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MANTI — On a day filled with terrible news and discouragement, we have a story that will warm your heart.
It's a story of a young man, who doesn't let physical challenges stop him from being a competitor on the baseball field or in life.
As the Manti Diamondbacks take to the field, one of the players on this little league team, will immediately get your attention.
"My brother, he plays baseball a lot; and my dad just helps me," said Javed Nordell. "So I've been practicing on that. Then I started getting good, and they signed me up."
He's missed one practice this year, and the practice he missed was because he had to go get measured for a new leg.
–Steven Roberts, Javed's coach
Javed, who is now 11, was adopted from India by his parents, Cody and Bonnie, when he was 2 ½.
"I've always wanted to adopt, and when I saw Javed's picture when I was doing research, I just knew that was my baby," said Javed's mother, Bonnie Nordell.
Javed was born with his disabilities, and at first, his little league coach was unsure what Javed could contribute to the team.
"He's missed one practice this year, and the practice he missed was because he had to go get measured for a new leg," said Javed's coach, Steven Roberts. "So he apologized for that, and I said, ‘That's OK, we'll take care of it.' "
Javed's courage and determination is obvious to others and he's become an inspiration to everyone who sees him play.
"He runs with us, he plays practices, he does everything with us," said teammate Joshua Jurado.
"It's built his confidence, it's helped him to be more social, come out of his shell a little bit," said Bonnie Nordell.
And Javed has given all of us someone to look up to, proving that to be a competitor; it's really all about what is in your heart.
