¦ September 15, 2010
JON MIZE - PARA-ARCHER EXTRAORDINAIRE
Reprinted from SSPF e-Newsletter, September 2010 issue

“Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.” (Henry Ford)

  Jon Mize first shot a bow at the age of six.  His dad encouraged his love of spending time outdoors, hunting and target shooting.  Jon had an active childhood and became an accomplished athlete and sportsman.  But he loved archery the best of all, and dreamed of someday taking his talent to a competitive level.

Jon’s life-altering challenge occurred when the Muncie, IN resident sustained a spinal cord injury in a motocross accident in 1999, resulting in paralysis from the stomach down.  He initially tried to continue with archery, but found it difficult to balance in his wheelchair while shooting a bow.  So Jon put his bow on the shelf and didn’t really think much about shooting it again for several years.

Fate intervened again in 2007, when the International Bow Organization 3D Archery World Championships happened to be scheduled at a location 20 minutes from Jon’s house.  The competition included a class for physically challenged archers.  Jon finally got his hunting bow out, practiced obsessively, and ultimately placed 5th out of the 15 archers entered in his class. 

While the great finish fueled Jon’s ambition for a career in archery, reality dictated the necessity of a solid education, so he pursued a degree in Sports Administration and Marketing.  Throughout college Jon continued to shoot 3D competitions and indoor leagues at local archery shops.  With the encouragement of coach Randi Smith of the USA Paralympic Archery team, Jon attended a camp at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista CA for FITA archery, where he progressed from shooting 35 yards to 90 meters, nearly the length of a football field.

In 2009, Jon Mize took the Para-Archery world by storm with a fourth place finish at the World Championships held in the Czech Republic, besting many archers who had competed in the Beijing Paralympics.  Because of his obvious natural talent, Jon was named to the Para-Archery World Championship team, Compound Bow division.  Countless hours of shooting the bow had finally paid off in a big way.

Jon’s next goal was a spot on the National Paralympic team, leading to the 2012 Paralympics in London.  In order to qualify for the paralympic team the archer must shoot a certain score at a sanctioned Star FITA Tournament.  Jon spent the summer after college graduation traveling to competitions, trying to attain an adequate score to make the paralympic team. He went to Georgia twice, then Philadelphia and came within six points of making it.  Jon says, “I was so close I could taste it. I ended up shooting my qualifying score in Indiana, two hours away from my hometown. This was a huge accomplishment and just proved to myself if I want something bad enough and try hard enough I can achieve any goal I set.”

Jon credits Indianapolis carbon fabricator Mark One Composites for building a custom back rest which improved his balance considerably.  “The Indy Car community seems like a tight group of friends and this summer I was fortunate enough to meet some great people in the Indy Car Industry at Mark One Composites. They make custom carbon fiber seats and do a lot of the technical repairs to the carbon fiber on Indy Cars that teams are not capable of fixing themselves. The owner Jeff Mowins was kind enough to take the time to make a custom back rest for me to shoot my bow from my wheelchair.  Since my stomach muscles are so weak, holding a bow up and trying to aim is not the easiest task but with their help and the new back rest it has improved my stability and shooting scores tremendously. I’m as proud to represent Mark One Composites as any Indy Car Driver out there who is using their products.

“My future goals are to continue to train hard and make the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. I know I can compete with the top shooters in my division and I want to be on the podium holding the gold medal and representing the United States of America.”

The Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation is excited to welcome Jon Mize as our newest volunteer.  His determination to not only follow his passion for archery but excel at a world class level makes Jon an inspiration to all of us.

About Para-Archery

Archery is a test of accuracy, strength and concentration. The sport is open to athletes with a physical disability in three functional classes (Open, Standing, and Wheelchair). It is comprised of individual and team events, standing and wheelchair competitions, as well as events for visual impaired. Competitors shoot at a target marked with ten scoring zones, from a set distance.
 
As a Paralympic sport, archery was originally a means of rehabilitation and recreation for people with a physical disability. The first archery competitions for people with a disability were held during the first International Games for the Disabled in Stoke Mandeville, England, in 1948, with the participation of 130 athletes from two countries.  Archery has been included in the Paralympic Games competition program since 1960, when it was introduced to the world as a Paralympic sport during the Games in Rome.