My college experiences had prepared me well in the areas of teaching and coaching motor skills to people of all ages but I decided shortly after I started my career to pursue certification in the area of adaptive physical education. The challenges for me were many but the respect, never fail attitude and perseverance of all those adaptive students I was priviledged to teach far outweighed any difficulty I may have had then or now. Teaching archery to the blind, swimming to paraplegics, tennis and basketball to wheelchair bound folks, downhill skiing with those who had no legs or only one leg, all fine lessons learned not only by the students but by their teacher as well. Never was there an “I can’t” or “I won’t”. “Try, fail, try again” was the mantra we all lived by. Laughing was the key. The ability to laugh at ourselves, in the presence of others, I believe, is the foundation from which people learn new skills. Doing what we are good at, or what comes easily takes less inner strength . Venturing forth to attempt to do something not tried before, well, the results speak for themselves. Watching blind students hit the target and seeing the excitement and joy on their faces or seeing someone in a wheelchair play three sets of tennis and roll off the court dripping in sweat and smiles or feeling the excitement of the swimmer with no lower body function racing to the other end of the pool, all are clear examples of heart, desire and will. Every adaptive student I have taught became the teacher and I became the student and this student wants to say a public “THANK YOU”. The lessons I learned continue to serve me well. I use many of these inspiring stories in my humerous keynote presentations. Audiences walk away knowing that they can do whatever they choose to do and that saying “I can’t” is no longer an option.