CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Some young baseball players are taking the field this week at Laguna Little League.
The best twelve players selected from the Oilbelt Little League are now playing on the All Star team. The team's head coach has them in position to move on and get one step closer to the ultimate goal: the Little League World Series.
The Oilbelt Little League All Stars played four games so far, currently up 3-1 against the National Little League team. But their head coach says he does not want his kids to worry about the scoreboard more than having fun playing the game.
"The first time I stepped on the sideline as coach, I knew right where I was meant to be," said Ryan Grant, Oilbelt All Stars head coach.
Grant said it is not about how far the Oilbelt All Stars go, rather the lessons they learn outside of baseball. Lessons like being humble, respecting the game and opponents. He said coaching was meant for him the first time he tried it.
"You find your joy, you find your passion, you know what you're good at," Grant said. "It's like the gift that God gave you and that was it."
A baseball coach for about 10 years, his coaching style is about always looking for the positive in every aspect of the game. He had dreams of being a professional athlete, but that all changed one night in 2002 when he suddenly could not read a menu. Eye doctors discovered something was wrong with his optic nerve.
"If I look off to the right, that's going to be better for me because my left eye is the better eye and I have to use that on a daily basis," Grant said. "It doesn't matter whether it's work related, sports related, it's life."
Doctors diagnosed him with Optic Neuritis. They were not sure what happened, but his optic nerve suffered damage and swelling. This year, he found work at South Texas Lighthouse for the Blind, working on the paper conversion line using technology that assists his vision.
"It helps him every day in doing his job and we want people to know that's what we do here," said Alana Manrow, director of development and events at South Texas Lighthouse for the Blind.
He said he felt welcomed as soon as he got to the Lighthouse. He uses his phone and a zoomed computer screen to help see what he needs for his job. Once he is done with work, it is off to the baseball field.
"He's such a great example of what it's like to overcome something," Manrow said. "His dedication to the sport and this kid, I'm just happy to know him."
Grant said his vision changing gave him a new perspective on life, but it never changed who he is.
"I've had the beauty of seeing life two ways," Grant said. "The way it was, when my vision was 20/20, and the way it is now. Would I change anything? Absolutely not, because my character is who it is, my work ethic is who it is. That's not going to change."
Grant also encourages people with disabilities to not be discouraged by it, instead using it to their advantage. That way, it will not change the course of their life, it will just bring out the best in them.
The Oilbelt All Stars play again Thursday for a chance to advance to Alice, and maybe later this summer to the Little League World Series.
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