MENTONE - Like most people, Tyler Akers just wants to fit in, be like everyone else.

Described by his mother and stepfather, Lori and Byron Kaufman, as stubborn, laid back, easy-going and a fan of the outdoors, Akers is a typical 11-year-old boy.

He enjoys playing baseball, basketball and football, loves to fish and hunt. He wants to be a professional athlete when he grows up.

But just as this Akron native is the same as his peers, in a way he's different.

Just don't tell Akers he's different.

Though born without part of his left arm, Akers hasn't let it slow him down.

Wednesday evening was just another day at the office for him, suiting up in his No. 28 jersey for the Tippecanoe Valley 12-under travel baseball team as he and his team battled the squad from Milford at the Mentone Youth League diamond.

In the first inning he caught a fly ball from his leftfield position and made it look effortless.

In his first trip to the plate, he ripped a single to rightfield, a hit that played a big part in Tippecanoe Valley's four-run rally in the second inning.

"He's just one of the guys," said Tippecanoe Valley High School Athletic Director Duane Burkhart, who along with Chris Peterson and Tim Boganwright coach the Valley 12-under team. "Most people, unless you knew, you wouldn't know he has one arm. You can't tell by the way he plays."

Wednesday he played leftfield. He's also played centerfield, second base, third base and pitched, like former Major League Baseball player Jim Abbott.

Playing youth football in North Manchester last year, Akers was a running back and a wide receiver.

"He's very much out to prove people wrong if they say he can't do something," said his mother. "He knows he can do anything if he puts his mind to it."

When he was younger, his mother wanted to "buy him a pair of Velcro shoes."

Tyler wouldn't have anything to with it, insisting that he have shoes with laces, and that he tied them himself.

In a time when the names of young people are sometimes printed for the wrong reasons, the story of Tyler Akers is a breath of fresh air.

His mother and stepfather said they never miss a game. Neither do his grandparents, John and Connie Malott. At Wednesday's game, where everyone that mentioned Tyler's name had something good to say about him, Akers' grandfather and stepfather both wore green and yellow Valley shirts with the numbers 23 and 28 on the back for Tyler and his 12-year-old brother Kameron.

"I think he's pretty good," Kameron said of his brother, with whom he said he was very close.

Since they started playing T-ball, Tyler and Kameron said they've always played together on the same team.

Tyler said he doesn't watch much professional baseball on television, but said he likes Sammy Sosa "because he hits a lot of home runs."

Kameron is an Arizona Diamondbacks fan and likes Randy Johnson "because he's a good pitcher."

"They fight quite a bit, but they're very close," said Lori. "If someone were to say anything about Tyler, Kameron would step in and be very protective."

Because they grew up in the small community of Akron, where basically everyone knows everybody else, Lori said there was never a big problem of Tyler getting picked on.

On the day of this interview, a day in which Tyler showed up to the game an hour early and helped line the base paths, dark skies hovered over the Mentone Youth League diamonds.

A chance to talk to Tyler Akers and his family certainly made things a lot brighter. [[In-content Ad]]