EVEN though he was born with just one full arm, Killarney teenager Jordan Lee was determined it would never deprive him of his ambition to become a major force on the basketball courts.
Missing his left arm from the elbow down, he had to work exceptionally hard to perfect the skills of the game but he applied himself to the task fully and adopted a personal mantra of practice makes perfect.
Now the great dream is about to come true for the talented 14-year-old who has been called up to the Irish Under 15 development squad preparing for next year’s European basketball championships.
Jordan, a second year student in St Brendan’s College, puts his success on the courts down to the support and encouragement he has received from his dad, Jarlath, a former superleague basketballer who played for Gleneagle Lakers/St Pauls.
“Dad always said that I could adapt my game to suit myself and that I didn’t need a full left hand to make my mark.
“He taught me how to make that shot properly and I just got used to it. All the practice paid off,” said shooting guard Jordan who has been playing the game since the age of five.
Proud dad Jarlath remarked: “He shot is absolutely unbelievable. He is 100 per cent better at shooting than I was.”
Although he has a prosthetic arm, Jordan doesn’t use it when playing basketball as he had developed his own style to enable him to carry and shoot.
The teenager who, like his father before him, plays with St Paul’s, is joined on the Irish squad by Killarney team-mate Ewan Weldon. They are also the two stars on the St Brendan’s College, team, coached by Andrew Fitzgerald, that is so highly rated in schools basketball.
Ewan, the son of Mike and Hilda Weldon, is a very accomplished basketballer and is a nephew of well-known basketball coach James Weldon.
* Photographs: Eamonn Keogh. Click on images to enlarge and for full information
