As his time as a high school athlete passed, Odom came to a harsh realization: College sports weren’t in the writing. The path to professional athletics just took a devastating hit for a player with more heart than can be measured.
That didn’t discourage him.
“I believe that everything happens for a reason. Even though after high school I was more depressed than I’d ever been – I cut my leg off to become an athlete – and to not be able to play baseball crushed me. Looking back on it, I feel like God’s plan is greater than what your dreams are.”
Now 30, Odom is learning that God’s plan was to test his will and perseverance. Never once did his faith waver. Never once did his desire to succeed disappear.
Not even in his darkest moments.
After accepting that college athletics were out of the picture, Odom entered a state of depression. At times, the only things that could take him away from thoughts of despair were a ball and a hoop.
Every day, he would spend increasing periods of time playing basketball in his parents’ backyard. Every day, he would receive moments of peace and clarity through a sport.
With the support of his family, his activity in basketball has increased over time. As the months and years passed, and his passion grew stronger, Odom became more than just an amputee with a dream.
Along with co-founder Tyler Hyatt, Odom became the creator of Amp 1 Stand Up Amputee Basketball. Scott has stopped at nothing to promote this inspirational brand of athletes.
“I drove from Texas to California just to play a pick-up game with other amputees,” he said. “We did that for about a year, until we finally got a sponsor. Freedom Innovations. They’re enabling us to play against able-body players. We’re not trying to show them that we’re better, just that we’re good enough.”
Over time, the amputees became recognized as more than athletes with physical disabilities. With games scheduled against able-body players, Amp 1 began proving that it could hang with anyone on the hardwood.
Teams that were supposed to blow out the Amp 1 players suddenly were being given a run for their money.
As Odom steadily improved his game, he reached out to people of prominence and power. From Oprah Winfrey to NBA owners, he did all that he could to expand his presence and impact on the world.
When I asked Scott what type of support the NBA has given him, however, the answer was stunning.
“There’s no support. They’ve never reached out to us. When I was 19, I made all these flyers and sent them to Mark Cuban and Oprah and the headquarters of the NBA,” said Odom. “I actually had someone from the marketing team at the NBA call me and I was telling them what I want to do, and they referred me to wheelchair basketball.”
A proverbial slap in the face.
Back when I played college we had a guy who used to come to pickup games who’d had polio. His right leg was stick thin and withered, and he was 5’4″, but he held his own against the college team in half-court practices and could play PG in a slow-down, post-up offence. You work hard enough you can overcome a lot of stuff. Good article, hope Scott gets a good look in.
Fascinating subject. But I don’t Cuban did anything wrong or rude here by assigning an assistant to procure a tape for him. Busy people outsource tasks all the time.
And it looks like the Mavericks did eventually help with the cause by hosting the Amp 1 game. Can you give more details about how that was arranged, and who organized it?
That’s a fair and accurate evaluation, Evin.
The founder of the PLAY Foundation, also an amputee, was responsible for arranging the halftime game. Scott is located in Texas and the PLAY Foundation worked with Amp 1 on a charity in Dallas, which is how those two sides came together.
Excellent article!