What Handicap? Porter Has Only One Arm, But Knows He’S All Athlete

When the cheerleaders call Josh Porter “Nubby,” he blushes.

It’s not because his right arm ends just below his elbow, it’s because they noticed him.

Just like they notice his bigger, faster, stronger teammates.

And that’s all Porter wants to be known as, Nubby, a Selkirk Rangers football player.

Being a starting defensive back and wide receiver is a big deal. Being handicapped isn’t.

“Everybody knows I’m always doing sports,” said Porter, who lost part of his arm because it was caught in the umbilical cord before his birth. “I’ve had a ton of compliments.”

One of them comes from head coach Don Almquist, a tough, no-nonsense disciplinarian.

“I respect the heck out of him being out there,” Almquist said. “It’s not about his physical capabilities, it’s what’s in his heart.”

In his heart, Porter, who also has a club foot, is an athlete.

That’s good enough for Almquist.

“Once you see him, see the effort he puts out, you have to give him a chance,” said Almquist, the also Rangers boys basketball coach. “I never gave him much serious consideration until I saw his attitude.”

That’s the way it should be, according to Bill Haney, an area logger.

“I don’t know if there is a lesson,” said Haney, whose right arm also ends just below his elbow. “I don’t miss it, I never had it. We have handicapped people all over the world. I just tell Josh not to get down on himself, be positive. If you’re ever down on yourself, then you’ve failed.”

It worked for Haney, who played four years of baseball and three in football and basketball for Selkirk more than 20 years ago. His son Morgan is now a senior defensive end-running back.

Bill Haney was Porter’s Little League coach, but Porter has given up baseball.

“I’m not too much into baseball any more,” he said. “I like contact sports.”

The first hit in football wiped away the jitters.

“I have to hit them low,” he said. “Catching the ball is the most fun. (Opponents) don’t really think I can catch the ball or tackle.”

Almquist questioned Porter’s dedication after he quit football last year. It was news to the coach that Porter said he wanted to get bigger - he now has 135 pounds on his 5-foot-7 frame - so he could compete better.

But Porter became a valuable point guard on the junior varsity basketball team with occasional appearances with the varsity.

“He’s a lot better at basketball, he has more experience,” said Almquist, who said Porter was a good shooter and solid ball-handler.

However, teaching comes before winning. Almquist made Porter commit to football once he decided to return. The coach said if Porter didn’t stick it out, Porter wouldn’t get playing time in any sport Almquist coached.

Almquist was the first to comfort Porter when he was burned for a touchdown pass in the season opener. But the coach is a realist.

“If you’re going to play defensive back, that’s going to happen,” Almquist explained. “Learn from it.

“He’s a little inexperienced. I told him to expect to get picked on. If I was coaching against him, I would pick on him. We don’t cut him any slack in practice.”

Porter doesn’t need it.

“Nobody ever teased me from other schools,” he said. “Most people don’t even notice until they get out there.””

“He stands up for himself,” Morgan Haney said. “He’s not afraid. I knew he could do it, he’s always done it. He’s good at it. (But) we’d stand up for him (if needed).”

That’s a double-edged sword for Porter, who has had his scrapes with authority with no father in his life.

“He’s a tough kid, he doesn’t take any crap,” Almquist said. “That’s one of his problems, anger management.”

Lois Whysong, a teacher in Ione who has known Porter since he was 3, said Porter basically turned his back on adoptive technology because he could already tie his shoes, cut paper and zip his coat by the time he started school.

“He had figured all that out on his own,” she said. “He had Bill Haney as an idol and I have to credit his mom. He was always a kid with an I-can-do attitude.”

Porter said Haney taught him ways to do things better.

“I never asked for special help,” Haney said. “I told Josh, `If you fail, learn from it,”’ Assistant coach Mark Coon was the elementary principal when Porter started school. He remembers watching Porter try to cross the monkey bars. It took time but eventually Porter was “faster than a normal kid.”

“He hasn’t had a smooth life, but he hasn’t been fazed by that handicap,” Coon said. “Now he’s excited. He’s having a good time. He’s really grown up, matured. He’s a little bigger, a little quicker.”

Porter’s desire is to be recognized as an athlete, not an inspiration. His friends try to accommodate him, but …

“He makes us all want to drive as hard as he does, have a heart like he does,” Morgan Haney said.

Whysong said, “For many of us, he is an inspiration. But I can see the other side. He’s a kid doing the best he can with what he’s got.”