If Panasonic or Sony ever get their hands on the circuitry in Jordan High School senior Ryan Nelson's brain, high definition and 3D will be instantly obsolete.

Born with spina bifida, Nelson's love and passion for sports have never been discouraged by what anyone told him he couldn't do — a mindset perhaps aided by the mere prospect that he'll be "dreaming in football" when he drifts off to sleep.

"It's pretty much the same every time," Nelson said. "I'm able-bodied in the dream and I know I'm flying somewhere to play football, but I always wake up right before I get there."

As Nelson, 17, and the rest of his nationally ranked Utah Junior Wheel and Jazz team travel to Colorado Springs for this weekend's Junior National tournament, the path the point guard took to get there is certifiably remarkable.

Wayne and Libbi Nelson first discovered their second child had spina bifida four months into the pregnancy.

"We were really young and we were scared," said Libbi Nelson. "We thought it would be hard the whole time but we saw him and we knew it would be all right."

When Ryan's older brother, Samson, began playing sports, Libbi Nelson knew the question, wouldn't be long in coming.

"Mom, I want to be on a team, and have a jersey and a coach," 4-year-old Ryan told his mom.

Faced with the decision of telling their son he couldn't play, the Nelsons found refuge for their budding sports enthusiast at the Adaptive Basketball Program in Sandy. Ryan Nelson didn't care that he was the smallest, the slowest or didn't get the ball very much. He was playing ball.

"I think I came to terms with the fact that I'd never walk in early elementary school," said Nelson.

From age 9 to the present, Ryan Nelson hasn't given his disability a second thought. Through his formative years if a challenge presented itself, Nelson challenged back.

In sixth grade, he fulfilled a lifelong dream of playing quarterback for his flag football team that won the league title.

"It was so fun, but the kids on my team made me look really good with me throwing mostly short passes," he said.

If you play flag you have to play tackle, so the next year, he played nose guard for his junior high squad by scooting onto the field.

When the moment might have called for embarrassment, the Nelson family simply turned the moment into a funny family moment.

"Before the game the umpire came out and told Ryan to stand up because the game was starting," said Wayne Nelson. "Ryan and I kind of looked at each other and said, 'He is standing up.' "

Then there was that stint on the Brighton tennis team, where he competed against able-bodied opponents for two seasons.

"They take it easy on me until I come up and rip a winner," he said. "And from then on its pretty normal."

That tennis hobby carried him to a top five national junior tennis ranking, and venues from Nottingham, England to Pretoria, South Africa.

Following a tournament in Colorado, and graduation from Jordan high school in May, Nelson is headed to the University of Illinois where he'll participate on and elite, collegiate wheelchair team.

For someone who has accomplished so much more than anyone ever expected, what's next?

"I'd like to be on the United States team that plays in Rio de Janeiro in 2016," said Nelson, who averages 18 assists per game for his Jazz team. "After that I'm not sure but as long as it's something in sports I'll be happy." —

About Ryan Nelson

Born with spina bifida, the Jordan High School senior plays point guard for the nationally ranked Utah Junior Wheel and Jazz team, and his tennis talents have landed him a top-five national junior ranking. He is headed to the University of Illinois in the fall to play for the Illini wheelchair basketball team. He's also pointing toward a berth on the U.S. team for the 2016 Paralympics Games in Rio de Janeiro.