No legs, no problem for Alabama teenage wrestler who went …



No legs, no problem for Alabama teenage wrestler who went 37-084899535687000By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff 03.03.16Hasaan Hawthorne (right), from Pelham High School in Alabama, competes in the AHSAA State Wrestling Championships at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Photo: Eric Schultz/Last Saturday, 18-year-old Hasaan Hawthorne?beat each wrestler he competed against at?a high school?wrestling tournament in Huntsville, Alabama. On the mat, Hawthorne moved so quickly that his uniform was a blur of yellow and green. With a broad back and huge arms, Hawthorne pinned one opponent after another.?After the tournament, he stood atop the winner's podium. Hawthorne had a perfect 37-0 record, a state title and two stumps where his legs once had been.Fake Legs, Real HeartHawthorne was born without tibias, the large, lower leg bones that allow humans to stand. His fibulas were without muscles or nerves. Fibulas are the two bones between the knee and ankle.When Hawthorne was just 4 months old, his parents were faced with a terrifying decision. Should they allow Hawthorne's useless legs and feet to grow or remove them at the knees?They chose amputation. Then, Hawthorne received the first in a long line of prosthetic, or fake, legs."He Knows How To Get Up"At the advice of a doctor, Demond and Felecia Hawthorne let their son learn the hard way. They let him stumble through life on his own. If he tripped over a rock and and fell at the park, they did not pick him up. "We're like, 'Nope. Leave him alone. He knows how to get up,’” Felecia Hawthorne told the news website .In time, Hawthorne fell less. When he was 2 or 3 years old, Hawthorne ditched his walker, and started to walk around on his hands. He climbed out of his crib and began roughhousing with his father and babysitters.He loved to wrestle every weekend with Duke Frison, a family friend and former babysitter. Hawthorne pretended that he was a colorful World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) character. “He would always jump on me from 'The top rope', which was also the top of the couch,” said Frison. Sometimes Hawthorne would hit his head or miss. Still, “he would start laughing and go right back to having fun,” added Frison.Crazy About SportsDespite his disability, Hawthorne was crazy about sports. When he was 5 years old, he convinced his parents to let him play baseball.By age 11, he had turned his disability upside down.?"I think it's funner having prosthetics than real legs because you get to do more stuff," he said. "I don't like to see people sad, I like to cheer people up. I'm just like other people, just with different legs."Hawthorne put up with nicknames like Robokid. Some kids spread rumors that he had lost his legs in a train accident.Wrestling "Just Looked Cool""We teach him that life is not fair and to ... trust in God," Demond said. "We don't want Hasaan to rely on us to take away the bad guys and make the bad stuff go away."Hawthorne started wrestling seriously in sixth grade."I said, 'Why can't I do it?'" Hawthorne told . "It just looked cool to me."Wrestling allowed Hawthorne to be truly himself. He did not wear prosthetics. He wrestled on his amputated legs, or what he calls his “nubs.”?Hawthorne has experienced ups and downs during his time wrestling in high school. However, he ended 11th grade strongly, and finished third in the state for his weight class.Most Valuable WrestlerSome people debate whether his disability is an advantage on the wrestling mat. Being legless gives him a low center of gravity. It also makes it harder for opponents to grab him. On the other hand, Hawthorne cannot arch his back to avoid being pinned by opponents.Either way, there is no arguing with the result. This year he was named Alabama's Most Valuable Wrestler for his weight class of 145 pounds.Last Saturday he stood on his nubs on the awards podium. His head was just below his defeated opponents but he smiled big like an undefeated champion.His WWE dreams are not over yet. Hawthorne hopes to go to Nationals and continue to wrestle in college.810.2016Directions: Answer the following questions based on what you read in the article.Which paragraph from the section "Wresting Just Looked Cool" supports the idea that Hawthorne was not always a champion wrestler?Which sentence from the section "Most Valuable Wrestler" provides evidence of how Hawthorne sometimes benefits from his disability while wrestling?Some people debate whether his disability is an advantage on the wrestling mat.Being legless gives him a low center of gravity.On the other hand, Hawthorne cannot arch his back to avoid being pinned by opponents.His head was just below his defeated opponents but he smiled big like an undefeated champion.Read the sentence from the first paragraph of the article.On the mat, Hawthorne moved so quickly that his uniform was a blur of yellow and green.What does the word "blur" help you understand?how fast Hawthorne moved on the mathow colorful Hawthorne's uniform looked on the mathow Hawthorne had difficulty seeing what he was doinghow Hawthorne had difficulty remembering his movesRead the sentence from the section "Crazy About Sports."Some kids spread rumors that he had lost his legs in a train accident.What is the meaning of the word "rumors" in the sentence?shocking reportsnews informationuntrue statementsdistressing evidenceTeen wrestler has perfect record and a state title. He also has no legs.84899535687000By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff 03.03.16Hasaan Hawthorne (right), from Pelham High School in Alabama, competes in the AHSAA State Wrestling Championships at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Photo: Eric Schultz/As a kid, Hasaan Hawthorne would watch World Wrestling Entertainment and imagine himself among the stars. With his babysitter standing in for The Undertaker or another one of WWE's colorful characters, Hawthorne would climb to the top of his couch — in his mind, the top rope of the wrestling ring — and launch himself down on his opponent.His dream was a common one.His challenge in getting there, however, was anything but.Hawthorne was born without tibias, the large, lower leg bones that allow humans to stand. His fibulas were without muscles or nerves. His feet were clubbed, according to .So how to explain the scene inside a sweaty Huntsville, Alabama, gymnasium on Saturday? How to explain the blur of a yellow and green uniform, broad back and massive arms, pinning one opponent after another to the mat?How to explain Hawthorne standing atop the winner's podium with a perfect 37-0 record, a state title and two stumps where his legs once had been?The answer involves pain, perseverance and a whole lot of sacrifice.Hasaan was born into a world of worry. He was his parents' first child, and like all first-time parents they had no idea how to raise a kid, let alone one with a serious disability.After just four months, they were faced with a terrifying decision: allow Hasaan's useless legs and feet to grow or amputate them at the knees?They chose amputation. And after 10 months of riding around on Tonka trucks, Hasaan received the first in a long line of prosthetic legs, according to the Birmingham News.At the advice of a doctor, Demond and Felecia Hawthorne let their son learn the hard way: by stumbling through life on his own."If we're at the park and we're walking, and he stumbles over a rock or something, people are like, 'Poor baby,' and they try to pick him up," Felecia Hawthorne told . "We're like, 'Nope. Leave him alone. He knows how to get up.'"We could be walking through Wal-Mart and all you hear is ... 'Bam,'" she added.With each passing day, however, the thuds became less frequent. And by the age of 2 or 3, Hasaan had ditched his walker and started to walk around on his hands. He climbed out of his crib and began roughhousing with his father and babysitters."We would wrestle every weekend," Duke Frison, a family friend and former babysitter, told . "You could tell that WWE was a big influence on his playtime because he would always jump on me from 'The top rope,' which was also the top of the couch. For him it was all in playing; sometimes he would hit his head or 'miss.' And as the adult, you want to check to be sure he was OK, but he would start laughing and go right back to having fun."Despite his disability, Hasaan was a sports fanatic. At age 5, he convinced his parents to let him play baseball."Like the whole time, I'm thinking, 'It's not a good idea, it's not a good idea,'" his father told .Hasaan broke one ultra-expensive pair of running legs after another by running track or by sliding into second. But there was simply no stopping him. By age 11, he had turned his disability upside down."I think it's funner having prosthetics than real legs because you get to do more stuff," he told a reporter. "I don't like to see people sad, I like to cheer people up. I'm just like other people, just with different legs."At first, Hasaan was humble about his ambitions."I like that you get to make a bunch of friends and you get to run," an 11-year-old Hasaan said of playing baseball. "I think able-bodied sports are more of a challenge. I just try to catch up with everyone else and impress my coach."He had to put up with nicknames like Robokid or rumors that he had lost his legs in a train accident."We teach him that life is not fair and to have faith in God and trust in God," Demond told The Associated Press. "We don't want Hasaan to rely on us to take away the bad guys and make the bad stuff go away. We want him to live a proactive life on his own."As Hasaan got older, however, he slowly figured out in which sports he could compete. He tried playing defensive tackle in football for a while, but offensive linemen on the opposing team kept on landing on him.That left wrestling, the sport of his WWE dreams.Again, his father had fears."I don't know about this," Demond thought to himself. "I don't know if this is a good idea."But Hasaan wasn't having any of it. He started wrestling seriously in sixth grade. That was the same year that a one-legged wrestler named Anthony Robles won an NCAA championship after walking onto his college team."I said, 'Why can't I do it?'" Hawthorne told . "It just looked cool to me."Wrestling allowed Hawthorne to be truly himself: no prosthetics, just his natural grit and determination.During his high school career, Hawthorne has experienced ups and downs. Competing on his amputated legs, what he calls his "nubs," has led to occasional health complications, requiring additional surgeries and leading to setbacks. But he ended his junior year strongly, finishing third in the state for his weight class.For his senior year, he dropped 15 pounds, down to just 145. But that number is a bit misleading. Hawthorne stands 6-foot 5-inches tall wearing his prosthetics and with legs, would weigh well over 200 pounds.Debate rages over whether or not his disability is an advantage on the wrestling mat. Being legless gives him a low center of gravity and makes it harder for opponents to grab him, but it also deprives Hawthorne of the ability to arch his back to avoid pins.Either way, there is no arguing with the result. This year he went 37-0, capping an undefeated season with a come-from-behind win in the state final. He was also named Alabama's Most Valuable Wrestler for class 6A.He stood on his nubs on the awards podium, his head just below his vanquished opponents but beaming the smile of an undefeated champion.The dream that began by watching WWE and throwing himself off his couch isn't over yet, however. Hawthorne said he intends to go to Nationals and then compete in college."If everybody gave their heart and desire into doing what they want to do like he does, they'd be a lot more athletes out there that are phenomenal," Scott Verner, his former youth coach, told . "He does more with his heart and desire than anything else."920.2016Directions: Answer the following questions based on what you read in the article.Which viewpoint toward Hawthorne's disability is NOT represented in the article?his parents' viewpointa former babysitter's viewpointa former coach's viewpointa wrestling opponent's viewpointRead the selection from the article.Hasaan broke one ultra expensive pair of running legs after another by running track or by sliding into second. But there was simply no stopping him. By age 11, he had turned his disability upside down.Which conclusion is BEST supported by the selection? Hasaan's approach toward playing sports was unusually reckless.Hasaan was much more talented at the sports he played than his competitors in those sports. Hasaan was resolute in his belief that he could participate in sports just as those without his disability did.Hasaan's determination to participate in sports reflected an unrealistic attitude toward his disability.Read the paragraph from the article. Hasaan was born into a world of worry. He was his parents' first child, and like all first-time parents they had no idea how to raise a kid, let alone one with a serious disability.Which words would BEST replace the phrase "world of worry" in the sentence above?Adifficult relationshipopen environmentstressful situationconcerning locationRead the sentence from the article.Debate rages over whether or not his disability is an advantage on the wrestling mat.What does the word "rages" primarily convey in the sentence?The participants in the debate tend to be violent people.The topic of the debate is very controversial.The debate has continued for a very long time.The results of the debate are obvious to everyone. ................
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