ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 17, 1996 TAG: 9602190094
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DALEVILLE
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
Early this winter, Lord Botetourt wrestler Matt Hall pinned three opponents during a quad meet.
This week, Hall's 9-9 record earned him mention as one of Timesland's leading wrestlers in the 125-pound weight class.
By any standards, the sophomore has done very well, especially considering he was not the Cavaliers' starting 125-pounder in December.
What makes Hall's record remarkable is that he has no lower legs.
Hall was born with a bone missing in each leg. Doctors told Matt's father, Frank, they could leave the left foot as it was, but if they did, Matt always would drag it when he walked.
``We had to make a decision [to amputate] when he was born to give him a prosthesis [for each leg] and let him function normally, or we could let him wear braces and be on crutches the rest of his life,'' Frank Hall said.
So the decision was made. Matt Hall's right leg was amputated just above the knee, and his left leg was amputated just above the ankle.
While the family was living in Colorado, Matt Hall started wrestling as an 8-year-old because he had a friend who participated in the sport. He was not the first wrestler in the family, though. Frank Hall wrestled in college, and Matt's uncle, Larry, is head of Roanoke's wrestling officials and directs the Group A and AA tournaments for the Virginia High School League.
Despite that family tradition, Matt Hall gave up wrestling for a while. He didn't get back into the sport until the family moved to Botetourt County and he was a seventh-grader at Botetourt Intermediate School.
``I wanted to see if I could do it,'' he said. ``What else could I do? Sit at home? After a week [of wrestling again], I knew I liked it.''
Rod Corl, the wrestling coach at Botetourt Intermediate, had heard about Hall, but he had never met him or seen him wrestle.
``I had had other kids wrestle who had other [physical] problems. I encouraged them to wrestle,'' Corl said. ``I didn't know what to do for Matt when he was here. I had never had experience [coaching a wrestler with his physical challenges].
``Sure, I had my doubts. In his seventh-grade year, he didn't win a match and was pinned more times than not. What made it all worthwhile was to see him win that first match in eighth grade.''
Early lessons
Winning is just a small part of the story for Hall. Accepting that people found him different was something else.
At Botetourt Intermediate, some children taunted him, calling him ``Peg Leg.''
``These were kids, and they felt they could make me feel bad,'' Hall said. ``Now if someone says it to me, I know they're kidding. I make jokes about it myself. Everyone knows my accomplishments.''
Hall's mother, Barbara, taught him an early lesson about dealing with the taunts.
``There was a girl in first grade who told Matthew he couldn't come on the playground because `both your legs aren't real,''' Barbara Hall said. ``I called the girl's mother, who agreed that Matthew should kick the girl so she'd know his legs were real.''
Luckily for the girl, she backed down and Matt didn't have to prove his point.
Still, others are amazed Matt doesn't feel he's different.
``He works hard and tries to meet all expectations of fellow classmates,'' Frank Hall said. ``He feels he can do and does what everyone else does. He's an honor roll student who works hard at wrestling. He wears a T-shirt that says, `No guts, no glory.'''
Tater Benson, Botetourt's wrestling coach, has seen that determination.
``When we go places, I can see the look on the faces of the crowd,'' Benson said. ``They cheer him because of the effort he gives. He doesn't like that. He only wants to be cheered when he wins. He wants nothing special.''
Hall is a typical high school student, and he likes it that way.
``My schoolmates know me. They know I do everything everyone else does,'' he said. ``I run in gym. I play basketball in gym.
``I'm frustrated enough whenever I lose. But when I get extra applause, I try to block it out.''
Competitive spirit
Even seasoned wrestling followers are impressed. Just ask Kris Kahila, the coach at Group AAA power Franklin County.
``We scrimmaged Botetourt and I watched him,'' Kahila said of Hall. ``I respect anyone with a handicap, but it goes beyond that. He's tough to beat, and if you don't wrestle well, he'll beat you. I wasn't aware he was a sophomore, but that makes it better for his future.''
Hall's bright future can be traced to his past.
``The secret to his success is that his mother and father have refused to acknowledge that Matt has a handicap,'' Larry Hall said. ``He doesn't feel he has a handicap. He feels he's on a level plane with the other wrestlers.''
When it was suggested in December that an article might be written about Matt, he declined because he hadn't yet become the regular 125-pounder for Lord Botetourt.
It hasn't been easy earning that spot. It's hard for Hall to bridge and escape a possible pin, and he can't use his legs to gain leverage as other wrestlers do.
``The key to him is he has such a strong upper body that you have to get out on him on the first whistle,'' Kahila said. ``If you don't, he's strong enough to turn you, get you on your back and pin you.
``He has a competitor's spirit. He won't go down easily. To me, that's a champion right there in itself. You like to see kids like that, especially nowadays.''
Before each match, Hall removes his prostheses, so when he takes on another wrestler in the standing position, he's much shorter.
``His advantage is that when he doesn't wear his legs, he's much lighter,'' Frank Hall said. ``That gives him more upper-body strength than the normal 125-pounder. He compensates for not having [the use of] his legs and ankles for leverage with his strength.''
Hall has one other advantage.
``The funniest part is going out [for the first time] to shake their hands - the look on their face like, what are they going to do now?'' he said. ``They probably have nothing [in the way of strategy] from their other coaches.
``I wrestled for [Northside coach Mark] Agner, but a lot of other coaches, there's nothing they can say. So another advantage [for me] is their strategy has to be different.''
Looking ahead
There still are some tough moments for Hall, on and off the mat.
``Sometimes it starts to creep up,'' Hall said. ``Everyone feels sorry for themselves once in awhile. If I do, I'll go play basketball. I really don't feel sorry for myself. I get frustrated.''
But even at an early age, his parents never let him give in to that frustration.
``When he was in kindergarten, he said he couldn't sit Indian-style [cross-legged] because his prostheses were bulky,'' Barbara Hall said. ``We said if he wants to be a kid, he has to make himself do it. We never babied him.''
Matt Hall's goals are the same as those of most any sophomore. He wants to go to college, takes college-prep courses and has made only one grade of less than a B.
``I really haven't thought much about goals,'' he said. ``I want to make it to the state tournament, if not win a state championship. I'd like to wrestle in college, but I've heard that's intense, three or four practices a day. I'd love to do it.''
It's easy to see where he gets that attitude.
``I've never told him he couldn't do anything,'' Barbara Hall said. ``When he started wrestling, I was concerned he was trying it just to be part of it. Over the past year, Matt's put his heart into it. He loves it.
``Even when Matthew is defeated, I don't feel any more emotion than when anyone else is defeated. My husband asks me why I'm crying when I see a kid lose, but I get emotional for anyone who gives their best.''
LENGTH: Long : 158 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS/Staff Lord Botetourt's Mattby CNBHall (top) wrestles against Northside's Brad Hungate during a recent
match. Hall, who has no lower legs, lost this match, but he has a
9-9 record in the 125-pound weight class. color
2. STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS/Staff Matt Hall was born with a bone
missing in each leg, and he had amputations shortly after he was
born. color
3. STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS/Staff Before taking off his prostheses,
Matt Hall looks like a typical high school student while walking
across the gym floor.
4. STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS/Staff Franklin County coach Kris Kahila
said of Matt Hall: ``He's tough to beat, and if you don't wrestle
well, he'll beat you.'' KEYWORDS: PROFILE