Lesley Faculty basketball participant Baileigh Sinaman-Daniel strains up a foul shot whereas practising previous to recreation, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Lexington, Mass. (AP Picture/Charles Krupa)
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — When her highschool basketball coach minimize her from the workforce senior 12 months, Baileigh Sinaman-Daniel refused to let that rejection, or the actual fact she was born with one arm, finish her dream of enjoying the sport that her childhood idol LeBron James made her fall in love with 15 years in the past.
That dedication led the 22-year-old guard at Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to turn out to be the primary NCAA Division III girls’s basketball participant with one arm to attain in a collegiate recreation, mentioned her coach, Martin Quite.
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“I sort of simply shot the ball with the anticipation that I must go and get it again on a rebound,” Sinaman-Daniel mentioned of the historic basket that she made out of close to the three-point line, which snapped the web with out hitting the rim. “When the shot really went in, I used to be extra so shocked.”
Quite instantly known as a timeout to mark the second.
“My first thought was, ‘That’s historical past and we have to take a second to pause and have fun it,’” Quite mentioned. “All people simply swarmed Baileigh, giving her excessive fives, celebrating her.”
Rejection
The Stafford, Virginia, native’s path to historical past was sparked by a painful rejection at Mountain View Excessive College.
“I had performed for my highschool for about three years and my senior 12 months of highschool after I tried out once more, as I all the time did, I really bought minimize and the coach principally informed me that I wasn’t wanted on the workforce,” she mentioned.
That led to 2 days of distress and crying, till she made a daring resolution whereas sitting in her automobile.
“I assumed to myself, I might do that in school. What’s stopping me from doing this in school?” Sinaman-Daniel mentioned. “So, I began emailing lots of of coaches and it didn’t actually matter what division it was. I used to be simply attempting to get a potential perhaps and even higher — a sure.”
That persistence caught Quite’s consideration when Sinaman-Daniel, a 5-foot-6-inch guard, entered the switch portal after two years at Warren Wilson Faculty in North Carolina.
Work ethic
At Lesley, Sinaman-Daniel has turn out to be identified for her work ethic with the Lynx.
She has accomplished extra particular person observe periods than some other participant on the workforce, which is having its finest season in 14 years and has reached the playoffs, Quite mentioned.
“I believe any workforce on this nation would profit from having a participant with Baileigh’s coronary heart on their workforce,” Quite mentioned.
The achievement is especially notable given the shortage of one-armed gamers in collegiate basketball who might have served as function fashions.
“It’s not quite common to see any person with one arm enjoying basketball. I believe there’s in all probability about two or three of us within the collegiate degree,” Sinaman-Daniel mentioned.
Although there are few different notable one-armed school basketball gamers, essentially the most profitable is probably going Hansel Emmanuel at Austin Peay, whose coach describes as “the largest inspiration in school sports activities.” The athletic success of the 6-foot-6 males’s Division I junior, whose arm was amputated at age 6 after an accident, has proved limitations don’t outline potential.
Since Sinaman-Daniel couldn’t all the time use customary stability and ball administration strategies utilized by two-armed gamers, her on-court success has required distinctive coaching strategies permitting her to develop basic expertise.
“Taking passes or giving a great go or determining the appropriate capturing kind — I’ve needed to tweak and regulate,” she mentioned.
Second basket on her birthday
Sinaman-Daniel scored her second basket on her birthday, some seven weeks after her preliminary rating, including one other layer of satisfaction to her breakthrough season.
The junior guard who was born with a tiny proper arm that she is unable to make use of is learning psychology on the college simply outdoors Boston and hopes her achievement will encourage others dealing with comparable challenges.
“When individuals take a look at me, I simply hope they see me as Baileigh. I hope they see me as a basketball participant and likewise see me as any person who’s prepared and capable of do every part that everyone else is doing,” she mentioned.
Quite sees her impression extending past the courtroom.
“We’re exhibiting that we are able to each win and have actually prime quality gamers that may not seem like all people else on our workforce,” he mentioned.
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