EL PASO, Texas (Army News Service, April 20, 2015) -- Adaptive sports helped one Army Reservist trade in his high school image of being an intellectual for a new image - that of athlete.
Sgt. Zed Pitts, a heavy equipment operator with the 465th Engineering Company in Birmingham, Alabama, competed in the Army Trials, March 28 through April 3 on Fort Bliss, Texas. The trials helped determine who will compete as part of the Army team during the 2015 Department of Defense's Warrior Games, June 19 - 28, on Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia.
Pitts took gold in upright cycling, his team took gold in the 4x100 meter relay in track, he took silver in the 400-meter in track, and he took bronze in both 100-meter and 200-meter in track. His goal is to make the Army team for the 2015 Department of Defense's Warrior Games and then to make the Paralympics team.
Throughout the 2015 Department of Defense's Warrior Games, wounded, ill and injured Service members and veterans from the Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard will compete in track and field, shooting, swimming, cycling, archery, wheelchair basketball and sitting volleyball. Also participating in the games will be competitors from U.S. Special Operations Command and a team from the British military.
Now a full-time international studies student at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Pitts said he was not an athlete in high school.
"I was a brainiac. I was the president of the robotics team and a band geek. I played the saxophone," he said, with a quick smile. He speaks fluent Japanese and Chinese. He also speaks conversational German.
Pitts joined the Army Reserve nine years ago, following his father into service. His dad still serves, he said.
During a mobilization for Operation Enduring Freedom in December 2013, Pitts was diagnosed with Graves' disease. According to the Mayo Clinic, Graves' disease is an immune system disorder that results in the overproduction of thyroid hormones.
Pitts said the most challenging part about his illness is that he had suffered compound hernias in his left arm. Additionally, his endurance took a dive, his sleep was affected and his resting heart rate was 119 beats per minute.
With help from doctors at the Fort Bliss Warrior Transition Battalion, Pitts was able to increase his endurance and improve his sleep. He also found the adaptive sports program.
"My endurance really took off so I was able to participate in the Army Warrior Trials," he said. "Military adaptive sports helped me push beyond. I was an introvert and now I'm more social. I no longer focus on my disability. I capitalize on my abilities."
He said illnesses like his can improve resilience. At one point, he said, he had been 50 pounds underweight and was depressed. But when he surrounded himself with other Soldiers in the adaptive sports program, he said it lifted up his spirits.
"Resilience means to overcome, push past the word 'can't,'" he said. "For anybody, who is still in that dark place, you're not alone. There are other Soldiers going through similar or worse circumstances, so you can look to them for ... guidance and advice on how to overcome whatever you're going through."
Pitts encourages anyone eligible to give adaptive sports a try. He said he didn't even know he was an athlete until he found adaptive sports.
"I was talking to my family the other day," he said. "I was wondering where all these athletic superpowers came from. I could've gotten scholarships or something. I guess I had to save it to inspire Soldiers to participate in the adaptive sports program and in the Army Trials - maybe even to try out for the Paralympics."
Pitts also encourages disabled veterans to reach out to people in their community. He said that based on his own experience, communities want to help their disabled veterans achieve their goals.
"People are becoming more sensitive to veterans," he said. "Don't limit yourself. Just say I want to do this. I want to participate. I guarantee they'll open their arms."
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