Imagine having born with no limbs yet being able to coach one of the the world’s mos gruesome games, the American Football.
Coach Robert Mendez is an American Football high-school coach who has no limbs, yet that doesn’t stop him from achieving his dream of becoming a professional football coach.
He is the head coach for the Prospect High School Junior Varsity football team and was born without arms or legs due to an extremely rare condition called Tetra-amelia syndrome.
In a feature story by ESPN (US), Mendez spoke on his touching story and journey into coaching that made him the hero he is despite never having played the game.
Coach Rob Mendez, the head coach for the Prospect High School Junior Varsity football team, goes over plays with Zion Aleem before their game against Mt. Pleasant High School.
“I think the most difficult part of having no arms and legs is simply not being able to play sports,” Mendez revealed. “I don’t show it, I’m good at not showing it but sometime I get mad, I get mad and ask why me?” he said.
The passionate coach has vast knowledge on the game and his daily life serves as an inspiration to the young athletes under his care. “When they see him, hear him and witness him, I would like to think they take a second to reevaluate themselves because anything they’ve been through in their lives can’t be harder than what he goes through on a daily basis,” his assistant coach said.
“His knowledge of the game for someone who hasn’t actually gone through is really impressive. On his phone he can diagram a play faster than I can with a pen and paper”, another Prospect colleague keenly observed.
The passionate coach had vast knowledge on the game and daily life serves as an inspiration to the young athletes under him.
Source: Getty Images Mendez lives with his friend and caregiver, Mike McAvoy, in Gilroy not far from where he grew up.
“Things that most take for granted like washing your face, brushing your teeth and going to the bathroom are challenges that he must endure,” McAvoy said.
He attended Gilroy High in northern California, and began watching his friends at football practice after school. One day the coach called him over to join the huddle, and since that day Mendez has always wanted to be a football coach.
“There are definitely doubters out there like some parents who say ‘there is someone coaching my son with no arms and no legs’. That really lights a fire under my butt and gets me excited to really prove people wrong about it,” Mendez revealed.