Chicago teen doesn’t let ocular albinism keep him from playing basketball and baseball

CHICAGO — At first glance, Triston Burns doesn’t look like a combo defenseman playing the ball and defending on the basketball court.

A slender 13-year-old Chicagoan from the Austin urban area on the Far West Side was born with ocular albinism, a condition that severely impairs his vision. Because of his poor eyesight, he wears prescription glasses designed to greatly magnify the world in front of him.

“Everything has to be close to his face,” his mother Christina Person said. “Even when he’s looking at his phone, everything has to be up close or zoomed in.”

But Burns didn’t let that stop him from playing multiple sports and doing them well.

Right now, the 13-year-old is playing basketball for the Chicago West Side Police and Youth Athletic Conference, a league run by the charity City of Refuge – Chicago.

Sponsored by groups such as the Chicago Police Department and Catholic Charities, the organization hosts events and activities for young people in Chicago’s inner-city neighborhoods.

Beginning in May, Burns will be on the field, serving as a conference pitcher for the third consecutive season.

“If anyone tells him he can’t do something, he will prove them wrong,” Person said. “That’s how he is.”

Burns’ basketball coaches say that despite his disability – the rim is blurry and he doesn’t see the distance very well – he’s great on defense.

“His tenacity stands out,” said Brandon Wilkerson, one of his trainers. “He works very hard. He dives for lost balls, he fights for every rebound, he fights through the screens. He’s just an energizer bunny on the court.”

Burns says he knows exactly where he is on the court.

“The basket is a bit blurry, but mostly I can see it,” Burns said. “[And with defense], I can hear their shoes, their squeaks, and I can take a few steps up and see their shirts. So I know where to go.”

Indeed, Burns was a revelation to his coaches, who played him like a sixth man. They started encouraging him to shoot more and now he hits some 3-point shots.

“Sometimes I’m still confused because people say, ‘He can’t see, he can’t see,’ but still he knows where the basketball hoop is,” said Jonathan McDonald, another of his coaches.

His mother laid the foundation for Burns on his path to athletics. He was born with albinism, which affects the production of melanin, the pigment that colors the skin, hair, and eyes. This condition was a barrier to Burns’ education at a public school in Austin, where he initially had difficulty in school due to his poor eyesight.

“He did poorly in school and his grades started to suffer because he couldn’t see what was written on the blackboard,” Person said. “We had to transfer him to a school on the North Side that specialized in teaching students with disabilities. And since then, his school performance has improved a lot.”

But Person also wanted to create a welcoming atmosphere at home for Burns. So she encouraged him to try out for the Chicago Westside Sports Conference baseball team in 2019.

Baseball coach Jessie Duncan was initially skeptical. But he suggested that Burns try pitching, as he had trouble seeing ground balls or balls batted in the air.

“You don’t have to see the ball if you’re throwing it,” Duncan said. “He can’t see the catcher’s glove when he pitches, but he can see the shadow of his hand, so I told him to throw on that.”

“He’s definitely an effective pitcher,” Duncan said. “He wants to try first base, but I tell him he’s too good as a pitcher.”

Burns’ success in baseball gave him the idea to try out for the conference basketball team last year.

“At first he had coordination problems,” Wilkerson said. “He couldn’t lay down or dribble and he traveled a lot. But he worked twice as hard as everyone else on the team. He was the first person in the gym and the last one to leave. And he always asked questions.”

Burns soon had regular playing time, and after initial skepticism from teammates, they accepted him as well.

“When I started, my teammates thought I was different, so they tried to coax me and command me,” Burns said. “But now they are helping me. They’re trying to score points for me, so I try to make four or five shots a game.”

Despite his failing eyesight, Burns wants to continue playing sports as soon as he enters high school in the fall. His trainers encourage him to do so.

“He has all the tools to succeed in life, both in and out of sports.” Wilkerson said. “Whatever he decides to do, he will do it. Because he will apply what he has learned.”

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