Everyone is born with talents. Gifts in different fields from academics to athletics are bestowed upon each and everyone of us. On the other side of the spectrum people are also sometimes born with disabilities as serious from a mental handicap to something as seemingly unnoticeable as a small speech impediment. Then there are people who are born with both gifts and disabilities. If done correctly these individuals can, through their weakness, strengthen and improve their gifts. This should be a seemingly simple concept as people are always trying to help out people in need. For a high school senior in Virginia this is not the case.

Senior Adam Sisson attends East Montgomery High School, Montgomery, VA. Throughout his high school career he has played and excelled at football, basketball, and baseball. As he entered his final year of high school he didn't expect anything different except being a big dog on campus, on the field, and on the court. Nothing could ruin his plans, except the Virginia High School League (VHSL). The VHSL statutes state that anyone wishing to play a high school sport must be no older than 18 years of age as of July 31. Makes plenty of sense right? 

All this leads up to my point. Sisson missed the cut off because his birthday falls before July 31. He turned nineteen before the cut off date and according to the VHSL statutes cannot play. You can't break the rules right? First off Adam turned nineteen, twelve hours before the cut off. A very small amount of time for someone to be removed from every high school sports team he ever played for. But that's not the heart of Sisson's debate. Usually if someone is over 18 by that date they have failed a grade or two due to their own negligence. It would not be fair if those people were allowed to play because they would have an age and possibly size advantage.

You may be thinking, "Did he fail a grade because of lazy work ethic or because he just didn't care about his education?" Truth be told, Adam was held back in the third grade. Not because he didn't do his work or because he was a trouble maker (although I don't actually know if that's possible to fail out of third grade due to not completing your work) but because he had a learning disability. His father decided to have him held back to better his education and chances at success.

Adam's situation is a rare case. There is a stereotype that follows people who have failed a grade. Many times it's a fair assumption. Many of the kids who have been held back deserved it as a consequence of their own actions. In the rare cases like Adam where someone was help back for academic purposes due to a learning disability they should not be penalized. It isn't fair, and in Sisson's case he should be allowed to play sports during his senior year high school year.