ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – Odessa’s own Adam Lucio has defied the odds throughout his life. Even after being injured at a young age and forced to be in a wheelchair, that has not stopped this athlete one bit. He continues to fulfill his aspirations of playing by playing for multiple sports leagues, such as the National Wheelchair Basketball League and the NFL affiliated National Wheelchair Football League.

He calls his positive mindset and attitude a motivation to keep going forward and not feel sorry for himself.

“Mindset and attitude is everything. ” Lucio says, “So whether you choose to apply it positively or negatively you’re going to be in the same spot regardless. So, if I have a negative attitude and chose to look at life pessimistically then I would be no further in life the next day than I was today.”

Going through life, Adam always wishes he had the opportunity to play football, especially for the fact that we are in the heart of Friday Night Lights in Odessa. That opportunity didn’t come until he found a spot for himself on the Dallas Cowboys wheelchair team. From going to not playing football to now putting on that helmet, he calls it an honor.

“I’ve always wanted to play football since I was a kid, so growing up in Odessa it’s the hub for Friday Night Lights for High School football, for football in general. It’s a big football town and I never got to play it growing up so that was huge on me to actually put on a helmet now and especially put on the star. It was a really big honor for me.”

That’s not all for Lucio though, as much of an athlete he is, he also enjoys coaching and helping younger kids get their game right. You can find him on the tennis courts at Odessa College, teaching kids how to play tennis.

And when it comes to being a figure for the underrepresented communities of Hispanics and wheelchair users, he embraces both of them.

“I feel like me, especially I represent two underrepresented communities right. So I am in a wheelchair, I have a disability but I’m also my skin’s also brown and I’m a Hispanic. So, I feel like those things are some things that people look at as maybe like as adversities or obstacles, but I feel like I embrace them, and I feel like those two communities in and of themselves are huge supportive communities as far as what they do and how they support us.”

You can follow Adam on his sports journey by heading to his Instagram.