Despite being born without his left hand, Kris Silbaugh has become a record-breaking receiver on his high school football team.
According to USA Today, when the Pennsylvania teen was just five-years-old, he taught himself to tie his own shoes, and by age 14, he made his school’s varsity football team as a freshman.
Now, as a high school senior, Silbaugh is dominating the competition. With a 43 yard touchdown catch, he became Cambridge Springs High School’s all-time leader in receiving yards with 915. The previous record was 912 yards from 1998.
His coaches and teammates have all been supportive, noting that they went from being amazed that he could play one-handed to depending on him to win.
“It went from the guys being excited to see if he could actually do something to them counting on him to make plays,” Coach Justin Grubbs told USA Today. “It’s just amazing to see what he’s able to do. He makes catches that you wouldn’t believe. He’s a guy that defenses have to have a game plan for and he’s just so fast.”
Now, Silbaugh is setting his sights on another record: all-time receptions leader. He is currently at 38, and the record is 57.
“I definitely want all of the records I can get,” Silbaugh told USA Today. “It’s crazy that, at first, no one knew me and now I get the best guy in the secondary all the time. I still feel like I have to prove people wrong because there’s always someone in the stands that hasn’t seen me play. I know that people will always be shocked at what I’m able to do because I only have one hand, but my goal is to be known as a dominant player, period.”
Not to mention, Silbaugh plays on defense and special teams as well. Check out some of his highlights above.
