DJ Gregory’s Golf Gives Inspiration to Athletes in Every Sport

DJ Gregory and the PGA Tour

by Dr. Stephen Walker, CC-AASP

There have been a number of great stories that serve to inspire.  Many of them refer to athletes who did the extraordinary.  Last year we featured the story of Kara Goucher overcoming years of injuries to finally land on her proper platform – the Podium – as she took a bronze medal at the 2007 IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan.  She later performed well in Bejiing and has since set American records in the Marathon.  I’m still impressed with Kara’s development, but recently I became inspired by the story of D.J. Gregory.

D.J. Gregory was born with cerebral palsy, a disease which deforms bone, nervous and muscle tissue.  For the most part this disease sentences those afflicted to a lifetime of dependency and a wheel chair to get around. D.J. grew up having none of that.  He loved sport, wanted to play, and found inspiration in what athletes could do with their bodies.  His parents and doctors helped as much as they could, and after several surgeries and countless hours of OT and PT, he developed the capability of walking – with only a cane for balance.

With a Master’s degree in Sports Management from Springfield College (one of the better graduate schools turning out sport psychology consultants,) DJ engages in sport on many levels…but no sport is more personal than golf.  DJ has set his own goals to coincide with his love of the PGA Tour.

DJ’s love of sport and golf especially has inspired him to be there live – for many great events.  And, he’s been able to play on his own, a sport that drives even gifted athletes absolutely bonkers.  He is a golfer…and plays with one arm while he supports himself with his cane to swing and help him walk from shot to shot.  His PR is a 105 for 18 holes.  Pretty decent considering many folks work diligently for years to break 100.

So in love with golf is DJ that he has passionately watched the PGA tour for years – live – every chance he could get.  But in 2008 – He accomplished what many believed was impossible.    DJ gives new meaning to setting process goals…literally one step at a time.

Tags: Add new tag, cerebral palsy, DJ Gregory, exercise-psychology, focus, golf, health-psychology, inspirational stories, Kara-Goucher, mental-conditioning, mental-strength, mental-toughness, motivation, PGA Tour, process-goals, sports, Springfield College

This entry was posted on July 11, 2012 at 1:05 pm and is filed under Athletes Corner, News Coverage, What's Out There. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.