Waterville, Maine - Tyler Burt '22 of the Colby College Men's Squash team is living out his dream of competing, but it has not been an easy road. Tyler suffered a stroke while still in the womb which delayed his physical development during early childhood.
The stroke resulted in one blood vessel leaking and another collapsing in the left cerebral cortex of his brain. "The doctors didn't figure this out until I was 6 months old," said Tyler. The injury would impact dexterity along with feeling on the right side of his body. At the age of four he would undergo two months of constraint induced therapy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to strengthen the muscles on his weak side. "Tough," is how Tyler described the therapy. "They casted my left arm and forced me to do everything with my right arm".
Tyler didn't become aware of the effects of the stroke until he was 11 years old. His entire life until that point he assumed he was just like everyone else. "Growing up I loved sports, I love competing," Tyler reflected. He assumed the struggles he faced were normal for kids, that everyone's dominant side of their body was significantly stronger than the other. His father, uncle and grandfather all played lacrosse at the highest levels and he wanted to continue that family tradition. He would soon notice that without the use of both hands he would not be able to reach his full potential in a sport like lacrosse.
During grade school Tyler endured ridicule from peers because he was different. In middle school Tyler discovered a sport that only needed the use of one arm and started playing squash to stay active. He believed that maybe this is something he could be really good at. Emotionally, competing in squash provided a much larger relief. Tyler remembered thinking "maybe kids will stop making fun of me."
Improving every year, his play got him on the radar of the Colby College Men's Squash Staff. Locked in on his craft, Tyler was offered a spot on the team after a tryout during junior year of high school in March of 2017. "A moment I'll never forget," Tyler added while talking through that experience. "I noticed how people started to treat me differently now that I was going to be a collegiate athlete."
Last year, Tyler completed his first year as a member of the Colby Men's Squash team here on Mayflower Hill.
"A lover of life" is how head coach Chris Abplanalp describes Tyler's presence on the team. "He is always in a good mood, works hard and people enjoy having him around."
When prompted for any final words, Tyler responded "I have nothing left to prove. I'm just having fun. Our team is really good this year." This will be an exciting time to follow Tyler and his teammates.
The Men's Squash team is currently gearing up for their season which will begin on Sunday, Nov 17th against Vassar College.
If you want to learn more about Tyler and his story you can check out his autobiography "The First Twenty," a book that he published about the first twenty years of his life.
You could also see an interview conducted by fox news here.
