Damon Whittaker

Meet Damon, a native of California and oldest of 5 children, was a kid with a big heart and a love of football. At the age of 14, he was starting at a new high school in September of 1992 and made the Junior Varsity football team. On October 15 of the same year, after a football game, he went to grab food with his uncle and their vehicle was rear ended by a speeding vehicle. That day changed his life. He had a high spinal cord injury and was a C7 quadriplegic. Damon had little hand and arm function and could barely feel anything from the neck down. A very scary feeling for a young 14 year old.

In 1993, Damon was discharged and returned to high school, where the world’s perception about disability was a wake up call. He would get A’s in PE for rolling around a track and shooting hoops, but he wanted more. Friends would participate in the Watts Games each summer doing track & field, flag football, and basketball, but there wasn’t anything for him. He was sidelined watching his friends.

In 2000, Damon met Michael Garafola and Alvin Malave, two adaptive athletes and now Angel City Sports coaches, and they got Damon into handcycling. And at that point, adaptive sports was starting to show up. In 2015 he attended the first Angel City Games at UCLA with track & field and archery – opening his world to all new possibilities. He needed an outlet and something to look forward to….adaptive sports at Angel City Sports was an answer.

Today you’ll find Damon at our monthly adaptive golf clinics, helping recruit others to join the adaptive sports community, and coaching archery at Angel City Sports Premier Events. Thanks to the support of Angel City Sports’ Youth Council, Damon was the recipient of a grant to help him pursue his Paralympic dreams as a Team USA Para-Archer at the LA28 Games.