot of things.
02:51 If you really think that you can do it and believe truly that you can do it
02:55 in your mind, your body and your soul, then nothing is impossible.
02:59 It's pretty impressive when you think about the fact that this is the first major event
03:10 he has run at 18 months into his track and field career.
03:14 There they go, the 100-meter T37 final.
03:20 Good starts for Mayhew and for Norvo.
03:22 Now Nick Mayhew surges to the front.
03:25 Nick Mayhew starts in pursuit of three goals with another world record.
03:30 10.95.
03:32 Mayhew's already made up the stack.
03:34 Mayhew pulling away.
03:35 The Tokyo Games belong to Nick Mayhew.
03:38 World record.
03:39 I'm always happy to be inspirational.
03:43 Anything is possible. Don't take limits.
03:45 The more I succeeded, the more I realized that it didn't have anything to do with me.
03:49 And it wasn't until I joined the Paralympics that I realized the impact
03:53 that it could have on other people.
03:55 I remember, until this day, my first fan mail.
03:59 A letter from a kid that has cerebral palsy, said that he watches my highlights
04:03 on YouTube and looks up to me and wants to be like me when he's older.
04:06 Like, you know, I'm just a normal kid trying to make sense of everything
04:10 that I was born into.
04:11 [Music]
04:14 Ah.
04:15 Ah.
04:19 Ah.
04:26 How are you doing?
04:31 It hurts.
04:32 Head or legs?
04:34 My head.
04:35 Ah.
04:36 Worse than normal.
04:40 Well, that's another thing.
04:41 Same.
04:42 The same thing with kind of his thigh.
04:44 Ah.
04:45 It's tight.
04:46 I can't tell you how bad everything hurts right now.
04:50 But I know, I know, it'll all be worth it.
04:54 Yeah, I know.
04:55 158.
04:56 [Laughs]
04:57 [Music]
05:04 My goals for this year is just to be better than I was last year.
05:07 We have world champions this year.
05:08 I want to be a world champion.
05:09 I want to win three gold medals at Worlds and really win a medal in every single one
05:13 and do my best.
05:15 Looking forward to Paris and looking forward to LA in 2028, which will probably be my last.
05:21 And my goal is to, by the time I retire, that no other kid in this country, let alone this
05:26 world, having a disability, you may know you have or you may not.
05:29 Knowing that there's a community and a world, a federation of people out there that will
05:35 accept you for who you truly are.
05:37 [Music]
05:42 In life, everybody has their disabilities and mine just happens to be my left side.
05:47 No matter how normal or biologically predestined you are for success, you're always going to
05:53 face trials and tribulations.
05:55 And as long as you push through that and understand that, it'll always get better.
05:58 [Music]
06:18 To anyone out there that's doubting themselves and doesn't believe that they can truly do
06:22 what they set out to do in life, I'm living proof.
06:25 I have four medals in four events that I knew nothing about three years ago today.
06:30 And if I listened to my doctors, if I listened to my teammates and coaches that laughed at
06:33 me and that told me because I was disabled that I would never be here today, then I wouldn't be.
06:38 But I believed in my close support system, always truly loved and believed that I would
06:42 be able to do anything I set my mind to.
06:44 And you have to believe in yourself first because if you don't believe in you, nobody else will.
06:48 [Music]