July 1, 2016

WSU lecturer prepares to compete in his fourth Paralympic Games

By Emily Mullins

  • WSU’s Nick Taylor will compete in the 2016 Paralympic Games in tennis singles and doubles.
  • Taylor has won four Paralympic Medals, including three golds.
  • This will be his fourth Paralympics.

Nick Taylor, a Wichita State graduate and Sport Management lecturer, will represent the United States in the 2016 Paralympic tennis singles and doubles tournaments in Rio de Janeiro.

Since Taylor took up the sport at 14 years old, he has won three Paralympic gold medals, a Paralympic bronze medal and dozens of championship titles.

Taylor chose to learn tennis because he wanted to play a high school sport, and he jokes that a 300-pound wheelchair narrowed his options.

 

“You have to be willing to fail but not willing to accept failure.”
– Nick Taylor

 

When he first picked up a racket, he could barely hit the ball 5-feet. But he was determined to prove that he could succeed and spent hours practicing and learning the sport.

"I got support from my family and friends,” he says. “But in some ways they thought it was a waste of time.”

It wasn’t. Taylor won his first major tournament in 2000 and by 2001 attained the world No. 1 ranking from the International Tennis Federation.

Taylor’s experiences with tennis contributed a lot to his decision to attend Wichita State and study Sport Management. A few years into his college career, he started organizing and running sports tournaments and found a love for the administrative side of things.

Nick Taylor

Nick Taylor

He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from WSU before accepting a lecturer position. Taylor has also put his education to work as a volunteer assistant coach to the Wichita State tennis teams, organizing the team’s travel plans, court time and match statistics. He also spends time with the players practicing on the court.

Taylor has been recognized for his hard work and determination by being invited to give a variety of speeches, such as the 2009 College of Education commencement address. As he continues to tell his story, he says there’s one thing that always stands out.

“You have to be willing to fail but not be willing to accept failure,” Taylor says. “You have to know that it’s not going to work the first time, and if it’s really worth learning, it might not work the 100th time.”