Mission NOT impossible

I’m not one to spend much time watching the tube, unless it’s in the background while I’m doing household chores, eating or cleaning up the kitchen.

The 2016 Rio Paralympic Games just concluded and I caught myself being mesmerized by many of the accomplishments of the athletes, from nations worldwide.

One athlete in particular stood out, at least for me.

I was watching a match of wheelchair tennis (doubles, in this case) and one of the participants was not throwing the ball in the air to serve. I sat down, waited and sure enough, he did it again. Now I had to know how he was accomplishing this, and routinely delivering the ball across the court and into play.

Finally they had a close-up shot of him on a subsequent serve, and I saw he balanced the tennis ball on top of his foot, flicking it up so he could hit it with his racket.

Well, mystery solved, or so I thought. Now that I was sitting down, dish towel in my hand, I noticed he also had a strap on his racket. Another closeup, and I saw that his wrists were twisted, and he was actually hitting shots in a backhanded fashion, due to his impairment.

Just when I thought that I had this guy all figured out, I saw him motoring around the court between points with no hands to propel him, and he had his left hand on a joystick — he was in a power chair!

I was not leaving the couch anytime soon. Here is a guy with multiple physical disabilities, and he’s out there not only getting exercise, but apparently taking it to the much-less impaired competition. These guys were hitting cross-court shots at seemingly impossible angles, their accuracy was uncanny.

I had to do a little digging at this point. I grabbed the iPad, and soon I had the information I needed. This was Nick Taylor, 37, of Wichita Falls, Kan. Not only was he representing the United States team, but he and partner David Wagner had already accomplished pretty much everything there is in international competition. They’ve garnered 3 gold medals and 1 bronze in Paralympic competition, and the two were the only team to occupy the top spot on the podium in the three times the wheelchair quad doubles category had been contested in Paralympics prior to Rio.

From his profile page on the U.S. Paralympic team website, I found out he had taken more than a dozen Grand Slam titles and was ranked in the top three in the world for the past 14 years.

Taylor started competing after battling a rare congenital disease: arthrogryposis, which severely limits his range of motion and thus he must use an electric wheelchair to compete against the best in the world. Taylor earned a master’s degree in sports management from Wichita State University in 2007.

He is also a volunteer assistant coach for men’s able-bodied tennis team at Wichita State University.

So here’s this guy, overcoming things that many people would just succumb to. Seeing the two of them work together on the court, I could see why they had been so successful. There was no hesitation during the course of play — Wagner would charge the net at times, while the less mobile Taylor would control the baseline, covering ground and returning volleys with his crisp, backhand style. Note: wheelchair tennis allows for the ball to bounce twice on your side before hitting a return.

Unfortunately, the team fell in the gold medal game, as the Australian duo of Dylan Alcott and Heath Davidson rallied back to win 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. Taylor was seen openly crying at the medal ceremony, with Wagner comforting his teammate. The thirst for more gold — to remain the best in the world — was readily apparent.

Athletes come in all shapes and sizes, and a few minutes of watching the Paralympics made this point crystal clear.

From floor volleyball, to archers with no arms, to team sports like wheelchair basketball and rugby, the intensity and desire was on the level with that of the able-bodied competing at Rio for the Olympic Games recently held.

So remember the next time you get out of bed, feeling a little bit sluggish with no desire to get out there and get some exercise. Remember people like Nick Taylor, who may not evoke the ‘athlete’ image when you come across him. Because people like that won’t give up, won’t quit on you, and on the court, they are there to rip your heart out.

Good luck in your future endeavors, Nick — although with your attitude and outlook on life, I’m sure you won’t need it.