Crowded by defenders, Charlie Villanueva leaps toward the basket. One hand lifts the ball high, and for a moment he seems to hang in the air. Then he hammers the ball through the rim. Slam dunk! Another two points! Today, Villanueva’s career may look like a slam dunk. He was a high-school all-American and a national champion at the University of Connecticut. He set Toronto Raptors’ rookie records for single-game points (48) and rebounds (18). He has played for the Detroit Pistons, the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Dallas Mavericks.

But life wasn’t always easy for him. In fact, he says, his success is due to more than his ability to shoot hoops. He owes much of who he is today to a skin disease he has had since childhood — alopecia areata.

Alopecia makes a person’s hair fall out. It’s not contagious, so no one can get it from another person. It’s caused by an error in the immune system that triggers germ-fighting cells to attack the body’s own hair-growing cells. More than six million Americans have it, and most of them are healthy in every other way. They have talents, abilities, and a need to feel accepted. That’s what Villanueva wants the world to know about him and his special group of fans, Charlie’s Angels.

Before games, Villanueva takes time to meet his Angels, kids who have alopecia. He signs autographs and poses for photographs. But something more important happens, too.

SHARING HIS STORY
Villanueva shares his painful past. At age 10, he lost patches of hair from his head. It grew back, but then at age 12, all of his hair disappeared. He and his family wondered why. An aunt sent tea recipes, hoping one might cure him. Nothing helped.

The boy from Queens, New York, soon discovered how embarrassing hair loss could be. Other kids called him hurtful names. He began to withdraw, hiding his head under caps and hoods. In middle school, he was suspended for breaking a no-hats rule. A note from his doctor gave him permission to wear hats, but they only drew more negative attention.

Through it all, Villanueva’s mother gave him the support he needed. “She was there for me in good times and bad times. On days when I was hurting and feeling bad, my mother was hurting even more for me.”

DISCOVERING HIS TALENT
Then something incredible happened: Villanueva grew taller. In one summer, he grew seven inches! With both hair loss and the extraordinary height of 6 feet 11 inches, Villanueva thought of himself as a “freak of nature.” He began spending more time on the basketball court with his older brothers.

As he improved as an athlete, basketball helped him deal with his alopecia. “I learned to flip my frustration and stress into motivation on the court to the point where kids weren’t looking at me as a kid with a condition but as a kid that could play the game of basketball really well.”

The bullying stopped, and his stellar career began. All along the way, he has helped others. Since his rookie year, he has been a spokesperson for the National Alopecia Areata Foundation. He started the Charlie Villanueva Foundation to help families of kids with alopecia and to stop all kinds of bullying. The son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Villanueva also works toward ending poverty in that country.

HIS MESSAGE FOR KIDS
Villanueva wants Charlie’s Angels and all kids to feel good about who they are. “We’re all special in our own different ways. Embrace it, and enjoy life positively. I’ve always tried to surround myself with good people and good environments. Believe in yourself, and all dreams are possible.”

He encourages kids to work hard toward their goals and to be there for others. “Basketball is about more than just putting a ball in a hoop,” he says. “It’s about teamwork and discipline. Many didn’t think I’d amount to anything. Thank God they were wrong about me.”

How does the text help readers understand the connection between challenges in life and later success?

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