Spotlight: Rob Mendez

High school football coach Rob Mendez gave an inspiring acceptance speech after being presented with the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at the ESPYs on July 10. Mendez, age 31, was born without arms and legs due to a rare disorder called tetra-amelia syndrome. After playing the John Madden video game, he served as manager and then quarterbacks coach for his high school's football team. Mendez was an assistant coach at several high schools over a 12-year period before he became the junior varsity head coach at Prospect High School in Saratoga, California, last year. Under his leadership, Prospect High's record this past season was 8-2. Mendez was featured in a SportsCenter special in February. For more details on this story, go to https://www.si.com/high-school/2019/07/10/rob-mendez-high-school-coach-jimmy-v-award-speech.

Rob Mendez

(image via globintel.com)