Everyone has personal challenges that they face in their lives, but Griffin Kain has battled through an incredibly tough one since the day he was born. It's a challenge that hampers the everyday life, let alone a productive sports career. 

With delivery complications at birth, Kain, a left-handed sophomore outfielder for the Northern Kentucky University baseball team, suffered damage to his brachial plexus, a network of nerves that connect from the neck to the shoulder. He struggled breathing at first, started having seizures and could not move his right arm under his own power.

At two weeks old, the newborn Kain underwent physical therapy with help of his parents and eventually restored some function to his right arm, but a lot of the damage was irreversible.

Because the traumatic event happened at such a young age, Kain didn't have much understanding of why one arm worked better than the other, especially once he began playing sports.

"I'd be overcompensating for it and I just didn't understand why it was so difficult," said Kain. "It was frustrating."

Kain's mother, Joy, recalls a checkup with his doctor when he was of kindergarten age, where Griffin listed one of his grievances toward his right arm.

"The doctor said, 'What is it that you can't do with your right arm that you'd like to do?" Joy remembers. "He said, 'I'd like to be able to throw a ball with my right arm."

Shortly after, the Kain family went ahead on an experimental shoulder-surgery that could possibly regain some movement to Griffin's arm. After spending a long time in a long-arm cast at an upright angle, the surgery was a success to a degree. Kain now had more ability in a North-South throwing motion, but he lost motion in terms of throwing across his body. 

Although the problems with his right arm continued to frustrate the Cincinnati native, Kain never wavered and made up for his challenge by working harder, along with help of his Christian faith and support from his friends and family. His parents always pointed out that it could be worse and that the adversity he faces didn't necessarily have to be a bad thing.

"He worked harder than most because of that limitation," said his mother. "He's always just been really athletic and resilient.

"[I'd often say to him,] 'Sure you have this birth injury, sure you have these limitations, but to be honest, it definitely could've been worse.'"

His innate work ethic and raw athletic-talent soon turned him into a sports juggernaut at Oak Hills High School. He was a freshman starter for his varsity football squad, hovered at the 22-second mark in track and field for the 200m and was a standout on the school's baseball team.

"In grade school I was always asking myself why did this happen to me?" said Kain. "It wasn't until I got older that I took it as a blessing."

"His dad and I are extremely proud of him," said Joy. "The fact that he didn't let a birth injury that affects a lot of his movement, that it didn't hold him back from sports; it makes us crazy proud."

Kain's exceptional speed and overall baseball talent was more than enough for a spot at NKU, where head coach Todd Asalon was thrilled to have him on his squad.

"Griffin stands for everything that we talk about as a team and a program," said Asalon. "He is a relentless worker and the consummate teammate. We have to overcome obstacles and adversity in sports and life, but refuse to give in or make excuses. He's the perfect example of that."

When asked why baseball became the sport of choice to continue, Kain had a fitting answer.

"It's cliché, but it's the love of the game," said Kain. "With track, you're only really running for the finish line and that's it, while in baseball you're making a play on the ball in the outfield or you're trying to beat out a hit. I also like that baseball's a lot like life where there's more failure than success; you can have a .300 average, which is just three hits in 10 tries and be considered a hall-of-famer."

Unfortunately, this past fall was a not a kind one for the Norse outfielder as he tore his meniscus and also had a shoulder surgery in December, leaving him unable to participate in any of the 17 games NKU had this season. But, like his entire life to this point, that hasn't prevented him from continuing to fight and looking forward to the future.

"I want to be more consistent at the plate," he said. "In my freshman year I was really jumpy. I want to hit more home runs, have a better average and just improve my overall game. And also, not to brag, but I want to steal more bases because of my speed.

"I've really got nothing to lose. Not a lot of people get to play Division I ball, so why not make the most of it."