Meet Adaptive Athlete: STEPHEN ONLEY

SGT Stephen Onley, US Army, Ret. grew up in a mountain town in upstate New York. He was surrounded by lakes and spent a lot of his childhood swimming and exploring, but also got into skateboarding and baseball. After graduating high school in 2005, he enrolled in college, but decided to transition into the workforce. 

Stephen enlisted in the Army in 2008, where he served as a Human Intelligence Collector. His first deployment was a combat tour to Afghanistan one year after his enlistment. Stephen returned safely, but was injured shortly after while jumping out of a plane in a training incident. He endured pain for years following, but toughed it out so he could continue to serve. Ultimately, his body couldn’t handle it anymore and he needed surgery to fuse three discs in his neck. This led to his medical retirement in 2015.

Stephen still experiences daily pain which severely impacts his quality of life. His goal is to find a routine to manage his pain levels and find avenues to better himself, whether that’s through nutrition, mindset, or physically. All of this directly impacts his ultimate calling to better himself as a father to his 10 year old daughter.