With support from local sponsor and a winning coach, Dublin local Michael Godfrey hopes to turn his determination into Olympic gold as he heads to the paralympics in Tokyo for table tennis competition.
Godfrey’s driven nature dates back to his high school days in Arlington, where he won two regional titles in rodeo that got him into the Texas State Finals.
He was riding bulls in the Professional Cowboys Rodeo Association Tour by his early 20’s, but his career ambitions were cut short on Feb. 6, 1996 when he rode #56-a Wayne Volds’ finals bull out of Canada.
“I broke my neck in El Paso, Texas,” Godfrey reported. “The break was at the C5-C6 level, leaving me a quadriplegic.”
He lost the use of his body below his pectoral muscles but that didn’t kill the drive to challenge himself. While in rehabilitation, Godfrey saw people playing wheelchair sports and one in particular: ping pong. Godfrey had played the game in the past and thought he could try his hand there.
“The first three years, I couldn’t afford to play,” he remembered, pointing to fees associated with travel, meals equipment and more. “It was too damn expensive.”
The USA Table Tennis does not provide funding for training or travel, so it’s on the players to cover the costs, which can add up.
Godfrey moved to Dublin from Arlington in 1999 after marrying his second wife, Krisi. After the move, he started doing rehab at Tarleton.
It is on his homestead near Dublin where he is now raising cattle with 50 commercial cows and 50 bucking bulls currently on the property.
“Praise God I got introduced to the cattle business,” Godfrey said, adding that it made some of the costs associated with tournament play possible.
His first tournament was in New Zealand and the appearance cost him $5,000. Godfrey took a 12 year hiatus, which included a bid for the Paralympics in swimming, which ultimately didn’t materialize.
He returned to table tennis play in 2012 with an appearance at a tournament in Costa Rica.
Also present at that tournament was Argentina’s Eli Gerardo Bustillos, a coach who would become Godfrey’s own coach 10 years later.
Eli said he could see the determination in Michael, but also saw that he needed training.
As a coach, Eli led a Venezuela player to the Olympics in 2012 and the Argentina team to the Olympics in 2016. Now, he is helping guide Godfrey to victory.
Eli had contacted Michael after being let go as a coach for Argentina.
“I asked Siri what the average pay of an Elementary teacher was,” Godfrey remembered. “He said I’ll take it.”
Since that 2012 tournament, Godfrey’s life had led him away from the sport and back to it. Godfrey started winning medals at tournaments around the world until 2015 when tragedy struck.
Michael and his wife, Krisi, lost two of the children from Michael’s first marriage to Cystic Fibrosis.
Godfrey played less of the sport in 2015-2016. He signed on to Pathways Core Training in Irving after the loss of his second child. Pathways offers experience based training to get people past barriers in their life, aligning habits and relationships to values in an effort to create a life plan for a positive future.
Godfrey’s new outlook brought him back to competition and he rose through the ranks to No. 1 in the USA and No. 25 worldwide in Class 1 Singles through appearances around the world. This record included silvers in two U.S. Opens which got him a free ticket to Italy for a four-day international tournament.
As in all things, Godfrey was aided in this busy schedule by the support of Krisi. His wife joked in a previous interview that she had become a pretty good travel agent, packing vital items and helping in transportation. Godfrey ensures there’s enough time to do some sightseeing when they travel as a way of saying thanks.
The wins also put him on track for competing in the 2020 Paralympics in Japan representing the United States.
“After nine years of trying to make the national team, I finally did,” he said.
Eli joined Mike at his Dublin home in January for six months of training, averaging 27 hours per week.
Godfrey got to Lasko, Slovenia for the Paralympic Qualifiers Tournament at the beginning of June. Although he didn’t win, he raised enough eyebrows to get into the Paralympics as a wild card.
In his game against the winner, Dmitry Lavrov, he won the first round, lost the second and third and was leading the fourth until two serves gave Lavrov the edge.
In his next game, Godfrey lost 3-2.
“They always beat me 3-0 before,” Godfrey said of his growth, which was aided in part by a ping pong ball pitching robot that local sponsors helped him purchase for his practice room.
Currently, Eli is working with his player on consistency, getting Mike to serve and return balls to specific areas of the table in training that lasts 6 to 7 hours each day.
Team Mike is also working on getting their internal clocks ready for Tokyo and have started going to bed at 7 p.m. (Japan is 14 hours ahead of local time.)
Team Mike aims to be in Tokyo on Aug. 18 so they can get acclimated before the big game.
Godfrey noted that the last time the Olympics were in Japan was in 1964-the year he was born. Godfrey’s road to the game has been long and winding, but he got there through determination and the support of his loved ones and neighbors.
Those who would like to help Godfrey with the costs can donate on Krisi Cook Godfrey’s Facebook page or by mailing a check to 3201 FM 1496, Dublin, TX 76446.