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Wheelchair tennis has helped Randy Corbett heal from accident
Randy Corbett doesn’t stop at playing and coaching wheelchair tennis; he also coaches and instructs able-bodied athletes. To teach local students about adaptive athletic equipment, Randy has started a Wheelies Team. [Photo by Dianna Troyer]
By Dianna Troyer Sure, scuba diving and whitewater rafting thrilled Randy Corbett, but they did not peg his funmeter the way wheelchair tennis does. “I’ve been playing for 20 years, and it’s still exciting for me,” says the 51-year-old Boise resident who learned to play the sport after his legs became paralyzed in a motorcycle crash. While returning home from Idaho City in May 1990, he lost control of his cycle on a winding road and sailed over a cliff. An Air Force veteran, he did his rehab at a Veterans Administration Hospital in Seattle. “Wheelchair tennis helped me heal and recover after the accident,” says Randy. “It suits my personality. It fulfills my desire to exercise, compete, and meet new people in a friendly atmosphere. I want to share with others what the sport has done for me.” With an outreach grant from the U.S. Tennis Association, Randy and other members of the Boise-based Idaho Wheelchair Tennis Association offer wheelchair tennis clinics throughout Idaho. “We’d like to expand the sport statewide and to let players know about the national wheelchair tennis circuit. We have about 30 members from the Treasure Valley in the association, and about eight of us play competitively.” For those who want to try the sport but balk at the $2,000 price tag of a lightweight and maneuverable wheelchair designed for tennis, the association has loaners. “We want people to be able to see if they really like the sport before committing to a large financial outlay and buying their own chair.” Randy never played tennis until his accident. He had become involved with a program for disabled people through Boise Parks and Recreation and learned to scuba dive and whitewater raft. Eventually he was introduced to tennis and discovered his life’s passion. “I realized I loved everything about it: the competition, the traveling, and the social aspect.” After joining the association in 1993, Randy served primarily as the group’s program director and was president several years starting in 1995. (Continued on page 36)