Upland (Calif.) senior kicker
Luke Van Ginkel was about 8 when he attended the famed Paul Newman-founded Painted Turtle Camp for children with life-threatening and chronic illness.
Luke, the fourth of five boys in the Van Ginkel family, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 6 and the camp emphasized that his future was limitless. Just as it was for celebrities and athletes who shared his ailment before him, such as Jackie Robinson, Arthur Ashe, Jay Cutler, Brandon Morrow, Mary Tyler Moore and Halle Berry.
Luke Van Ginkel pets his dog Astro along the sideline
during a recent home game.
Photo by John Downey
"I remember thinking that nothing would hold me back," he said. "I remember looking at those pictures of famous people and thinking I wanted to be a great, famous, strong athlete myself."
The 18-year-old is definitely on track — his big right leg has the attention of college coaches.
"He's kicked a 75-yard field goal in practice and we've measured kickoffs as far as 85 yards with a 4.1-second hang time," said his dad and Upland's kicking coach Pete Van Ginkel.
Luke is also likely America's strongest kicker — in fact, he's a competitive power lifter. He's bench-pressed 405 pounds and pumped out 26 reps at 225 pounds.
"That's more than a lot of linemen at those NFL combines," his dad said.
View photo gallery of Luke and his dog Astro from last Friday's home game against Chino Hills But what has garnered Luke a large degree of fame in the last month isn't his Herculean feats of iron or long-ball kicking prowess, but rather his workout partner.
Astro, a 3-year-old yellow lab, is a diabetic service dog that, quite remarkably, monitors Luke's blood sugar by sheer scent. Luke may have ample biceps, but it pales in comparison to Astro's super snout.
"I've been with him since he was a pup and it still amazes me what he can do," Luke said.
Astro is a 3-year-old yellow lab and a diabetic service dog that monitors Luke's blood sugar by sheer scent.
Photo by John Downey
