ISLE OF WIGHT (WAVY) — Jacob Chapman is living proof that you don’t need both arms to have all heart. A senior at Isle of Wight Academy, Chapman was born without his left hand or left forearm, and still became a starter on the school’s football, basketball and baseball teams.
“I’m not going to use anything as an excuse,” said Chapman, who’s the starting outfielder for the baseball team.
“I think I can do just as well as anyone else.”
Chapman was born four weeks early, but still grew up the same as any other youngster. “We’ve never called it a handicap,” said Jacob’s mother Tracy Chapman.
No matter what team he played on, Chapman never received, nor did he ask for any special treatment. “He rode a bike, he walked, he’s done everything,” said Dale Chapman, Jacob’s father, as well as the school’s baseball coach and athletics director.
“We looked at it like if he can do all these things without any interruptions, or any special needs, that he can do anything else.”
Sure enough, there seems to be nothing he can’t do.
Chapman was named second-team all-state as a receiver on the football team, he averaged 12 points, almost seven rebounds and was named Defensive Player of the Year on the basketball team, and a few weeks ago, belted his first ever home run in an outing against Brunswick Academy.
“I got so excited, I wish I would have run around the bases a little slower and enjoyed the moment,” said Chapman, who was mobbed by his teammates at home plate.
He plans to study civil engineer at Old Dominion University. Chapman may have been born without a left arm, but he was also born without excuses.
