Mike Dempsey, 39, a part of the United States Paralympic group, Is now training for the 1996 games in Atlanta, where he will compete in table tennis. Dempsey, with partial paraplegia, began his Paralympic profession in 1972. He won a gold medal at the 1988 Paralympics along with a silver medal at the 1992 games. In 199S, Dempsey was inducted in the National Wheelchair Athletic Association Hall of Fame.
Dempsey is among the owners of Kuschall of America, a Wheelchair. He lives in Camarillo, California, with his wife of five decades, Shannon, two golden retrievers and three cats. If not working or training, Dempsey enjoys doing"anything to do with the outdoors," especially swimming and boating. The following was adapted from an interview between Dempsey and EXCEPTIONAL PARENT intern Tiffani C. Willis. If you want to find out more, you can have your reference at PingpongStart: https://pingpongstart.com/best-ping-pon ... e-reviews/.
I was born in 1956. When I was six months Old, physicians discovered a skin tumor in my back. They gave me an injection to stop its expansion. However, the roots of the tumor had wrapped around my spinal cord. Although the tumor did not sever my spinal cord completely, it led to partial paraplegia. I do have some movement in my thighs.
Children can be creative

When I was a kid, most children with disabilities attended Special schools. I was blessed to be mainstreamed from the very beginning. I believe main-streaming is not merely great for the child with a disability, it is also good for the other kids, who will learn how to deal with kids who have gaps. I have discovered that if someone is shy around a person with a disability, it's usually because they have never met a person with a disability before and do not know how to react.
Of course, my school had two bullies. However, You don't need To have a handicap to experience teasing: those kinds of kids are not too choosy. For the most part, but my instructors and the other children were supportive in trying to find out ways for me to be included. I got involved in as many activities as possible. I played touch football; I had a fantastic arm so that I had been the quarterback. I also played baseball. I pitched or hit and let somebody else run the foundations. Children can be pretty creative.
Spirit of competition
I have always been fairly competitive. A Number of that probably comes From needing to attempt to make my location within a regular class--that, and having to hold my own with five older sisters. That aggressive spirit carried over into sports.
I began playing table tennis during recess at school Once I was 12. I won the school's table tennistournament Some of the kids I'd defeated in the finals complained that I'd broken the rules since I touched the dining table; this was due to how I sat in my seat and held onto the table in a match. I realized I needed to find out the best way to play this game in a wheelchair.
Several years before, my mom had cut a paper article on John Gray, the national wheelchair table tennis winner. John, who had paraplegia as the consequence of a car collision, lived in my city. So my mom and I called him and asked if he can give me some pointers. He asked me to meet him at the local table tennis team , and that was the start of my athletic career.
John took me under his wing, becoming my coach and my practice partner. John was among the first adults with a handicap I had ever met. Before that time, I had not been around other people with disabilities, except possibly at therapists, offices.
John's disability was similar to my own, and visiting what he Can do opened up possibilities I had not actually thought about before, like driving--not that I was quite prepared to push at 12! I learned a lot from John and, afterwards, other athletes in chairs as I observed the techniques they'd developed for dealing with life challenges.
Competition

In the Paralympics, I compete in wheelchair events contrary to other People in seats. I moved to my first Paralympics in 1972, when I was 15 years old. I think I was the youngest wheelchair athlete ever to win a national championship, and that was at age 13.
At my first Paralympics, I listened in singles, which makes it into the finals before losing. I was happy just to be competing, and I believe my strong performance surprised everyone, including me. best ping pong table brandname
In addition, I compete against individuals without disabilities. Actually, The majority of my play for a junior was in tournaments for"stand-up players." I had been ranked among the top 10 juniors in the country.
From a competitive perspective, I Wish to beat the man on the Other facet of table if he is sitting down, standing up or standing on his head. The one thing that matters is hitting the ball when it lands in my side of the table. If anything, the contest can be harder for your able-bodied participant, especially if he's playing me for the first time. Sometimes a stand-up participant will assume that my disability makes me easier to conquer. That idea is quickly dispelled!
From athletics to company
From the early 1980s, Rainer Kuschall, a buddy of mine from Switzerland who was also involved in wheelchair sports, began designing and producing wheelchairs for both game related activities and everyday use. In 1985, a different buddy, Rod Williams, and I began a company we predicted Kuschall of America, to import and sell Kuschall's goods in the United States.
This Specific company was a natural one for me due to my Long participation in wheelchair sports. The beginning of my sports career coincided with the beginning of a period of accelerated change and improvement in wheelchair technology. This revolution in seat design was motivated in large part by wheelchair athletes who were demanding equipment that may do better and improved competitively. The technology that evolved was soon transferred from sports seats to regular chairs.
My position at Kuschall also gives me opportunities for Community service. For example, Kuschall has sponsored different sporting events around the nation. I also get the chance to satisfy young wheelchair athletes and perform a little coaching.
Life lessons
Sports has taught me lessons which have carried over to my everyday life. I've learned that nothing comes easily, if I need something, I have to work for it I have also learned to examine reductions in a constructive manner. Sports has instructed me that there are always going to be setbacks along with the wins. The goal should be to find out from the setbacks, take some time out to appreciate the wins and then to be prepared to return and do it all over again.
This mindset is valuable in any aspect of life, and in almost any Activity. A child may find that his or her talents are from the arts, for example. Parents can support their children by attempting to identify things their Child does well, then encouraging those talents as far as possible. I Thank my mom for her constant support and for allowing me the chance to try. how to clean ping pong paddle ping pong start