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10 Rising Hearts: Basketball star volunteers with Challenger Sports

"She's going to be successful at anything she does."

The yearbook at Christian Academy of Knoxville features a lot of pictures of Amber Heatherly. She is an academic and basketball standout. She is a four-year starter who scored more than 1,000 points this season.

"I have played basketball since I was five. I love the sport. I love the just the physicalness of it. I love the team, the girls around it. I have life long friends since I was five and still have them today," Amber said.

"She can score, she can rebound, she does a lot of little things for the team, and she's very unselfish," CAK Basketball Coach Caitlyn Hollifield said.

Amber Heatherly

The coach isn't surprised that Amber embraced Challenger Sports when the team played a game at CAK last year. The organization offers different team sports to people with special needs.

"I fell in love with the children. They were so amazing, so special, so talented," Amber said. "Haydn Tanner, a senior last year, it was his Capstone and as soon as the game ended I texted him and I was like, 'I want to continue that Capstone for me.'"

The Capstone is a service project for seniors at CAK.

"When she chose her Capstone to see her heart for the Challenger program and just what it means to her and when they came and played in their basketball game this year just when she has tears in her eyes and the passion," Hollifield said.

For Amber, it is much more than a school assignment.

"I can still love the kids that I care for so much but also show them the sport that I love and incorporate both of those together," she said.

Nic Arning with Knoxville Challenger Sports said Amber adds "an extra touch" to the program.

"She's a young adult and some of these kids are young adults as well and they can relate with them much better than an old man saying here's what you need to do," he said.

He said Challenger Sports participants admire her athletic talent, but her volunteer work goes beyond teaching ball handling.

"She's good at sitting on the bench with them and just talking to them. What did you do today? What did you have for lunch? Regular conversation you and I have that they don't always get if they're at home or by themselves or lots of time at school they don't have it," he said.

"Mostly they like to have someone to talk to and ask them about their day," Amber said. "Just feel loved and that they are just as special as everyone else is."

Amber plans to focus on academics next year at the University of Tennessee with a major in business and accounting. She will also continue to volunteer with Challenger Sports.

"They love her," Arning said. "They look forward to her coming to the games. And we intend to use her all this baseball season doing the same thing."

"She's going to be successful at anything she does because obviously life is a lot about relationships and Amber succeeds at that," Hollifield said.

We want to showcase students who reach beyond their schools and families to help make our community better. To nominate a student, please send an email describing them and their community service to 10Hearts@wbir.com.

10 Rising Hearts

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