http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=8888

Against all odds, a 23 year old Choctaw Indian, Benjamin Talako Williamson
is making tennis history

7/24/2007

Before his National and Regional USTA Rankings he was known as a boy who
would have to live in an assisted living home. Whether Ben wins or looses,
he is always smiling at the end of each match because he has broken the
“Autism Mold”. Ben is now one of the top Men’s Open Singles Players in the
Missouri Valley Region.

He is currently ranked number one in Men’s Open Singles Standing List in
the five-state USTA Missouri Valley Region and was Nationally ranked last
year in the top 100 tennis players in the US. Ben studied the moves of the
pros and learned to play tennis by watching video tapes of the US Open
since none of his family played tennis.

Benjamin Talako Williamson, a 23 year-old Native American Indian born with
Autism, defied the odds when he graduated from Bethany High School and
where he was the only tennis player on their team, took Bethany to the
State High School Championships. Bethany High School had never participated
with a tennis team until Ben came along. Placing in the finals in the state
each of his four high school years and then going undefeated at the
Oklahoma All State Tennis Competition were just the beginning for Benjamin.
December, 2006, Benjamin was honored by the United States Tennis
Association Five State Missouri Valley Section (Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri,
Kansas and Oklahoma) as the Adult Player of the Year. Ben was also honored
two years as the Oklahoma Adult Player of the year.

“Tennis is a blessing for Benjamin,” said Freda Williamson, Ben’s
grandmother. As Ben continues to deal with his Autism, inspirational
players such as Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer have provided
hundreds of hours of learning material for this young man. Ben’s
grandmother went on to explain that, “Tennis has given him confidence and
self-esteem.” From a boy who at the age of four could barely speak, Ben has
grown into an individual who has broken down barriers, and gone on to set a
reality example that “Handicap” is only what you allow it to be. He now not
only plays for himself, but for Babolat Racquets, who have recognized his
talent with sponsorship. Ben also works with the Santa Fe Racquet Club in
Oklahoma City and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes youth program, helping
their juniors’ program participants to excel in the sport of tennis. Ben
believes that it is important for Native American youth to: “learn to
ignore what others think of you, just be yourself and don’t cheat”.
Honesty, integrity, practice and hard work are what Ben says are the keys
to becoming a good tennis player. None of Ben’s family played tennis or
even new about the sport. Ben studied the pros from tapes that his dad
would record of the professional matches on television.

His Grandmother, Freda Williamson remembers sitting for hours at the local
park while he would hit a tennis ball alone with an “old Wal-Mart racquet”
in to a practice backboard. Ben has since moved on, playing in several
National USTA Adult Open tournaments, and working as the Junior Pro’s
Assistant at Sante Fe Racquet Club in Oklahoma City. Ben continues playing
on the US Tennis Association (USTA) circuit, plans on continuing to learn
the aspects of Pro Tennis by hard work and helping younger tennis players
with their game. While Ben’s grandmother is responsible for discovering his
greatest love, all who know him agree that Ben truly deserves the credit
for taking on his misfortune and accepting his gift at tennis.

According to Ben; “I just want to do my best and help the younger kids
learn to play tennis. I learned a lot about sportsmanship and honesty
playing in high school juniors. My favorite tournament was when my grandma
and I took a bus to Iowa for a juniors’ tournament, I was so scared, I just
kept hitting the ball and playing tennis”.

For more information about Benjamin Talako Williamson, Contact:
(Dad/Guardian)Billy Talako Williamson at (405) 630-7531 or at the Cheyenne
and Arapaho Tribes Department of Education bwilliamson@...