Courage Center Ski Program Builds Confidence, Shares Fun
“I think some of my confidence in skiing carries over into life in general,” said Joe Dertinger. “It helps me think, ‘If I can do this, I can do anything.’”
Impressive introspection from one so young. At 14, Joe exemplifies that wonderful kaleidoscope of qualities that defines youthful adolescence – everything from spontaneous action to spot-on self awareness. He is the sum of his parts, and his parts include a supportive twin sister and parents, a family culture of volunteerism, a penchant for skiing and love of rugged sports, and a prosthetic leg.
“When Joe was 15 months old, he had surgery at Shriner’s Hospital for Children to remove a small foot on his right leg and to separate two fingers that were webbed together,” explained his mom, Sue Dertinger. Two months later, he received his first prosthetic leg. When Joe figured out what he could do wearing the leg, he just took off and hasn't slowed down yet.”
When Joe and his twin sister, Johanna, were in first grade, Joe’s prosthetist at Shriner's mentioned Courage Center’s ski program. “He and his wife had been volunteers with the program for years,” said Sue. “We checked into it, loved it, and have been involved ever since.”
“I’ve been in the racing program the last four years, and it’s loads of fun!” said Joe. “It's something you can always get better at. For example, I recently started doing a tuck at the end of the run to get faster times.” Joe doesn’t use adaptive ski equipment. “Just regular skis and poles,” he said.
Competitive by nature? Oh, yeah. “I always want to be the best at whatever I do,” Joe said. “Like in kickball in gym class. I always wanted to kick the ball further than the more athletic kids. I kick better with my prosthetic leg, so I’d kick as hard as I could, and almost every time my leg would fly half way across the gym!”
Sports and volunteering go hand in hand for the Dertinger family. Dad, Mike, explained. “When the twins signed up for T-ball with the Community Education Program in Waconia, I learned the program needed coaches. Once I started, I loved it. Since then, I’ve been coaching the kids in softball, baseball and volleyball – in summer, sometimes four nights a week.”
Mike and Joe have been involved with the Courage Center Ski & Snow Board program for eight years, and the racing program for four. Mike is also a 21-year member of the Waconia Fire Department.
Equally involved in skiing is Joe’s twin sister, Johanna. “My dad’s volunteering with Courage Center looked fun to me, so I asked when I could start doing that. I became a ski-buddy volunteer four years ago when I was 10.” A ski-buddy volunteer helps skiers with disabilities experience the joys of skiing by assisting them before, after, and on the slopes.
Johanna volunteers because she believes that all people, whether they have a disability or not, should be able to do what they enjoy. “Just seeing the smiles on their faces after every ski run makes all the training we volunteers do worth the effort,” Johanna said. “All the volunteers know they did their jobs every time they see those smiles.”
As for the future, Joe has his sights set on college in Colorado (where the skiing is great), and hopes to design parts for prosthetics. “Even now I have an idea for a new kind of prosthetic part,” he said. “People tell me, ‘You should design parts because you know what works and how a prosthetic leg feels better than any of us.’ I’ve broken parts in nearly every device I’ve had – even the ones that were supposed to be unbreakable – so my goal is to invent, as my mom puts it, ‘a Joey-proof leg.’”
It won’t be soon enough: Joe’s additional sports endeavors include football and BMX (which stands for bicycle motocross) racing, an extremely physical sport pitting contenders against each other and the clock on dirt tracks with dangerous twists, turns and jumps.
Yet, his first love is skiing. “All the people you meet and places you go – that’s the best part of skiing with Courage Center,” he said. “I have met the nicest people on ski hills – and even some off the hill. I’m hoping to go to the Paralympics some day. That, to me, would be living the dream.”