Meet David Solano of Solano’s No Limit Hoops in Maryvale

Today we’d like to introduce you to David Solano.

David, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
How I got started wow! That’s a tough one my story starts when I was born obviously but more importantly because I was born with a disability called arthrogryposis. The disability affects the growth of my joints and muscles. I was more affected in my arms, but also had problems with my legs. The doctors gave my parents a very grim picture of what my life would look like. They said things like your son may never walk, hold a pencil, drive a car and may not be an independent person in life. My parents took me home though and worked with me and found me the right resources to help build me into a fully independent person. They instilled in me the belief that Anything is Possible in life. My life was full of battles. As I was set to enter kindergarten in 1979, I was denied access to my neighborhood public school. They said I wasn’t independent enough. Although we had therapists and specialists say I was ready, the principal still denied me. It was the first time I really saw my mom and dad really going into a battle for me. It was the first time I heard the word advocate in my life too.

The most ironic thing about the battle is 18 years later, I was graduating from Arizona State University with a teaching degree and I had accepted a job at my neighborhood school. Imagine in 1979, I wasn’t allowed into the classroom and in 1998, I was given the keys to the classroom. There were so many other battles, not being allowed to participate in high school p.e, not being served in a sandwich shop, special Olympics not wanting me to participate. This all made me resilient and made me want to be better and more successful. It drove me to reach for higher goals. I wanted to be a school basketball coach. That was probably the biggest battle I faced. It was the first battle I faced without my mom. The phone interviews were great, but when I arrived in person and they saw my disability it was a different story. I applied for 13 different coaching positions, all of them denied me. The last school I had an interview with finally gave me a chance. All I needed was my foot in the door. My mom had always said to me, “David when you finally get in the door that’s been shut on you, don’t be content with just getting in the door, show you’re the best.”. That is exactly what I did. I led my team to an undefeated season and a Junior high state championship. Our first four years we won 46 games and lost only two. This validated that I belonged.

I love coaching but I hate having to pick a team. I had a hard time watching good athletes struggle to find their place in school. I struggled watching good athletes drift off into the streets because they can’t afford all the different basketball leagues that could help their development. So, I went on a mission to create my own basketball program. I had an age range I wanted to target. I wanted to host the 12 to 19-year-olds. I thought if I could create something that peaked their interest, I could give them something to keep them busy two nights a week. That is how I formed my non-profit organization Solano’s No Limit Hoops.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road has been everything but smooth. It was 2016 and I was reading about all of this violence in the Maryvale area. It bothered me because the people that were causing the violence or being the victims of the violence were young kids who just went down the wrong road in life. I started to see a lot of good athletes dropping out of school too. It really started to bother me, because I saw nobody really addressing these problems. I sat for days thinking of ways to help address these problems. Now, I’m a school teacher, I truly know how to teach and create things in a school setting, so I went where I thought I was supposed to go. I went to my city council representatives. I went to people who I thought were great leaders in my community. I didn’t know that was the wrong place to go. Some of them told me no, some of them showed interest, but I learned in time they were just dragging me along, so it appeared that they cared.

In late 2017, I was approached about writing a story about my life and how I have overcome many of the obstacles in my life. As I was doing one of the interviews the writer said, “Wow that’s a great idea, can I put it into your story?” Now, I was thinking to myself it’s just a short story and nothing will come from it, but man was I wrong. The story was front-page on Thanksgiving Day, and by late December, I was finalizing the details on my non-profit organization.

We’d love to hear more about your organization.
Solano’s No Limit Hoops!!! We specialize in giving kids a safe environment to either come out and play basketball or just hang out watch basketball. We open a basketball gym in the Maryvale area from mid-February until the end of May. We welcome all kids from 12 to 19 to come in and play four on four basketball games. The team with the most wins is considered the Champions of the gym for the night. We have a 15 and under champion and 16 to 19-year-old champion. They pose and do a 20-second video with our customized Championship belts. We give out backpacks for their 5th day of attendance and then we have a random night where we give out our customized t-shirts. On many nights we give out gift cards to local fast-food restaurants in the area to any kid showing a positive attitude in the gym. What sets us apart is we do this for free. We don’t charge the kids to come in. We don’t charge them for a t-shirt or backpack. I start each night by giving them a motivational talk about doing good things in life. We are trying to make an impact in these young men and women. We get anywhere between 45 to 60 kinds on a given night. We are teaching them what our slogan says “Anything is Possible.”

What were you like growing up?
I was a happy, energetic kid growing up. I was always a hard worker who tried to do whatever my dad did. I have always been a good friend. I grew with a love for sports. My dad and I are huge Denver Broncos fans. I grew up in Denver and attended a bunch of Broncos home games. I also love the game of basketball. I watched it, read books about it. I just soaked up all the information I could about the game of basketball. They say ball is life well it truly was my life for a stretch.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://solanosnolimithoops.wixsite.com/mysite
• Instagram: @solanos_no_limit_hoops
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Solanos-No-Limit-Hoops-277159559498823/?view_public_for=277159559498823

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