Chaffee senior Braden Wicker excels on football field despite rare congenital disorder

Chaffee senior Braden Wicker was dealt a difficult hand at birth.

Literally.

Wicker was born with a rare disorder known as thrombocytopenia-absent radius (TAR) syndrome, which is typically characterized by low levels of platelets in the blood and the absence of radius bones in each forearm. Wicker, however, has what he called a "weird version" of the disorder as it only affects his left arm.

"It's something you get in both your arms and your heart," Wicker said, "but I only have it in my left arm and none of the other stuff. I don't know if it's that's exactly what it is, or if it's something maybe different."

Just looking at the Red Devils' starting center, it's immediately obvious something is different. His left hand has four fingers with no thumb and his left arm is noticeably shorter than his right. But when watching him play, spectators would hardly notice.

"If you watched him in the weight room, he benches 225-240," Chaffee coach Jack Altermatt said. "The kid is a hard worker and makes no excuses. He almost sometimes pokes fun at himself, but he's just Wicker, man. It's how he is."

Wicker is in his second season as the Red Devils' starting center and while he faces challenges due to his left arm, he has worked with his coaches and teammates on different techniques and strategies to find success on the field.

"If something's not working, I'll talk to the guys around me to figure out something that we'll all understand," Wicker said. "They know that sometimes maybe that guy to my left, I can't get 100%, so they're all more than willing to help, adapt and change. We've got a great group of guys out there to help me out.

"When I'm blocking and you're trying to get in there and get in the pads, sometimes without having the thumb on the left arm and just having that pointer finger there it's kind of hard to get a hold of them and get a grip. I've just had to go get on the horse and make sure I get that right arm in there. One thing that me and coach (Andy) Cannon worked on a lot was getting that right arm in the middle of the chest piece so I can get more guidance."

Altermatt likened Wicker to former MLB pitcher Jim Abbott who was born without a right hand but was still able to find success athletically.

"When you have shortcomings, you can go, 'Well this is my plight in life and I'm just gonna wallow in it,' " Altermatt said, "or you can rise above it and I think Wicker is one of those kids who rises above from day one since I met him two years ago.

"He shows up and works, and I'm sure everybody sees him and doubts him, but you're an idiot if you doubt him because the kid will outwork everybody."

In addition to praising his work ethic, Altermatt described Wicker as a natural leader who brings a calming presence to the team, while Wicker described himself as a passionate player who brings a lot of heart to the game.

"Whenever I'm on the sidelines, I try to make sure everybody's going and everybody's getting it. I also try to help the fans in the stands get up and go," Wicker said. "With me being one of the only senior linemen that has played all four years, I try to make sure all those guys know exactly what they're doing each play and keep as much of that line together and intact."

The Red Devils are 1-2 in the 2023 campaign and are coming off a tough 24-14 loss to Kelly in a contest Chaffee led for a large chunk of the game. Wicker believes his team can continue to improve and win games despite its current record.

"We have a great group out here," Wicker said. "Day in and day out everyone's putting in the work. There's not one person on the team that I would say would be slacking at any point in time. They're all going hard, always. I expect big things from this group.

"One of the biggest things with me being a senior is not only do I want to win now but I want to make sure the kids below me understand what's going on and what they have to do. Even three years from now, whenever I'm gone, I want these freshmen to know what they're supposed to do because I was able to help them."