A young boy practices his soccer ball skills in his basement. The ball goes from his right foot, and then to something unexpected- a prosthetic.  

This young boy was freshman soccer player Liam Fanning, who was diagnosed with bone cancer in his knee when he was just 7 years old. This diagnosis caused him to lose his left leg, but that did not prevent him  from recently getting nominated for the athlete of the week by Sports Illustrated, making it all the way to the quarterfinals in an impressive showing this past fall- and now,  more importantly, he is fully free of cancer.

 Liam’s treatment involved chemotherapy at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where he and his family were told that his leg needed to be amputated.

His family and friends doubted that he would ever play the sport he loved ever again, but Fanning was able to silence those doubts. He has already made multiple varsity appearances on the soccer team as a freshman and does not let the prosthetic hold him back. 

Coach Brett Maxwell notices how Liam Fanning does his best, no matter the situation. 

“You wouldn’t even know he had the prosthetic,” Maxwell said. “I remember working with him at camps when he was younger, and he usually wouldn’t use his prosthetic very much with the ball. It’s more for balance and adjusting but he wouldn’t usually manipulate the ball with it. But I’ve seen that change over the years where now he actually uses the prosthetic in terms of actual ball manipulation, even striking the ball, which is crazy to me.” 

Liam Fanning’s sister, senior Niamh Fanning, believes Liam Fanning is more than deserving of athlete of the year.

“He is a great kid,” Niamh Fanning said. “He’s always working hard, in school, out of school, on the field, off the field. He’s always looking to improve any way he can.”

Liam Fanning is focusing strongly on his grades and soccer. 

“The biggest challenge daily has been people asking what happened to my leg,” Liam Fanning said. “It’s not that bad though, I normally just tell them my story, and they listen.”

Liam Fanning’s challenges have shown to be hard, but he has been working through them very well.Coach Maxwell notices Liam Fanning’s perseverance on the field.

“He never gives up,” Maxwell said. “If he gets pushed off the ball, he’s always willing to work back and go for it. He’s always positive on the field, always talking to his teammates, being a leader on the field, doing the things that a real leader should be doing.”

Liam Fanning never gave up throughout his cancer journey, and that perseverance has carried onto the pitch. He is determined to make the U.S. National Amputee soccer team to play for the red, white and blue.