Life takes one many places, and for Luke Davenport, his latest stop was Nagoya, Japan.
Davenport, 28, represented the United States in the fifth annual World Dream Baseball Tournament, and he returned to Ellijay with a bronze medal. Davenport is a Gilmer native and GHS alum.
“It was an awesome experience,” Davenport said. “To get on that field at the Nagoya Dome, I’ve never played in a stadium that big or experienced anything like that.”
The event was open to those with physical and cognitive disabilities, and drew national teams from host Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Puerto Rico.
Davenport was born without much of his right arm. The ailment never slowed him, and on the football field at GHS, he was a valuable offensive lineman and went on to play at Greenville College.
“Most of the guys on the U.S. team were guys with limb differences,” Davenport said. “But you could have played if you had ADHD, or hearing loss, and that type of stuff.”
Davenport noted that many of his U.S. teammates play for the Patriots, which is a softball team that travels across the country playing exhibitions and raising money for various groups such as veterans.
“There were about four or five of us new guys who joined the team, and they mainly recruited us for pitching,” Davenport said.
Because of the Patriots’ busy schedule, the U.S. was unable to practice stateside ahead of the tournament. Once everyone touched down in Japan Sept. 6, they practiced twice at the Nagoya Dome.
Unfortunately for Davenport, he suffered a setback on the second day that limited his participation.
“I was throwing a bullpen session and threw my arm out,” he said. “It went totally numb. I was supposed to pitch in one of the games, so I tried to rest it. I went in the next day and tried to throw some bullpen and my arm just still wasn’t working.”
Davenport did not play in the first game versus Taiwan, but he did pinch hit against Puerto Rico. He reached base after he was plunked by a pitch,and also received two at-bats versus Japan.
He pitched an inning when the U.S. faced South Korea. It was not an ideal situation as his arm issue persisted, but he forged ahead.
The final standings were determined by a point system. Games were limited to 90 minutes, and a win was worth three points, while a draw was one point. The U.S. totaled four points and defeated Puerto Rico (7-0), tied Taiwan (3-3) and lost to South Korea (13-2) and Japan (4-0).
Davenport said while they did not get to take in many of the local sites and sounds as their schedule was dedicated to practice and games, they were able to sample the cuisine, which included plenty of sushi.
“I just hate that I had to sit most of the time because my arm was injured. Anytime you have the USA on your chest, it gives you some pride,” he said.
The tournament is held every four years, and Davenport said he is unlikely to return. He will be over 30 at that point but plans to continue to focus his efforts teaching and inspiring youth who face similar challenges.
Davenport travels to Illinois every summer to help with the NubAbility Athletics Foundation. The organization holds camps in multiple states for all sports to “encourage, inspire and instruct limb different youth by getting them out of the stands, off the bench and into mainstream sports.”
“We do everything from football, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, swimming to outdoor sports like knee boarding, golf, hunting and fishing,” Davenport said. “We had over 180 campers last summer and coaches from all over the world come in to help.”
He has been a regular at camps over the past six years with the exception of last summer when along with wife Ashley they welcomed their daughter into the world. He currently works at ETC and plans to continue to dedicate his time to limb different athletes.
“Going over to Japan and meeting other guys that play ball, I don’t get to see that very often except when I go to the camp every year in Illinois. Growing up, I knew (GHS alum) Preston Kingsley and maybe another kid, but I didn’t know anyone else who played sports with one arm.
“When I went to NubAbility, it was the first time I really experienced something like that and it was crazy. Those kids are great at what they do. I love going there and getting to see the people I first met in 2018. I’ve made so many friendships with a bunch of guys, and I’ve been able to coach so many kids. It has just been one of the best experiences.”