ZacParsons.com » disabled athletes

Standing Spirit

Zac — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:33:20 +0000

In 1994, Brad Jacobsen was hanging out with some friends along the bank of a river in the Pacific Northwest. Someone decided to break out a frisbee, and a spirited game began. At some point, when someone threw a frisbee near to one side of him, like he did with so many other things in his life, Brad went all out. With a few steps in the water and a quick, spry jump that was always natural for the athletic young man from British Columbia, he tried to leap into the water. But his foot slipped on the sand. Thinking that part of the river was deeper (and trying to avoid an embarrassing bellyflop), he tried to roll as he hit the water. Sadly, it wasn’t. It would be the last time he would ever have the use of his legs. Brad’s spinal cord was irreparably injured.

Since that day, Brad has persevered from the life-altering accident to become a man more focused than ever on having a positive impact on this world and a high quality of life. He also happens to be a VJ for The Pacific Institute‘s “Discovering the Power in Me“. Brad has an incredible sense of self-efficacy. He continues to be an avid outdoorsman and has hiked the physically and mentally exhausting Pacific Trail. He is producing a documentary of the journey he and nine friends took on the trail. Check out the preview below. If you would like to be a part of financially supporting the completion of his movie, you can contact Brad at poobala@hotmail.com.

Click here to view the embedded video.

His body may be seated, but his spirit is standing.

Discovering The Power In Me – New Promo Video

Zac — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:16:50 +0000

The Pacific Institute just released a new promotional video for the Discovering The Power In Me program. Although initially designed for people suffering from spinal cord injuries, it has been incredibly useful for people dealing with all sorts of trauma.

Click here to view the embedded video.

For more information about Discovering The Power In Me (DPM) please visit my page on this program here.

A pizza eating contest, where everyone wins.

Zac — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:52:02 +0000

Yesterday, I went to the 9th annual pizza eating contest at Flancer’s Cafe in Gilbert, AZ. The rules were set up to see which of the 25 contestants could eat the most pizza in 15 minutes. The winner would receive $500, a crown from Miss Arizona, some bragging rights, and a sort of pizza allergy for the next week at least.

The contest would eventually be won by Jimmy Peng. Jess Harter gave a nice write up and pics for the East Valley Tribune here. Even better than the the $500 that Jimmy won and the publicity that Flancer’s received, was the nearly $20,000 that was raised for the Wounded Warriors Project with Disabled Sports USA. Kirk Bauer is the Executive Director of the program and has been involved in the Flancer’s fundraiser for a few years now. However, this was his first time down to Arizona to see the contest live, in action. He was a very gregarious, encouraging, and outgoing man.

Having a disability himself, Greg has a deep personal passion for helping others achieve success in life. He lives this success himself. He finished the Boston Marathon in 2000, winning in the Mobility Impaired class. He is a fantastic man involved in a wonderfully effective organization. It was very encouraging to see.

I also met a member of the Board of Disabled Sports USA, Gregg Baumgarten. He lives and works locally in Arizona with Arizona Disabled Sports. We hit it off quickly and he told me about the Desert Challenge that was commencing that afternoon. He invited me to the archery competition and following luncheon. It was incredible to see the successes achieved by the athletes in the competition, all with varying physical disabilities.

I got to meet many talented athletes and their families. It was so very beautiful to see the comeradery amongst the competition. Lane Jeppesen told me all about the organization and it’s purpose. She clearly believes in the athletes that she works with and sees how their success in competition carries over into success and happiness in life. The disabled athlete community in Arizona is clearly strong and thriving. Gregg and Lane have a lot to be proud of. I’m looking forward to getting more involved with this community in the near future.

All in all, it was an amazing day!