Outside of a newfound personal interest, Richardsville fifth-grader Dylan Black chose to try a new sport to send a message that nothing is impossible.

Through the willingness of coaches and support staff in the archery community, Black, 10, is a full-time participant in archery tournaments despite being born without arms.

It could have been easy for Black to deny himself the challenge and settle for an easier sport, but he recognizes the significance of the feat. It could equally have been easy for coaches to turn him away, but Travis Young, Wayne Glenn and Paul Graham accepted the task of building a tool to help a 10-year-old with a purpose.

“I wanted to show other people that just because you were born different doesn’t mean you can’t do it,” Black said at an archery competition last weekend at Warren East High School.

It took three prototypes to create a contraption of plywood and PVC pipes to hold the bow and still allow Black to pull back the string with his mouth and aim the arrow for the target.

Upon seeing photos and video of the made-from-scratch device, Warren County Sheet Metal in December offered to make Dylan an all-aluminum replica of the device that he’ll use as long as he continues through the archery program.

The new device is lighter, can be transported on wheels and is even painted Warren East blue and yellow thanks to Houchens Industries.

“It was pretty cool,” Black said upon seeing the device last week. “It makes me feel welcome in archery and it makes me feel like I can do it a bit better.”

Black’s story should inspire others to not let physical limitations keep them from exploring new ideas and activities. The coaches’ efforts should be acknowledged as well for taking extra time to brainstorm ways to make it possible for Black to even learn archery is possible without arms.

Special credit goes to Warren County Sheet Metal and Houchens Industries, which decided it was worth it to use their resources to make a dream possible. Community is about helping one another reach a common goal, and its a disservice when a community doesn’t use talents and resources to help one of its own.

Hopefully, Black’s story can inspire similar projects for others with specific needs in the future.