"I'm Different, But Not That Different"

Georgia Class A 103 Pound State Champ Brookstone High School, Columbus, Georgia ''I'm Different, But Not That Different." 36 Gaddy Soffer was born without fibul a bones in his legs. The legs were also crooked and attemp ts to correct the situa tion didn't work out. A d ecision w as ther efore mad e to amputate his legs at the mid-calf area. Gaddy was only four a nd remembers it being pretty sca ry. Ga ddy reflected, "I felt different." He we ars pro sth eses on both feet in all activities except wrestling. Gaddy, w ho's onl y a sophomore, quickly stated, "I' m d ifferent, but not that different." Well this writer may have to disagree. Maybe Gaddy is different.

Maybe we all ou ght to take a page from his life and use it to our benefit. First of all, Gadd y has a 4.0 grade point av erage. H is straight A a ve rage has put him o n th e h ea dma ster ' s list at Brookstone High School in Columbus, Georgia. Second , he won the state championship in his 103 pound we ight class. Third , Gaddy can bench pres s 100 pounds ov er his bodyweight and fourth is his heart and head . Gadd y ask ed me, "Please don't make the article boastful about me . Our team took third in state and my teammate s John Ad ams (125) and Tommy Greene (71) a lso w ere s ta te champions." Coach Larry Morgan is a great Upper Limit coach who went the extra mile with Gaddy.

"I wouldn't be wrestlin g if not for Coach Morgan," says Gad dy. Coach Mor gan rem embered, "When I asked him to come out for w restling he told me he couldn't because he didn't have any feet but I told him abou t another kid that I'd pre viou sly coached in Tampa who had a similar condition. Th at kid w on th e Flor ida state title and is now on a scholarsh ip at Central Missouri State ." "Coach Morgan understood ," sa id Gaddy. "H e wa s really supporti ve. He had that w restler w rite me a leller. My coach goes a lot out of the w ay to help every one. He's a grea t guy." Gaddy transferred in from an Atlanta schoo l as an 8th g rader. "They didn't want him out for wr estling,"

sa id Coach Morgan. "They said he would get hurt." "My parents let me try with the und erstanding that it was going to be rough," Gaddy said. "They we re very helpful. My brother, Benny, who is four yea rs old er also won the state championship in his senior year so I knew wh at I was getting into." So Gaddy started his wrestling career as an 8th grade r in intr amural competition at Brookstone, "Gaddy wanted to wrestle with his prostheses, but it w as like having two anchors w ei gh in g h im down ," remembered Coach Morgan who refereed the match. One a rtificia l leg fell off and then th e other. Coach Morgan non chalantly tossed them aside as Gadd y continued to wrestl e.

Naturally the crowd gas ped . Gadd y' s parents thought that w restling was really a tough sport but Coach Morgan said, "Look, we don't treat Gadd y any differently than any other wrestlers. He runs three miles like the rest of them. And he can stillbeat me." "At first my dad wa sn't sure abou t me wrestling," said Gaddy. "He was sort of tentative and wa s worried about how I'd take it if 1 didn't win. But then he let me make my own decision ." "I was so r t of nervous wrestling without my legs at first. Maybe the y'd think I'd look weird but then 1 thought that I ma y actuall y hav e a certain psychological ad vantage ."

Coach Morgan revealed, "Gaddy was worried that everyone was staring at him but I told him, 'T h e y' re not staring at you because you 're different. They're jus t ama zed at wh at you ca n do.'" As an 8th grader, Gaddy won some and lost so m e and last yea r as a 9th grader he placed third in the Southeast Gaddy Wears His Prostheses For Most of His Activities region in USA Fr eestyle competition. Gaddy weighed only 85 pounds whi ch was too light for varsity so he started to seriously lift weights. He rides a bike for his legs, does lat pull s, ben ches, inclin es, dumbbell work and the Hip Sled . " It always helps to be stronger," maintains Gadd y.

''1' m nev er a t a di sad van ta ge because of streng th." Gaddy wears s pecially made boots over the ends of his legs for traction. It works out fairly well. Well enoug h to go 22-1 during the regular season. His only loss was a 10-8 de cision to a wrestler Gaddy Can Bench 205 Pounds Weighing Only 103 Pounds! from a large triple A school. Then it was on to the Georgia Class A state title and two stand ing ovations from an appreciativ e crowd . When asked about the kids at school Gaddy repli ed , "Well, no one has ever made fun of me but the first da y of P.E. is always awkward." Gaddy participates fully in ph ysical education classes pla ying football, basketball, softball etc.

He's even on the cross country team . "Running on m y prostheses has its discomforts but it's toler able. It helps me stay in shape for wrestling." Wrestling has been great for Gaddy's self esteem. "1 neve r was as athletic as ever yone else," Gadd y said . "In soccer or baseball and other sports, 1 was nev er any good. 1got down at not bein g good at anything." Gaddy then paused for a moment and looked up, "but I always tried." "Some people told me 1 can' t do this or I ca n' t do that but 1 guess I proved them wrong. It's not so much winning the state title but just being out there that 's important. " Both of Gaddy's parents are medical doct ors and go to all of the matches.

Gaddy wants to follow in their footst eps and be a physician. "My ed uca tion is the most important thin g," stated Gaddy. "Sports and academics can go together." I asked Gaddy if he had any sage coun sel for oth er kids. He responded, "Stay aw ay from alcohol and drugs. It should never become a habit. It's pretty obvious wh at it does. I guess everyone needs to be educated. Always keep an open mind. Always try. If you don 't you' ll never know. Remember, it's not what you can 't do , it's what you can do ." That' s fairly heavy stuff coming from a fifteen year old but he's not always that serious. At the Area 1 finals, Gaddy put his prostheses and sw eat suit on backwards.

He laughed, "1 walked all around so it looked like my head was on backward." How can you help not liking Gaddy Soffer or Coach Morg an . We thank them for being Upper Limit all the wa y.

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From BFS Magazine — Summer 1992. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).