Wednesday, May 6, 1998
Many Happy Returns
A wheelchair hasn't kept
By Pat Gee
John Greer from enjoying a stellar
tennis career
Special to the Star-BulletinTENNIS fanatics are quick to describe the injuries that prevent them from playing their best. They also cite the sun, the wind and the stars as backup excuses when the ball doesn't bounce their way.
John Greer can't walk, but he makes no excuses. The 33-year-old Kaneohe man is the eighth-ranked professional wheelchair tennis player in the world, according to the International Tennis Federation .
"I used to be a big surfing fanatic," Greer said.
But he was involved in a car accident at age 19 and has since been confined to a wheelchair.
Before the accident, he said he couldn't bear the thought of life without surfing. Now he can't imagine life without tennis.
"I will do this for the rest of my life," he said.
Before he wraps up his professional career, he said he hopes to play in the wheelchair tennis competition at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. He was one of four players recently selected to the United States team in the World Team Cup -- the equivalent of the Davis Cup -- to be played in Barcelona next month.
Greer started playing professionally in 1990, and was ranked in the top 10 in the world by 1991. He dropped into the 30s and 40s, but in the past year has been No. 8 or No. 9. Winning the Kobe Open in Japan last month solidified his current ranking.
Greer said being in a wheelchair has opened doors he never imagined. Last year he traveled to Europe twice, Japan three times, Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. mainland.
In the Australian Open for wheelchair players, he advanced to the quarterfinals in singles and the finals in doubles.
He plays in tournaments about every other month, financing most with prize money.
He said participating in sports was vital in developing a positive attitude about his disability.
"After I got hurt, I thought I was the only young guy in a wheelchair," Greer said. "I thought pretty much my life was over."
But learning to play basketball, tennis and other sports at the rehabilitation hospital showed him what he could do, not what he couldn't.
"When someone is beginning rehab, everything is negative -- 'I can't, can't, can't,' " he said.
"I could sit around all day and complain, 'I can't walk.' But you can't change the past. It's all about staying positive . . . maybe it's one of my gifts. Things happen and you have to find a new way."
He said the hardest aspect is dealing with the image people have of the disabled.
"It's a tough adjustment to go from being regarded as real manly before the accident to a poor cripple," he said. "They think you can't do a thing for yourself. You kind of have to prove to everyone that you want to be treated like a normal human being and still can do things independently."
Besides the obvious, wheelchair tennis differs from the traditional game in that wheelchair players are allowed two bounces of the ball before each return.
"It's more of a baseline versus a serve-and-volley game because an A.B. (able-bodied person) obviously can jump to reach balls hit over their heads while at the net and can poach a lot more easily while there," Greer said.
Getting to the ball and positioning the chair at the best angle to hit it involves twice the effort than for an A.B., he said.
Greer was enrolled in the Peter Burwash International program for six months, learning to refine his shots and use the momentum of the chair to power his strokes.
Before his accident, when Greer lived to ride the waves, he thought tennis was a "sissy sport" played by nerds. Now he realizes tennis is truly a sport for everyone.
