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Biography
Impairment information
Type of Impairment
Spinal Cord Injuries
Origin of Impairment
Acquired
Further personal information
Residence
England
Occupation
Motivational Speaker, Veteran
Languages
English
Sport specific information
When and where did you begin this sport?
He tried ice sledge hockey for the first time in about 2013 in Canada.
Why this sport?
He enjoyed the sport immediately. "I just wanted to bottle that feeling and share it with others."
Club / Team
Endeavour Eagles: Basingstoke, ENG
Name of coach
Ian Offers [national], GBR
Preferred position / style / stance / technique
Defence
General interest
Nicknames
Jon, Frenchie (British Sledge Hockey Facebook page, 07 Sep 2016)
Most influential person in career
His best friend Rodney Wilson. (teamusa.org, 16 May 2013)
Hero / Idol
US musician Dave Grohl. (jbainspiration.co.uk, 22 Nov 2014)
Awards and honours
In 2012 he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. (LinkedIn profile, Jul 2013)
Other sports
He competed in handcycling at the 2013 Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, CO, United States of America. (teamusa.org, 16 May 2013)
Impairment
In June 2007 he was serving with the British Army in Basra, Iraq. While on patrol he was shot in the lower spine by a sniper and was paralysed from the waist down. He was in hospital for about three months. (LinkedIn profile, Jul 2013; teamusa.org, 16 May 2013)
Other information
FOUNDER
In 2016 he founded Endeavour Eagles, a new ice sledge hockey team based in Basingstoke, England, to join the 2017 Sledge Hockey League in Great Britain. The team was to be made up of active or retired armed service personnel. "I want as many of my fellow wounded as possible to feel that same exhilaration, adrenaline and freedom I felt, and still feel, on the ice. I firmly believe that an injury, whether it is physical or psychological, shouldn't be a barrier to that." (British Sledge Hockey Facebook page, 07 Sep 2016)
INSPIRATION
After he was shot in the lower spine while serving with the British Army in Basra, Iraq, in 2007, colleague Rodney Wilson ran about 50 feet under heavy fire to save him. As Wilson was dragging him to safety he was shot and killed. He uses the memory of Wilson's heroism to inspire him. "He gave his life to save a life. I can't waste it." (LinkedIn profile, Jul 2013; teamusa.org, 16 May 2013)
ACHIEVEMENT
In 2009 he was part of a group of five wounded soldiers who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in United Republic of Tanzania to raise money for charity Help for Heroes. "This was my first real taste of adventure post-injury and what I gained from that experience is more valuable than I can explain. On that mountain I learned I could achieve anything I put my mind to, that my life wouldn't be dogged by disability and pain, but rather my life was suddenly full of amazing opportunities and experiences." (LinkedIn profile, Jul 2013)
In 2016 he founded Endeavour Eagles, a new ice sledge hockey team based in Basingstoke, England, to join the 2017 Sledge Hockey League in Great Britain. The team was to be made up of active or retired armed service personnel. "I want as many of my fellow wounded as possible to feel that same exhilaration, adrenaline and freedom I felt, and still feel, on the ice. I firmly believe that an injury, whether it is physical or psychological, shouldn't be a barrier to that." (British Sledge Hockey Facebook page, 07 Sep 2016)
INSPIRATION
After he was shot in the lower spine while serving with the British Army in Basra, Iraq, in 2007, colleague Rodney Wilson ran about 50 feet under heavy fire to save him. As Wilson was dragging him to safety he was shot and killed. He uses the memory of Wilson's heroism to inspire him. "He gave his life to save a life. I can't waste it." (LinkedIn profile, Jul 2013; teamusa.org, 16 May 2013)
ACHIEVEMENT
In 2009 he was part of a group of five wounded soldiers who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in United Republic of Tanzania to raise money for charity Help for Heroes. "This was my first real taste of adventure post-injury and what I gained from that experience is more valuable than I can explain. On that mountain I learned I could achieve anything I put my mind to, that my life wouldn't be dogged by disability and pain, but rather my life was suddenly full of amazing opportunities and experiences." (LinkedIn profile, Jul 2013)