13-year-old double amputee living the football dream

ByLaura Taglialavore KTRK logo
Saturday, May 25, 2019
13-year-old double amputee living the football dream
Calder Hodge became a double amputee as a toddler, but that hasn't stopped him from chasing his football dreams.

MAGNOLIA, Texas (KTRK) -- A 13-year-old quarterback from Magnolia sees no limits.

Calder Hodge was born without tibia bones. At age 2, his parents made the difficult decision to amputate both of his legs. But that hasn't stopped him from chasing his dreams of becoming a quarterback.

"Most people know his idea is to make it to the NFL and play quarterback," said J.P. Tillman, his quarterback coach at Blitz Football Camp. "He would be the first person with prosthetics to do it. He's really good at what he does."

Calder started training at Blitz, a private training facility in northwest Houston, three years ago.

"My goal is to get an offer to play college football," said Calder. "And then, God willing, I will play pro football."

Calder recently transferred to Legacy the School of Sports Sciences, a charter school in Spring, where he plans to play quarterback next season.

"Everybody's going to have doubters at one point in their life," said Calder. "Just so happens that my doubters are a little bit louder, but that means you've got to turn the headphones up a little bit more."

"He's out here determined, he'll be out here for hours," said Tillman. "We won a national championship last year and he was the youngest one on the team. It's interesting to see a kid that's so strong-willed push himself daily."

ABC13 caught up with Calder and his coaches at Blitz Football Camp to hear his inspiring story.