Boerne Champion Pitcher Blind in One Eye

 admin  |    Mar 18th, 2016

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Boerne Champion pitcher sets his own limits through adversity

When the lights of a baseball diamond are shining and all eyes are on you the mound can be a lonely place – ask any pitcher.

But Boerne Champion’s Garrison Armstrong isn’t just any pitcher, you can tell just by looking at him, imagine how feels.

“I don’t like wearing the mask,” Armstrong said of the protective gear he has to wear while pitching, “you hear people in the stands or from other teamsthey just don’t know, I have to wear it, that’s mom’s orders.”

“The questions we get asked are, ‘What do you think he can’t do?'” mother Cari-Ann Armstrong told Maximum Sports, “and we like to ask, ‘What can he do?'”

The junior pitcher may look different and he plays different too, just ask his coach Chuck Foster.

“I think it’s amazing what he’s been able to do,” Foster said, “not just what he does but to excel at it! It doesn’t matter that he is blind in one eye, he makes no excuses.”

Garrison was born with a love of baseball and a rare condition called Morning Glory Syndrome (MGS) which left him medically blind in his left eye.

Although he was born with the frame of an athlete, Shawn and Cari-Ann Armstrong were told hand-eye coordination, depth perception and safety would hold their son back.

“Doctors said you cannot do this,” Shawn said about his son playing sports, “we went online and checked everything out and the best thing for him is that mask, it is for safety. If he gets hit in the head, he could be blind for life.”

Blind for life is a scary thought but Garrison says the risk is worth it.

“I would do anything to keep playing. No matter what.”

And it’s no wonder why baseball means so much to him. Those closest to him call sports the “great equalizer.”

“I think people respect ability,” coach Foster explained, “whatever disability you may have, our guys see him working hard every day. Our guys don’t care, if you can help us win a State championship then let’s go!”

“If I strike out and they say ‘you suck,’ I’ll take that every time!” Garrison explained, “they aren’t saying I struck out because of my eye. When I’m on the baseball field I feel more normal than I do at school.”

“If Garrison has a will, there’s a way to work around disability,” Cari-Ann said, “when he steps on the field we ask for him to be treated like any other kid. So absolutely, he has the skill, he has the will.”

Garrison earned his first win as a varsity pitcher this week and has already received offers to play in college. Although he doesn’t know how far baseball will take him, Garrison is out to prove that limit will be set by him and not the world’s expectations.

“If [Garrison] can be an inspiration to other people, then that’s why we want to tell his story,” Cari-Ann said, “if someone is telling a kid, ‘you can’t, he can’t, you shouldn’t,’ well they should go find out for themselves.”