Looking at the Lyman volleyball team, it is easy to miss McCashin Vercimak.

Maybe she stands out a little because she is one of the tallest girls on the team, but her wide, bright smile, blonde ponytail and blue headband look just like a lot of the other girls.

But there is something different, something not quite right.

And then when she steps to the service line and throws the ball up with her left hand and hits it with the same hand, it's obvious.

Vercimak doesn't have a full right arm. Once you see it, it's hard to stop looking. It extends just beyond her elbow, widens a little after the joint but ends about a foot short of where her hand should be.

After a while of watching her play and even utilize the shortened appendage with a couple of passes, it's easy to forget about.

She even treats the end of her arm like hand to clap, give butt slaps and high five teammates.

It doesn't seem to bother her or slow her down, so why should it matter to anyone else.

"On most days, I just forget that I have it," said Vercimak, who was born with a congenital birth defect that affected the arm. "Some of the girls on the team even forget that I have it too."

The Eagles' volleyball season ended Saturday at the Wyoming State High School Volleyball Championships in Casper, but there is no time for Vercimak to worry about that now.

She will be back on the court in less than a week to get ready for the basketball season.

"I have a very athletic family," she said. "My mom played volleyball and basketball. I grew up in sports. It was just something natural. I wanted to be like my brothers and sisters."

That wasn't always easy. Most kids don't start riding a bike one-handed until a year or two after they master regular riding. Vercimak learned one-handed.

The same thing went for grabbing a rebound, driving a car and even making a snowball.

"My parents have always encouraged me a lot," Vercimak said. "Probably their attitude encouraged me the most. They never let me give up if I couldn't do something.

"If something was going to be harder, they would just work with me to find a way that was natural and comfortable for me. It was never a thought in my mind to just not do something because it was going to be hard."

That includes athletics, where Vercimak demonstrates that she can do almost anything any other player can.

In Lyman volleyball coach Louise Kennedy's almost-daily practice competitions, Vercimak has the second-most points this season. In matches, she leads the Eagles in serve percentage and aces and ranks second in kills and stuff blocks.

"There just isn't much that girl can't do," Kennedy said. "She is just amazing."

Vercimak hasn't let her disability get in her way off the court either.

She plays a mean piano after six years of lessons and spent her freshman fall season with the swimming team.

"(Athletics) has helped me realize that I can do everything other people can do," Vercimak said. "It's competitive, you're working with other people, and people are always watching you.

"It helps me be comfortable with myself and realize that things might be hard, and I might have to learn a new way. But that ultimately, I can have a regular life."

Contact sports reporter Ian Stauffer at (307) 266-0578 or {M7ian.stauffer@casperstartribune.net