Jeff Bourns

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Jeff Bourns
Jeff Bourns .jpg
Bourns setting up to return a backhand at River Oaks Country Club
Full nameJeffrey Richard Bourns
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceHouston,Texas
BornAugust 18, 1981
Parkersburg, West Virginia
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Turned pro2015
Retired2019
PlaysRight handed (Two-handed backhand)
CoachIrwin Montalvo
Singles
Highest rankingNo. 4 (Category A)

Jeff Bourns (born August 18,1981) is an American amputee tennis player who helped pioneer the growth and development of adaptive standing tennis.[1][2][3]

Bourns was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia in 1981 with a congenital birth defect to his right leg, known as Tibial Hemimelia. As a result his leg was amputated below the knee when he was two years old. He spent early years of his life living in Belpre, Ohio. His leg was amputated once again, above the knee, after his family relocated to Houston, Texas when he was nine. A year later it was discovered he had Tethered Spinal Cord Syndrome.[4] He developed bacterial spinal meningitis while recovering from the operation. In 2015 Bourns started an Amputee Tennis Program at Houston's Metropolitan Multi-Service Center. One of the first of its kind in the United States he partnered with the United States Tennis Association of Texas, (USTA). He was the first Adaptive Athlete in his category appointed to serve on a USTA committee and was charged with helping pioneer and grow the sport of tennis for amputees.[5]

He is the first person in American history to represent the United States of America competing in International adaptive standing tennis tournaments. In 2016 he helped organize the First International Adaptive Standing Tennis Tournament to take place in the United States, the USA TAP Open, with Houston, Texas playing host.[6] The USA TAP Open helped to popularize and pioneer a new category of tennis for individuals in the United States and abroad.[3][7][8]

United States adaptive standing tennis player Jeff Bourns training for the 2016 Brazil Open held in Uberlandia, Brazil.

Jeff Bourns retired ranked No. 4 in the world and top ranked American in his (TAP) classification in 2019.[9][10]

Early life[]

Bourns was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia in 1981. He spent his early years of life in Belpre, Ohio. His family relocated to Houston, Texas when he was a child. He is the oldest of three boys.

Jeff Bourns at his great grandmothers lake home in Silver Lake, Michigan in 1983.

He attended Clear Brook High School in Friendswood, Texas graduating in the year 2000. He played the Euphonium in the marching band and competed on his High School tennis team, playing against other able-bodied students. Jeff grew up in an era where Adaptive Sports were not wide spread and well known. Following high school he signed a contract as an athlete with Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics. Kevin Carroll built his first sprinting prosthesis in the year 2001.

He is a graduate of San Jacinto College.[11] While attending college he was a member of Phi Beta Lambda. He worked in the hospitality industry as a waiter and associate manager at Truluck’s restaurant and has a level one wine sommelier certification.

Jeff Bourns is the father of one child, a son. Parker Richard Bourns was born December 16, 2004 in Pasadena, Texas.

Professional career[]

He rediscovered his passion for tennis after recovering from a spinal cord injury in 2010.[12] He started a non profit organization for amputees, the Houston Amputee Society.[13] Bourns helped organize Houston’s first amputee skateboarding and WCMX clinic in March of 2013 at Lee and Joe Jamil skatepark assisted by professional skateboarder Sean Malto.[14]

Pictured- Abel Rose of Waxahachie, Texas at Houston, Texas’ first amputee skateboarding and WCMX event at Lee and Joe Jamail skate park, March 8, 2013.

Jeff Bourns found a wheelchair tennis program available at Houstons Metropolitan Multi-Service Center. Instead of playing in a wheelchair he played standing or ambulatory on his prosthesis as he did growing up. While a student in the class he searched for adaptive tennis programs for amputees who played standing. He could not find any, anywhere. In 2014 Bourns started an amputee tennis program at Houston's Metropolitan Multi-Service Center.[15][16] He partnered with the United States Tennis Association of Texas, (USTA) and city of Houston. In 2014 Bourns was selected to serve on USTA Texas' adaptive and wheelchair committee charged with helping pioneer and grow the sport of tennis for amputees.[17] He is the first person in American history to represent the United States of America competing in International adaptive standing tennis tournaments. He learned of an International adaptive standing tennis tournament to take place December 11-13, 2015 in Santiago, Chile. Bourns finished in the quarterfinals of the Masters Final TAP and began competing on the TAP World Tour in 2015.[18][19] The TAP World Tour is a competitive circuit for tennis players with physical disabilities who play tennis standing rather than in wheelchairs.

Adaptive Standing Tennis
Adaptive Standing Tennis is a form of tennis for individuals with a disability that play tennis standing, or ambulatory as opposed to playing in a wheelchair

At the Brazil Open held in Uberlandia, Brazil July 30-31, 2016 he was eliminated in the second round.[20] Bourns was instrumental to bringing the first International Adaptive Standing Tennis Tournament to the United States, the USA TAP Open where he was an organizer and player with Houston, Texas playing host.[21] The USA TAP Open acted as a springboard to popularize the growth and development of a new modality of tennis for individuals in the United States and Internationally.[22][23][24] His best International showing came at the Malmo, Open, the largest Para-Sporting event in Europe, where he was a semi-finalist.[25][26] In 2019 he played in his last tennis tournament at the Inaugural CAST Open in Greensboro, North Carolina where he was a finalist.[27][28] Jeff Bourns retired from the TAP World Tour in 2019 ranked No. 4 in the world and top ranked American in his classification(A).[29][30] He is a Babolat Brand Ambassador.

In a venture off of the court Jeff Bourns has a cast and producing credit in film in the Documentary Film Tin Soldiers.[31] The film is a look into the world of adaptive sports, where athletes with spina bifida, cerebral palsy, amputations or paralysis find new ways to enjoy the sports they love.[32]

Bourns is a strong advocate for Adaptive Sport and physical activity for individuals with disabilities.[33][34]

Partnerships[]

Bourns began his adaptive sporting career with an athletic contract from Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics in swimming and as a sprinter from 2000 - 2002. He signed an athletic contract with New Life Brace and Limb in 2016.[35] He served as a spokesperson for Valeo Cryotherapy and Physical Therapy from 2016-2018.[36] Bourns became a Babolat endorsed athlete in 2016 and brand ambassador as a member of Babolat’s inaugural Hit Squad established in 2019.

Bourns is a Babolat Brand Ambassador and member of the Inaugural Hit Squad formed in 2019.

Bourns signed an athletic contract with Freedom Innovations in 2016.[37] He was the first Adaptive Standing Tennis player to be contracted to instruct a Gateway to Gold Paralympic tennis clinic at Lakeshore in Birmingham, Alabama with Paralympian Wheelchair tennis player Karin Korb.[38] In 2018 he was contracted to be an instructor at a Wounded Warrior Tennis camp in San Diego, California alongside United States Women’s Wheelchair Tennis coach Paul Walker[39] at Balboa Tennis Club.[40] Wayne Luckett of Louisville Prosthetics and Orthotics contracted him to work with Special Olympic Tennis champion Dionte Foster in Louisville, Kentucky.[41][42]

References[]

  1. ^ Garofalo, Suzanne (2018-09-09). "Clear Lake amputee tennis pro Jeff Bourns pushing for recognition of adaptive sport". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  2. ^ Garofalo, Suzanne (10 September 2018). "Amputee Eyes Recognition for Adaptive Tennis". Press Reader. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 1 February 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ a b "Adaptive Standing Tennis: A New Way to Play". www.usta.com. National USTA Adaptive Tennis Committee. 1 March 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ "PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions". www.pressreader.com. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  5. ^ "USTA Texas Appoints Stand-Up Amputee Tennis Player To Its Adaptive Tennis Committee". Living with Amplitude. 3 April 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Bourns, Jeff (2018-03-25). "USA TAP Open". Jeff Bourns Foundation. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  7. ^ "The Most Amazing Tennis Tournament You Will Ever See". Inside Tennis Magazine. 2017-01-20. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
  8. ^ Yumpu.com. "Tennis Community". yumpu.com. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  9. ^ "Special Olympics gold medalist receives clinical care at UofL — School of Medicine University of Louisville". louisville.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  10. ^ "TAPWORLDTOUR". www.tapworldtour.com. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  11. ^ "Sac Jacinto students take business honors". Chron. 2003-06-12. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  12. ^ "Bourns v. Hanger Prosthetics & Orthotics, Inc. et al". Justia Dockets & Filings. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  13. ^ "Non-Profit Houston Amputee Society Offers Large Social Community". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  14. ^ "Abel Rose and the Houston Amputee Society Have Formed a Partnership to Reach Larger Audiences". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  15. ^ "Adaptive & Wheelchair Tennis". Houston Tennis Association. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
  16. ^ "Contact Us". www.taaf.com. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  17. ^ "USTA Texas Appoints Stand-Up Amputee Tennis Player to its Adaptive Tennis Committee". The O&P Edge. 3 April 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  18. ^ "Stand-Up Adaptive Tennis Tournament in Chile: Incredible Talent". Amplitude. 2015-12-24. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  19. ^ Staff, Athletes Roll (2017-01-24). "Houston Tournament Shows Off New Form Of Adaptive Tennis". Athletes Roll. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  20. ^ "Brazil Serves Up International Stand-up Tennis Tournament". Amplitude. 2016-08-17. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
  21. ^ "Adaptive & Wheelchair Tennis". Houston Tennis Association. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  22. ^ Bourns, Jeff (2019-09-11). "Adaptive Standing Tennis in the United States". Jeff Bourns Foundation. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  23. ^ "TAP World Amputee Tennis Tournament". CW39 Houston. 2017-12-11. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
  24. ^ "Stand Up Tennis Empowers". video.search.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  25. ^ Dencker, Torbjörn (2020-02-19). "Paratennisrådet bildat: "Vi kommer bli missionärer för tennisen"". Svenska Tennisförbundet (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  26. ^ "Madrid TC (Single Physical Disabled (Standing)) - Tennis - Malmo Open 2018 Results". results.cupmanager.net. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
  27. ^ Greensboro, Amanda Lehmert City of. "Greensboro to host first Carolinas Adaptive Standing Tennis Tournament". Greensboro News and Record. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  28. ^ "US Marine and Adaptive Tennis Player Damian Wright". Adaptive Tennis US. 2021-08-31. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  29. ^ "Returning to Tennis after Amputation". www.usta.com. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  30. ^ "Speakers at the Houston Abilities Expo". www.abilities.com. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  31. ^ "Jeff Bourns". IMDb. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  32. ^ "Prime Video: Tin Soldiers". www.primevideo.com. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  33. ^ "Adaptive-Movement / Parkour Director a Pioneer in New Project for Amputees and Spinal Cord Injuries". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
  34. ^ "Abel Rose and the Houston Amputee Society Have Formed a Partnership to Reach Larger Audiences". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
  35. ^ "Prosthetics – New Life Brace & Limb". Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  36. ^ Jeff Bourns and Valeo Cryo, retrieved 2022-01-31
  37. ^ "Home". maverick-mayhem. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  38. ^ "Lakeshore Tennis Opportunities - Lakeshore Foundation". Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  39. ^ "US Open Interview: Paul Walker". US Open. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  40. ^ "Column: Powerful lesson at Wounded Warrior Tennis Camp: 'I'm not alone'". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2018-05-09. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  41. ^ "Free Fitness Prosthetic Leg for Special Olympics Amputee Tennis Player from St. Kitts and Nevis". SpecialOlympics.org. 2018-10-01. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  42. ^ Kappes, Hayley (2018-10-03). "Special Olympics gold medalist receives clinical care at UofL | UofL News". UofLNews. Retrieved 2022-01-05.

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