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He has earned more than 60 medals in competition, played basketball with NBA stars, acted in the Farrelly Brothers movie - The Ringer, and appeared on the front of a Wheaties cereal box. Sound like an incredible athlete? He is. Thirty seven year-old Leonard Flowers of San Antonio is a dynamic young man, and a Special Olympics athlete.
Leonard was born and raised in San Antonio, as one of six children (3 boys, 3 girls). Growing up, Leonard's escape was basketball. He started playing pick-up games with his older brother when he was 10 years old, and continued playing through high school.
Leonard encountered some difficult times in middle school, when his friends started "going down the wrong path" - joining gangs or getting involved with drugs. Leonard said he knew in his mind that wasn't the route he wanted he go and decided to shift his life to stay away from bad influences.
Many athletes train full time to be able to perform on such a level, but Leonard fits his training in during his spare time. He has a full-time job as a teacher's assistant at San Antonio Independent School District. Leonard is an independent man - he lives on his own and has a driver's license and his biggest "love" is his 10 year old daughter, Sierra. He focuses on instilling in Sierra what he feels are important teachings: have self confidence in all you do, always put forth a positive effort, be respectful, anything in life is possible (you can be whatever you want to be), and enjoy life regardless of the times you are enduring.
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