ZEELAND, MI – The packed gymnasium of 2,500 people went dead silent as 17-year-old Jules Hoogland lined up to take her shot.
A teammate came up behind Hoogland to help adjust her position in front of the basketball hoop, then stepped aside so she could focus on making the free throw. The only noise in the room came from a woman banging a stick on the back of the basketball hoop – the only way Hoogland knows where to shoot.
Hoogland, a junior at Zeeland East High School, is completely blind. She uses the sound of the tapping to figure out where the hoop is when she shoots free throws.
“I was really nervous because all these people are staring at me,” the teen later recalled. “Luckily, I couldn’t see them staring at me.”
Hoogland jumps and shoots the ball, and it sinks into the net. The crowd goes wild.
“I was like, ‘Yes, I made it!’” she said. “That was the only thing I could think of, I was just really excited. I was honestly really proud of myself.”
Hoogland plays on Zeeland’s Unified Sports basketball team, which is made up of students with and without disabilities. The team was playing its last game of the season at a school assembly Tuesday, March 22 when Hoogland sank her final free throw of the season in front of all of 2,500 students and staff from Zeeland East and West high schools.
Zeeland special education teacher Nate VandeGutche said the moment was a fantastic way to cap off the team’s season.
“Jules has worked so hard over the years at getting the feel for that shot,” VandeGutche said in an emailed statement. “It was so moving to see her hit that shot again in front of 2,500 people. We couldn’t have been more excited for her and her family. It capped off what was a very memorable day for all of us!”
Hoogland first started playing basketball in middle school. She said it took her a long time to get the hang of shooting a ball.
“It’s a process, but it’s fun,” she told MLive in an interview Wednesday. “It is frustrating at times, but I just keep going.”
Hoogland has overcome many obstacles in her life. She was born three months early, and developed an eye disorder called retinopathy of prematurity, caused by abnormal blood vessel growth in the eyes of premature infants. She began losing eyesight in the first few years of her life, and was fully blind by age 3.
Jules Hoogland was born a triplet survivor, her mom, Karen Hoogland said. Jules’ triplet brother died at 4 weeks old. Her sister also survived and is sighted.
The 17-year-old attributed her strength and perseverance to her faith.
“God gives me the strength to keep going,” she said. “If I didn’t have that (my faith), I wouldn’t have been able to get through that.”
Hoogland said she is working on learning how to live independently. This year, she has been learning how to use a cane to cross the street safely and how to take the city bus, and has been taking cooking classes at home. She also has a job folding boxes at Pizza Hut, and has almost a 4.0 GPA at school.
Karen Hoogland said she hopes her daughter’s strength serves to inspire other people.
“I’m hoping that it will encourage kids to reach for the stars and not let anything get them down and just to see Jules, being blind and making the shot, and knowing that, you know, you can do it too,” she said.
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