There was a first for New Castle High School on Wednesday night as a swimmer in the district accepted a scholarship and signed a formal letter of intent. 

But, there is much more to the story of 18-year-old Zachary Bell.

At age four, Zach's mom says her son was diagnosed with a learning disability. At age eight he was placed on the autism spectrum. He's also asthmatic. Yet, at age 13, Zach decided to start swimming. 

"Because he knew Michael Phelps swam and he could get those medals that way. He was fixated on those medals," said Zach's mother, Julie Bell.

At first, Zach's mother said he wasn't very good at swimming. Zach said he even struggled with asthma attacks after just about every meet and was forced to sometimes go to the hospital. But through perseverance and studying other swimmers on YouTube, he was able to mimic their every move.

"I had doctors tell me to quit swimming and stop doing other things and I just kept on going," said Zach.

Those close to him say they have seen the sport of swimming improve Zach's friendships, his ability to learn and just about every other aspect of his life.

"It's a very slow process with swimming. It's not like one day you swim a 50 Free in 30 seconds and the next day you're 21 (seconds). It's a long process and it just teaches them to persevere," said New Castle Area High School swim coach Anita Murphy.

 All lessons that Zach has taken to heart.

"I just knew inside of me I could push myself and I could do better," said Zach.

He now hopes when others are told they 'can't,' that they too see inside of themselves that they 'can.'

Zach will attend Salem University in West Virginia. He plans to study business.