Season Four · Episode Fifteen · Scott Martin
The Field Was Still His
Finding Purpose After Disability
How do you reclaim the part of yourself that still knows what it loves?
Scott Martin was a teacher, competitive soccer player and experienced coach when a sudden, life-changing illness altered his body and his path. Recovery required him to rebuild everyday independence while confronting a world that often noticed disability before experience, knowledge or leadership.
Years away from coaching, barriers to meaningful work and depression tested Scott’s sense of identity and belonging. His return to soccer became more than a career step. It was a way of reclaiming the field—and helping young players discover what they were capable of becoming.
Before · The change · What came next
Before
Soccer gave Scott an early language for discipline, leadership and belonging. He played competitively, became a social-studies and history teacher and coached in several settings, building a life around the game he loved.
The change
A critical illness led to significant physical disability and a long rehabilitation. Outside the hospital, employment discrimination and being underestimated created another kind of loss: other people stopped seeing what Scott could contribute.
What came next
Scott rebuilt his professional confidence through writing and coaching work, eventually returning to competitive youth soccer. The team others expected little from went undefeated and won its league championship—proof that his knowledge, leadership and purpose had remained.
“My decision was to break myself down in order to build myself back up.”
Scott Martin
Listen to Scott Martin’s story
The Field Was Still His premieres January 12, 2027. Listening links will be added when the episode is released.