In a world where professional and collegiate sports often highlight the extraordinary, the courage and drive found in the everyday athlete can sometimes be overlooked. One specially-abled man has a passion for basketball and knows no bounds.

Adam Hughes loves sports. He took part in a basketball practice at the local YMCA, but it wasn't your average scrimmage. Most of the players there are specially-abled, many with intellectual or learning disabilities. Hughes is in his 50s and is coming back to the game after an injury.

“I hadn't been doing it a long time, so it just started back,” said Hughes.

Hughes’ brother Joshua calls him a legend and shares that Hughes is a jovial and free-spirited human being, and that he loves his brother.

“Everywhere he goes, people are like, 'Hey Adam!' and they're happy to see him. And Adam remembers their name. Something specific about them. And he's just like the mayor, and he really is a legend around our town,” said Joshua Hughes. 

Hughes and his friends are preparing for an upcoming scrimmage game organized by Special Olympics New York and the Capital District YMCA.  

“Everybody needs that," Hughes said. "Everybody deserves that. And that's what this Special Olympics allows folks to do, like Adam to come in and showcase their skills. It allows them to be front and center and show not only their athletic ability, but their personalities as well."

“We hope to build self-esteem," said David Byrd, executive director at CDYMCA - Schenectady Branch. "We hope to, you know, show a united front between the YMCA and the Special Olympics. We want to provide a nice, safe platform for those athletes to come and compete, to come and have fun."

And for Hughes, it’s all about shooting the ball and getting “buckets!”  

“Make it best, basically try to do something with the team and hopefully will win in the end,” said Hughes.