Texas Adaptive Sports and Recreation recognizes athletes who participate in programs both in and outside TxASR’s programs and exemplify the spirit of inclusive sports and recreation.
Athletes elected to the Hall of Fame are, through their actions, ambassadors and role models of true inclusion and the power of adaptive programs. Their athletic endeavors and careers have demonstrated the undeniable power and importance of adapted sports and recreational programs and embody the highest ideals of sportsmanship and competition.
2022 Inductee:
Inaugural year inductee, Andrew Deckard – D.O.B. 2004
Andrew (Drew) Deckard has been training in Martial Arts since 2012 and is the only athlete to have competed in all seven (as of 2022) annual TxASR Martial Arts Tournaments. In those years he has enjoyed competing and has won, in the words of his instructor, “Pretty much every trophy you can – from Competitor to First Place Champion.”
Saya (teacher) Deckard is one of the nine “First Generation” black belt instructors at One World Karate as well as a student and competitor and has been a key member of the inclusive summer camp program as well as the online adapted martial arts program for seated students from all over America. Saya Deckard remains committed to sharing his knowledge and experience with other students as an instructor in the 1WK studio and becoming the best teacher he can be.
In addition to his career in martial arts, Drew has been a competitor or member of the following sports and recreational programs:
- Miracle League Baseball
- Green Machines Power Soccer team
- Manager of the Weiss High School Varsity baseball team (3 years)
- Recreational Bowling
Through these activities and Sports, Drew has proven to embody and personify the true spirit of community inclusion and excellence in sports and recreation, surpassing societal limits often arbitrarily imposed upon athletes with physical challenges. He has intentionally and purposefully been an educator to his peers about the challenges of Cerebral Palsy and has refused to let his challenges define or limit him.
All of this by the age of 18.
It is for these reasons that the TxASR program has appointed Andrew Deckard as the first member of the TxASR Hall of Fame.