He Lost Both Hands. Then He Coached an Undefeated Team.

Scott Martin was a rising college soccer coach, a man who lived for the game. Then a rare, flesh-eating infection struck him down. By the time it was over, it had taken both of his hands and parts of his feet. Doctors told him he was lucky to survive.

But for Martin, survival wasn't enough.

Play From Your Heart is his memoir of what came next: a twenty-five-year journey from hospital beds and courtroom battles to the touchline of a dusty youth-league field, and the unlikely comeback that gave him back his purpose. Told with unflinching honesty and a surprising amount of humor, it's one of the most inspiring sports stories you'll ever read, and it's about far more than sports.

The illness at the center of Martin's story is one most people have heard of but few understand. "Flesh-eating" infections, known medically as necrotizing fasciitis, are rare bacterial infections that spread quickly through the body's soft tissue, destroying it as they go. They move so fast that doctors often have to operate urgently, removing damaged tissue to stop the spread, and survivors can be left with amputations and a long road of recovery. It's the kind of medical event that divides a life into before and after, and that's exactly what happened to Martin.

Overnight, the man whose career depended on demonstrating skills, gesturing on the sideline, and working with his hands had to relearn almost everything: how to move, how to teach, and how to live without the very tools that once defined him. The memoir doesn't sugarcoat that process. Martin writes about the physical challenges, the legal fights, the setbacks, and the grief of losing the life he thought he'd have. He also writes about rebuilding his body, losing and finding his sense of purpose, and discovering what he still had to give.

Then, when it seemed like the story might already be over, came the part that makes readers cheer. Martin returned to coaching, this time leading a ragtag team of twelve-year-olds. And that team went on to win an undefeated state championship.

There's a powerful lesson in how he got there. Coaching, at its core, isn't about the coach's own body. It's about seeing potential in others, communicating clearly, building trust, and creating a team that believes in itself. Martin's experience forced him to rediscover those essentials. He couldn't coach the way he once had, so he learned to coach differently, and in doing so he showed his young players something no drill could teach: that setbacks don't have to be the end of the story. For a group of twelve-year-olds, having a coach who had faced the unthinkable and kept going was a lesson in resilience they're unlikely to forget.

That's why Play From Your Heart resonates so widely. It's a book about endurance, grace, and the power of sport to heal what medicine cannot. It speaks to athletes and coaches, to parents watching from the sidelines, to people living with disability, and to anyone who has had their life upended and wondered whether they could ever get back to what they love. Martin is a soccer coach, educator, and advocate for the disability community, and his story is proof that identity is about more than what we can do with our bodies. It's about what we choose to do with our hearts.

For anyone who has ever faced the unthinkable and still chosen to stand back up, this memoir shows that the human spirit, like the game itself, can never be defeated.

Play From Your Heart by Scott Martin is available now in paperback and hardcover.