Fishing for the Physically Challenged

By Jenn Rozendal
CBN.com

CBN.com --Imagine being 17 years old, a top track and football athlete in your high school, division one recruiters offering you full rides, and friends and girlfriends galore. A life planned out. A life full of worldly promise.

Imagine all those dreams and aspirations vanishing in a freak accident.

Skip Wilkins is a true “comeback kid.” During the summer just after high school graduation, Skip fractured his neck in a waterskiing accident, leaving him with no use of his legs and limited use of his upper arms. But instead of feeling sorry for himself like one might expect, he has chosen to compete and with the help of God and his family has turned what the world calls a disadvantage, into a thriving speaking business.

As an avid athlete and outdoorsmen since childhood, those passions did not vanish with his physical ability, the accomplishing methods just needed to be revamped. So Skip got creative.

Using an ace bandage, he wrapped the end of his fishing pole around his forearm, crafting an extension of his arm which enabled him to cast and control the rod. He later improved the system and used Velcro straps to fasten the rod, a system other physically challenged athletes have adapted.

It is this come-from-behind attitude that saturates his audiences worldwide and confirms his byline: “doing your best is a lifetime job: adapting equipment, mind and heart”.

“There is a difference in being your best and doing your best,” says Skip. “Everyone can do their best and maybe by doing their best, being the best comes. But you can’t get to that. There are a whole lot of people who have trained for many years who didn’t even get to go to the Olympics, and most people who did, didn’t win medals or goals. Are they all failures? No.”

There are over 50 million Americans with disabilities, and their athletic presence is growing due in part to greater coverage of the Paralympic Games and Wheelchair Sports. As a Paralympic shot put record holder and 10-time table tennis champion, Skip knows the population well and is dedicated to helping those with physical limitations, and those without, make the most of their lives.

Known across the world as a motivational speaker, his message is one of universal vision, that it’s not what physical ability God gave you, but what you do with those gifts. His clients include the Washington Redskins, IBM, the National Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and past United States Presidents to name a few.

Skip has also written a book entitled The Real Race, an autobiography. In it he tells how he battled the world and learned to overcome frustration, disappointment, and self-doubt, and how each of us can learn to conquer our challenges, doing the most with what we have because “doing our best is a lifetime job”.

For more information about Skip Wilkins visit www.skipwilkins.com.