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Delaware teen excels at sports despite being legally blind
Two years ago, Isaiah Bingham did not allow being legally blind to keep him from his dream of playing football. The 8th grader has now been named captain of his team.
BEAR, Del. - Two years ago, Isaiah Bingham did not allow being legally blind to keep him from his dream of playing football. The 8th grader has now been named captain of his team.
"Red Lion Christian Academy. Guard on offense, defensive tackle on defense. We’re playing Providence Creek and this is our first game of the season," said Isaiah Bingham. He’s number 5 and gearing up for the season opener at home.
"Mostly have fun, get a lot of tackles and make a lot of plays," he said while getting hype for the big game at his school in Bear, Delaware.
"We locked in! We locked in," chanted the team.
It's hard to recognize Bingham now as a young man, standing 6’1", 13-years old and with noticeable bass in his voice.
He’s still confident but no longer the soft-spoken kid introduced two and a half years ago and seen in a video catching a pass during football practice when he was 11-years old.
"I got bigger, stronger and faster," he said. What hasn't changed is his determination and success at not letting his vision defeat him. Isaiah is legally blind.
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"They wouldn't think somebody legally blind would try to play football or anything," he said about doctors.
"The challenges that they said he would have he does not have," said his mother, Dionne. She says he was born with optic nerve coloboma.
"It's just a hole straight through the retina. So, you have field deficit loss, you can’t see further than this and you have to be up close," she demonstrated. The team, in which his dad is one of the coaches, positions Isaiah to succeed and focuses on his strengths.
"He's fast, he has grit and he can hear calls and stuff. He can even hear calls the other team is calling. He uses his other skills and his other senses to play the game of football," said Dionne.
Isaiah has come a long way on the field.
"He won his team in sacks, force fumbles, tackles for a loss and he's legally blind. He's captain on his team. He's captain. They didn't pick captain him because he's blind. No. It’s because of his character," said Dionne.
Red Lion Christian Academy defeated Providence Creek Wednesday night and Isaiah has a word for anyone facing obstacles. "Life is short and try what you want to try," he said.
His mom says he is also still an A student. Isaiah has also played baseball and basketball.