Unconventional track star wins state

By Carrie A. Mizell

Sixteen-year-old Drew Dees is a role model; if you don’t believe it just ask his teammates. A Trenton Middle-High School student with cerebral palsy, Dees lives life in a wheelchair, but he doesn’t let that stop him from doing anything, including winning first place at the state track meet.
“I haven’t stopped smiling since Friday,” Dees said.

At the state track meet in Winter Park, Dees placed first in the Level 2 Adapted Shot Put competition after throwing a shot put five feet, three and a half inches. Though the score did not upstage his personal best, which was a 6-feet throw at regionals, Dees said it was very special because the state track meet marked the first time his whole family was able to watch him compete.
“One of the reasons I wanted to be involved in track is because I wanted to show other people in wheelchairs that it’s okay to put yourself out there,” Dees said. “There are no limitations.”
At the beginning of the season, Dees said he went to a track meeting as a joke. He knew he wanted to be more involved at school, but wasn’t sure track was for him. Later, several track team members talked him into trying the newly formed Level 2 Adapted Shot Put competition.
“I was very nervous at the first practice of the season because I wasn’t sure if the other guys on the team would accept me because I’m in a wheelchair,” Dees said.
According to track coach Jim Akins, team members considered Dees one of their own from the start of the season.
“The guys are very protective of him,” Akins said. “He’s just one of us; we don’t see his wheelchair.”
Dees struck up a special bond with teammate Jonathan Smith, whom he calls his hero.
“Jonathan helped me a lot with track,” Dees said. “He was right there with me picking up the balls and helping me. I would say he’s like the older brother I never had. If it wasn’t for Jonathan and Coach Jim I don’t know what I would do.”
Though Dees once thought he might want to be an actor, or a computer technician, he’s now considering going to college for track and field.
According to Coach Akins the first step in fulfilling that goal will be getting Dees a track chair to compete in next season.
“I can’t wait to see how far I can throw the shot put from a good throwing chair,” Dees said, with the gold medals he won at state competition hanging around his neck.