Original subtitles

[cheering and shouting]

[cheering and shouting get louder]

[whistle blows]

Yes!

My original name was Zion Zachariah Daniels.

I don't know exactly what Zion means,

but I know it's a mountain that's mentioned in the Bible.

A huge one, too.

So I figure it means, like, sturdy and strong.

I was born like this.

I haven't really known much of anything else.

This is normal to me.

Zion was 16 years old when I adopted him.

He just didn't have anybody.

[Zion] When I was born, my mother gave me up for adoption.

I haven't met my parents, but I really don't want to.

I lived in about seven or eight foster homes.

I got starved and beaten a lot.

But I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't a good kid.

Being through all that, I kind of had a bad attitude towards a lot of things.

[buzzer blares]

[Donahue] Wrestling's the oldest sport known to man.

It's been mentioned in the Bible twice.

It's basically two human beings imposing their will on one another.

Move!

My name is Coach Donahue. I've been coaching wrestling for 25 years.

The first time I ever saw Zion

was when he was walking through the hallways with prosthetic legs.

The prosthetics were cutting into his feet, and he was being gashed.

He was forced to wear them.

[Zion] I felt like people were trying to make me look like everybody else

when I wanted to look like myself.

Like why take away me being on the ground where I'm used to something

and putting me up higher where I don't like it?

[laughing]

The fact that I can just get up and do everything a lot of people think I can't,

that made me angry.

I just wanted to be myself.

Yes, head control. Let's go!

[Donahue] When Zion came into the wrestling room, his prosthetics came off.

We only have our arms we have to wrestle and walk with,

so we have to be very careful, do you understand?

Yeah.

-Ready to rock and roll? -Yeah.

[Donahue] Let's go! Get to your stations! Let's go!

I want you moving.

Zion, let's go!

[Donahue] We made a technique around his body style and his abilities.

When he was wrestling,

he kind of forgot about a lot of the things he had to deal with.

Go as hard as you can for as long as you can.

People would discriminate against him,

other teams would look at him and make comments to other wrestlers.

Let's go, Zion!

Come on, Zion!

Hand control.

Move. Pace.

[buzzer sounds]

[Donahue] He very easily could have just thrown it all in and been unsuccessful.

He could have been someone that got into trouble

because he had no family.

He had no stability in his life.

That was a recipe for disaster.

[Zion] I just decided I don't wanna feel like I'm weak or anything like that.

[grunting]

[Donahue] Come on! Come on, let's go! Get in there!

I wanna see that peak. Let's go.

Get in there!

Peterson, grab the wrist! Grab the wrist!

Lean back! Lean back! Lean back!

Nice job, Zion.

Nice job. [clapping]

Excellent.

[Zion] I was holding myself back from a lot of different things.

Then I started loosening up. I started to recognize I can do something.

[whistle blows]

Come senior year, I beat some of the best guys in the state of Ohio.

[Donahue] As he became more and more successful, he became embraced.

[chanting]

[back and forth chanting]

[cheering]

[Zion] I used to not talk to anybody or anything like that.

But then, like, after getting good,

it just gave me a lot of confidence with everything.

Stop taking pictures of us.

[cheering]

[crowd shouting]

[whistle blows]

[Donahue] Zion ended up in the match to go to state,

so if he wins he goes, if he loses he does not.

He went into sudden death overtime and sudden victory.

You couldn't get any closer from going to the state tournament than Zion got.

I mean, it was kind of like holding on by a finger, that's how close it was.

Well, Jack Gorman ended up holding Zion down at the end.

Zion was so upset, he put his head down on the mat.

There was a standing ovation that was going on because of Zion.

He was crying so hard, he didn't even know.

[applause]

So I picked him up on my shoulder.

And I know I'm getting emotional, but...

it's been eight years that I've been with Zion,

and it was kind of, like...

the one thing that he got.

You know, he worked so hard and he thought he failed,

but he was one of the biggest successes that I've ever had, was Zion.

[Zion] That was at graduation.

He's like a dad figure to me.

This is our whole line-up.

This team was dubbed the best team that Massillon's seen since 1976.

This was my homecoming date.

I asked her to homecoming with a sign. It was really corny, but it worked.

That was really smart on my part.

Now she just thinks I'm annoying but cool.

[playing a pop ballad]

[Kimberly] Father God, I ask that you just remind him

that he is fearfully made in spite of what his physical being may be.

Continue to quiet the voices that may lie to him

and tell him about what he can't do.

Let him be a light in a dark place.

Father God, you know what it is that we stand in need of in this household

as far as his college and for his future.

[cheering]

I just ask that you bind your will to whatever it is,

the purpose that you have for him.

In Jesus's name, amen.

[applause]

Let's go!

[chanting]

-Zion! -[chant]

-Zion! -[chant]

-Zion! -[chant]

[chanting]

I just got to live it day by day.

I can't be looking too far in the past or I'll mess up now.

And the same thing with wrestling. You gotta take it one match at a time.