OC senior left paralyzed after being shot at age 8 now a top ranked wheelchair tennis player

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. (KABC) -- A young tennis player who was left paralyzed in a wheelchair after he was shot when he was just 8 years old is seeing some major success on the court - and he's just getting started.

"If you put your mind to it, anything is really possible," said Landon Sachs, who is now a senior at JSerra Catholic High School and a top-ranked wheelchair tennis player.

He won second place at his first junior wheelchair championships and received a partial scholarship to the University of Arizona, ranking No. 6 in the nation in the sport.

"For only playing a year, being ranked No. 6, it's quite an accomplishment," said Sachs.

Keith Orahood, JSerra's assistant tennis coach, said he doesn't see a reason why Sachs can't achieve his dream of going pro.

"I just think he's going to get better and better," he said. "Those colleges that have adaptive sports programs have psychologists assigned to them, they have strength and condition coaches assigned to them."

Sachs hopes to encourage young athletes - just like the pros he admires.

"I watch a lot of the U.S. open and kind of wanting to be like them, be No. 1, be able to play at these tournaments, be at those top ranks is kind of what's keeping me going," he said.

The journey, however, wasn't easy.

Sachs persevered through an unimaginable tragedy after being shot and paralyzed at age 8.

During his sophomore year, his English teacher pointed Sachs in the direction of a new Adaptive Athletics Program, which was a game changer for the teen who was once a student of few words.

"All Landon used to say was, 'Yup' and 'Nope' and 'I'm okay,'" said Orahood.

That quickly changed.

"He has opened up, it's brought him a lot of peace, he's been a huge inspiration for us," said Chris Ledyard, JSerra's Athletic Director.

Orahood adds the school wants to become "the IMG of adaptive sports" and hopes to put students in any sport they'd like to pursue.

"Not just tennis but basketball and sitting volleyball and whatever other sports that we can get," he said. "We want to get them college scholarships and then just follow in Landon's footsteps so, he's the leader."

A leader who is paving the way with his strength, both mental and physical, and his disdain for losing.

"He has this strength, upper mobility strength, because he's been in a wheelchair for eight or nine years that that's a huge key in wheelchair tennis, but his perseverance and will to win and more importantly he hates losing," said Orahood.

Remembering to reset after all the back and forth is key for Sachs - a lesson he takes with him outside the court.

"Even though I may be down say 2, 3, 4 or 5, sets ... you've got to play each set as it's own, not think about what you've lost or won. Its just ... you've got to play in the moment."