Zach Hodskins: Defying the Odds

Last night, I saw a video of a high school basketball player named Zach Hodskins. My first reaction to the video was "wow, what a great shooter!" Hodskins has one of the purest shooting strokes I have seen in a while and is an exceptional basketball player. However, Zach Hodskins is not your typical varsity basketball player. He is not your typical teenager either. Hodskins, a junior at Milton high school in Georgia, was born with only a right hand and his left arm ends at the elbow. His disability has done nothing to slow him down in the pursuit of his basketball dreams though. He is shooting 60% from three point land this season and is an inspiration to not only his teammates, but to all those who play against him and those who watch him. As a junior he is currently drawing college interest and finally getting the recognition that he deserves.

I recently spoke to him and found out a lot about his extraordinary story in a Gotham Sports Exclusive Interview...

Hodskins Warming Up

Davis: You're a junior in high-school, just starting to deal with all the stress and rigors of the college process, and now you have all this media attention and have quickly become a celebrity. How do you deal with that?

Zach: My dad’s been talking to me a lot about staying humble about it all. You know, staying off of Twitter and sites like that. Don’t put any status updates or anything cocky like that. And the main thing really is to stay humble and stick to your friends and focus on school.

Davis: A lot of people must have always focused on telling you things you can't do. How did you overcome that and become the basketball player you are today? What would you tell anyone who ever said that you couldn't be a good basketball player?

Zach: For anyone who ever told me I couldn’t make it, I just never listened to them. My parents always gave me the best advice and I always stuck with them. Also, I always wanted to be an inspiration to people and I think basketball is the best way to do that. If there's anyone else like me whose scared of achieving their goals, I would just tell them don’t ever be scared because of your disabilities or what people might think of you. Just go for it.n

Davis: I read an article written about you last year in which your dad talked about your work ethic. He said he would have to literally put band aids on you because your fingers would be bleeding from practicing so much. Where does this work ethic come from?

Zach: I think the hard work thing really comes from God. I really do believe he put me on this Earth to play basketball and to inspire people through it. My dad pretty much has always treated me like anybody else. He never gave me slack about "you can't do this because of your disability." He always pushed me harder than anybody else would.

Davis: In that same article your dad said that as a child you taught yourself to play baseball as just a little kid by learning to tuck the glove under one arm and pitch with the other. He also said that by age 6 you had a deadly spin move on the basketball court. What drew you to basketball over baseball?

Zach: I'm real competitive and really like to get out there and compete, you know, bang around with people. Baseball is kind of a lazy sport that I just couldn't get into really. But in basketball I could really compete. 

Davis: How do you handle all the negative things that other people may say to you on the court during a game? 

Zach: Anybody that really gets mad at me it's because I’m scoring a lot of points on them
and then they’ll use my disability as a joke to try to get into my head. They’ll try to
get me out of my game with that I never let that happen. I don’t let them get to me.

Davis: You don't just play basketball, you are an amazing basketball player, one of the best shooters I've seen. You shoot 60% from 3 point land, which is crazy. Do you follow professional basketball? Who is your inspiration and who do you model your game after?

Kevin Laue

Zach: Well my inspiration is Kevin Laue. He goes to Manhattan College and I've been following him since his freshman year. I was going to try and e-mail him tonight. I'm sure I have tons in common with him, not just basketball but social life and stuff like that. 

Davis: So you're kind of trying to mirror his story in a way and have the same kind of effect on people that he has had on you?

Zach: Definitely.

Davis: I know you said Kevin is your inspiration, but who is one player you would love to go 1 on 1 with and why?

Zach: I would have to say JJ Reddick because I sort of model my game after him and I love the way he comes off screens for the shot. That's kind of how I play.

Davis: I know that basketball is your focus right now and that you are looking to play at the next level, but what are you looking to do beyond that?

Zach: My goal is to play college basketball. I’m not too focused on the NBA because that’s a one in a million chance but I am looking toward college and to see where basketball takes me. But after college I really feel like getting into inspirational speaking and letting basketball carry me where it will. 

Davis: You played at Ravenwood high school last season, now you're at Milton. Why did you make the change? How was the change?

Zach: Well where I came from in Tennessee was really small and I didn't feel like I was going to get any college exposure. So I typed in top high school in the country for basketball and Milton came right up. We contacted the coach and he said come up here and do the summer league and I had a really good try-out and he said he wanted me on the team. So we moved up here. We also really liked the area and everything. 

Davis: Absolutely, and how have your new teammates treated you? Have they accepted you?

Zach: It's kind of the same every time. The first time they see me they have questions and stuff but after they see me play one or two times they forget about the arm, they open up to me, treat me normal. They just play ball with me. They don't even notice the arm anymore.

Hodskins finishes in traffic

Davis: What about the kids at school in general, not your teammates. How did they react to you being the new student and what was their reaction? Did you get a lot of questions?

Zach: Yeah, but my arm doesn't really affect me anymore, in any social way. I really have overcome it. People asking questions, that doesn't bother me. People staring at me, that doesn't bother me. You just got to be open about it and the best way to deal with it is through humor I think. Like you know, somebody asked me about what happened to my arm and I'll say something like "a shark bit it off."

Davis: That's a great way to handle it. That's all I got. It was great getting to talk to you. Good luck tonight.

Zach: Thanks you too.


What I was able to take away from my conversation from Zach is that he is a tremendous individual. He does not view his disability as a disadvantage or a burden, but rather he has embraced it and is trying to see the positive in it. He is trying to give other people like him hope that they can pursue their dreams just as he has done. At such a young age, having so much fame and notoriety could get to a lot of people's heads, but Zach has stayed humble and true to who he is. He gives God credit for everything and appreciates everything his family has done for him. Zach is a truly brave individual who never let anything stop him from doing what he wanted to do and now is in a position to play basketball at a level that many never get the chance to. Who knows, we could be seeing the first disabled person ever in the NBA in just a few years.