Every once in a while, sports delivers us a story so incredible that you can’t help but be in awe. Michigan freshman Austin Hatch is one of those amazing stories, overcoming obstacles no human should ever have to endure to make it onto the court for the Wolverines.
Hatch’s story is quite remarkable. In 2003, Hatch and his father survived a deadly plane crash that took the lives of his mother, brother and sister. After suffering such devastation, the unthinkable happened again in 2011 as Hatch survived yet another crash that took the lives of his father and step-mother, and sent the 6-6 freshman into a coma, according to Yahoo! Sports.
In addition to suffering severe head trauma, a punctured lung, fractured ribs and a broken collarbone, Hatch also had so much swelling in his brain that doctors had to put him in a medically induced coma. Even after he emerged from the coma eight weeks later, he required physical therapy to regain his walking ability and motor skills and word searches and crossword puzzles to regain his mental acuity.
In Nov. 2011, Hatch still lacked the motor skills to either catch a ball thrown to him or balance on one foot. Barely a year later, he recovered enough to rejoin his high school team in a limited capacity. Barely two years later, he had been cleared to practice full speed and was preparing for a return to game action. And now, less than three years later, he has fulfilled his dream of playing for Michigan.
Despite all of the tragedy, Hatch overcame the odds and was able to finally check into a game for the Wolverines during an exhibition tour in Italy.
.@AustinHatch30 checks in for the first time. » pic.twitter.com/a4Jw9IiGa1
— Michigan Basketball (@umichbball) August 17, 2014
Sorry, it's getting a little dusty in here.
— Michigan Basketball (@umichbball) August 17, 2014
Understandably, Hatch was happy to have finally been able to accomplish his childhood dream.
“As you can imagine it has been a heck of a journey to get here. Playing basketball at the University of Michigan has been my goal since I was a little kid. It was unreal to be here and to have actually played a game. I really feel like I have that game under my belt now and I really feel like a Michigan basketball player.”
While Hatch was scoreless in his three minutes of action, just taking the floor is an absolutely incredible accomplishment.
