HAMILTON — If you see the guy behind me in blue shooting hoops, that's Bitterroot Special Olympics athlete Frank Zepeda, and he will out-shoot anyone.
“Throughout the years that I have been playing for this team, it touches my heart everyday," Zepeda said. “So all this right here, that’s my thing.”
For Zepeda, basketball is one of the many sports he competes in for Special Olympics.
He has the medals to prove how serious he is about winning.
“And I got second place in the 100-meter dash, 50-meter dash on the gold," Zepeda said.
But hooping is his favorite.
“Just the swish every time you make it, it gives you confidence," Zepeda said. “To me, I'm not gonna just let my guard down and say, 'oh, just let me be brave in attempt.’ No, it's about when you're there and you're there in there events and sports. It's there to win it. We're there to win it all away.”
But it isn’t just about the medals for this 20-year all-star veteran. As Frank taught me how to shoot, one of the important lessons he taught me, always go for the rebounds on and off the court.
“It just keeps me focused on the positives, not the negatives, but the positives in life," Zepeda said.
And his dedication will only continue to put him on the leaderboard.
“I don’t know how to say it, I feel touched," Zepeda said. "I feel like I says you know it takes a lot of dedication to do this and I am never going to quit. And like I said also, I am a champion.”
