Every time double amputee Nick Rogers straps on his prosthetic blades and sprints down a lane, he is demonstrating that life’s obstacles can be overcome and dreams fulfilled.
Rogers dismisses his adversity, and has set his sights on competing in the Paralympic Games in Brazil.
But don’t let Rogers’ easygoing demeanor fool you — he is all business when it comes to competing and acting as an advocate for people with disabilities.
Competing in the 2016 Paralympics wasn’t even on the Lisbon High School sprinter’s radar four years ago, and now he has an opportunity to race in Rio this summer.
“It is all unreal,” Rogers said from his room in Phoenix. “Never say never. Never give up on yourself. Pursue your dreams, no matter how crazy they can be, and have fun doing it.”
Rogers is having the time of his life as he closes in on competing in the Paralympics while inspiring young people with disabilities or broken homes.
“It is a dream of mine, and I also like to set an example for kids in my situation — ranging from having a physical disability to ranging from coming from a broken home — to just really inspire and show, motivate more than anything, that you can do anything that you put your mind to,” Rogers said. “Hard work pays off.”
Perseverance and diligence are prerequisites to dealing with a disability, as Rogers can attest. Competing across the country has opened doors for him, and he sees college as the next step in his future.
“I just made the national team. I took a year off to be able to focus on my dream of being a Paralympian in hopes of getting a scholarship to a university,” Rogers said.
He is considering majoring in physical therapy, and would like to work with veterans who have lost limbs in action.
Closing in
Last month, Rogers collected his first professional win at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. He upended the field with a personal best time of 22.07 in the Paralympic 200-meter race.
The past week, Rogers took first at the Desert Challenge games in Phoenix with a winning time of 22.14 in the 200. He is now a member of the national team and will be heading to Charlotte, N.C., for the Paralympic trials, beginning June 30.
Rogers is hoping to qualify in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes and, would like to play a role in the U.S.’s relay teams.
“Since we last dealt with him last year as a senior, he has taken a whole second off the 200,” Lisbon track coach Dean Hall said.
Rio is now within Rogers’ grasp.
“His chances are very, very good, Tony McCall, Rogers’ track coach, said. “Unlike the national able body track meet, where all you need to do is place top three and you are guaranteed a spot on the team, with Paralympics, it is done a little bit differently, based on your time at the national meet and how your time related to time within the world in your event.
“So you are really racing against world leaders for your event. He is already leading the world at 22.07, which he ran at Drake. If he simply does what he did two weeks ago, he is almost guaranteed a spot on the on the U.S. national team to compete in Rio.”
Rogers has been training with McCall, a two-time national champion at the University of North Carolina and now a high school track coach, for the past 10 months in Ocala, Fla.
“I train another double amputee Paralympic athlete, Regas Woods, and they have a foundation called ‘Never say Never,'” McCall explained. “Nick hooked up with that organization at Camp No Limits in Maine and they invited (Nick) down to continue training with track.
“What ‘Never Say Never’ does is help athletes like Nick, who show the potential of having some athletic ability, and kids who are interested in being more mobile. They reach out and get them running prosthetics.”
An inspiration to us all
Rogers was born without fully formed fibulas on both legs, a medical condition known as bilateral fibular hemimelia. His birth defect caused his feet to be deformed and both his legs were amputated when he was a year old.
And if facing life as a double amputee wasn’t enough to deal with, the high school All-American also had to cope with living in a broken home, which ultimately forced him to move in with his grandparents, Larry and and Linda Baldiga of Lisbon.
Despite his hardships, Rogers’ indomitable spirit and resiliency have kept him on the right path — which just might lead to Rio this summer.
“In the Paralympic world, he has the potential to be the face of the movement,” McCall said. “He’s 19 years old, and what he is running now, he can probably do this until his mid 30s. He is super strong, dedicated … and probably more important than that, he is coachable.”
Representing Maine
McCall said Rogers’ compelling story of adversity needs to be told to inspire other people facing similar tribulations.
“He has a lot of life obstacles to overcome, and I am hoping to get him to start speaking to let people know,” McCall said. “He is an inspiration to others who have faced adversity. I think a lot of what he does is for the sake of his community and hometown. He just wants to make his hometown proud.
“I would like the community he is from to know a lot of what he does is for Maine and the area he comes from. I think that is a responsibility that he has put on his shoulders. He continues to demonstrate to the people of Maine that he can choose to be what ever you want to be and don’t let your circumstance dictate your future.”
Hall couldn’t be more proud of Rogers’ tenacity and his courage to go forth in life despite all that has happened to him.
“Funny thing, he came in, and until he had his blades, he was an extremely hard working kid that struggled with what he had,” Hall recalled. “You know, he has two prosthetic legs, and when he got the blades, he became the athlete that he had always desired — and he worked and worked and worked. He’s traveled around the world. He’s become a celebrity. The poise and athletic ability that he had inside him is coming out.”
And Rogers has never forgotten his hometown and the people who stood by him and kept him pointed in the right direction.
“He’s a professional. He is a remarkable kid who will go very far,” Hall said. “The best part is he got in touch with me and said, ‘Check out the Jacket.’ So when he won that race, he had 10,000 people cheering. He made sure he had the Lisbon High School 2014 State Championship jacket on. He was waving to crowd and he has his Lisbon jacket on.”
Larry Baldiga is not surprised at his grandson’s success — and courage.
“He is a determined young fella,” Baldiga said. “He makes him mind up to do something and he goes out and gets it.”
Dave Rogers, Nick’s father, speaks with his son just about everyday.
“I am already proud of him — Olympics or not,” Dave Rogers said. “He just seems very, very happy, and I am just to glad he is taking this opportunity and he’s running with it.”
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