MEET JOE
FATHER - Head coach - Paralympian - KEYNOTE SPEAKER
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I grew up involved in any sport I could get my hands on. I was a three-sport athlete throughout high school, which led to playing Division II football at Winona State University. I was fortunate to play as a true freshman, which meant the summer months in between my freshman and sophomore year of college provided even more time for training. My drive to improve for next year and become the starting tight end for the Warriors was an obtainable goal. At that time, my identity was rooted in my athletic career. Nothing else mattered except my pursuit of being the best athlete I could be. July 10, 2004, would be a day when all those dreams vanished. A casual boating adventure with my best friends on the Mississippi River turned into a life-altering accident. In a split second, I went from a college football player to a paralyzed 19-year-old. My life as I knew it was over.
After eighty-nine days in the hospital, I had to figure out how to navigate life in a wheelchair. I had to relearn how to use an eating utensil, how to get dressed, and how to maneuver around in my wheelchair. I had all these questions swirling around in my mind (just like anyone at that age), but felt the questions were distant because of the circumstances. Would I go back to college, find a passion to pursue, or find a woman that would love me despite the physical disability I now possessed, become a father, find purpose in life using a wheelchair, or simply figure out how to get through the next day?
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Little did I know that through God’s grace, those questions slowly found answers. My faith in God became my foundation. My girlfriend at that time, April, would become my wife in 2007. I then graduated from college. April and I were blessed with three beautiful children, Braxton, Brayden, and Brynley. I found the adaptive sport of rugby that helped me become independent, confident, and refuel my competitive fire. I finished my graduate studies in 2015, earning a Masters in Professional Counseling. Yet, something was still missing…
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Identity is something I've wrestled with my entire life. As I grow in my faith, I realize that the pursuit of medals isn’t the ultimate goal. My identity doesn't come from just being an athlete. It's taken me a long time to figure out that I don’t need a sport to define who I am or what I'm worth. It all sounds so simple. What is hard to express in a few sentences is the fact that some days just plain suck - for all of us.
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There are days where we don’t feel like we'll finish college, or find a passion, or have the energy to be an elite athlete, or be a good husband or father. I’ve fallen short so many times, made stupid mistakes, and have had doors slammed in my face that I truly thought were open. I say all these things not to get a cyber pat on the back, but to hopefully show people that life is full of choices.
Since that life-changing day in 2004, I could never have imagined the path God has put me on. It is crazy to think of how one day, heck, one second can change so much. Through my faith, family, education, athletic career, and experiences, I have found my passion and purpose in helping others find theirs. We get a choice to get up. A choice to move on. A choice to stop and reflect. A choice to learn from mistakes. A choice to be a better person than we were the day before. A choice to live by faith. Even when days seem hard, or I make mistakes, or I can’t comprehend the path, or I mess up, I choose to live this life with passion for His purpose.