The shouts and squeals of 30 children echo down the hall. Robbie Thomas wheels into the room, his first-graders crowding around him to say good morning. As Thomas gets ready for another physical education class at Parkridge Elementary School, Stafford, VA, his students fidget eagerly on the floor.

Working as a full-time PE teacher, however, isn't enough to satisfy Thomas. He also coaches varsity soccer at Stafford High School in the late afternoons and plays wheelchair basketball and tennis in his spare time. When he leads his young charges around the gym, they can't keep up with him, and when he plays goalkeeper during soccer practices with his strapping adolescents, the opposing team rarely gets a shot past him.

Thomas has always been sports oriented-he was an avid soccer player and captain of his high school varsity team. One night, in his senior year of high school, he went out drinking with his teammates, and then drove while intoxicated. The ensuing accident left him an "incomplete paraplegic," with very limited use of his left leg, and no feeling or movement in his right leg.

Despite his optimistic spirit, Thomas thought his sports' days were over. "I told my dad to take down the basketball hoop that was in my backyard. At that point I thought I'd never play basketball again."

It wasn't long before Thomas realized he was wrong. "It was roughly a year later that I went to see a wheelchair basketball game and thought, 'Hey, I could add something to that. I used to do all this. Why shouldn't I still?' That's when I started getting my competitive frame of mind back. I started playing basketball vigorously, and soon after, tennis."

Thomas earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from Radford College. He worked for two summers at a camp for children with disabilities. "It was a great experience. It showed me that I could really handle kids-whatever their age group, whatever their frame of mind." He also met Julie, his wife-to-be, a fellow counselor at the camp.

In his PE class, while teaching a circular arm motion, he puts a student on his lap, going through the movements with him. Thomas often puts his arm around a child, to encourage or to reprimand. "A gentle touch on the shoulder or on the back lets the student know that you're standing or sitting right there with him or her, and you're very aware of everything he or she is doing." Because his chair seats him at their eye level, Thomas has a greater intimacy with the children than if he were standing. He says that being in a wheelchair can be an advantage in a classroom. "The kids, even my soccer team, tend to be much more receptive to what I have to say. I have fewer problems with control that some other teachers I've seen."

The wheelchair has been another type of teaching tool as well. "It's not every day that you go into a classroom and your teacher is in a wheelchair. For me, it has led to more openness. Kids feel freer to ask me questions, or just to talk to me in general."

For many students, this is their first chance to get to know a person who has a disability. "They are very interested in how I do things, how I get along, how I drive." Thomas shakes his head and smiles. "They do ask, 'Mr. Thomas, how do you go to the bathroom?' That's a classic. There isn't a first grader alive who hasn't asked me that question. The only thing you can say is 'the same way you do.'"

Steve Butters, Thomas's former supervisor at Stafford Elementary, has been pleased about working with him. "Thomas's approach is just the sort principals like. His PE classes are very activity oriented-all the kids are involved 100% of the time." It's not merely his teaching, however, that has won over Thomas's colleagues, Butters says. "he's always positive about things, he always has a smile on his face. Lots of times, when you're in a building all day, and you've got a stressful job, it's easy to complain about it. But he is one of those people who never complains. I think that's to his credit, too."

After spending the day in class, Thomas sees the kids off during his daily bus duty. Thomas then heads for his car, already thinking about soccer practice ahead. He switches easily from his elementary students to his high school team. He teases the older boys about girls and goads them to run faster and push harder. The players appreciate his soccer ability and coaching skills. "Coach Thomas really knows the game. He understands us, because he's a player," says one team member.

Thomas will try anything once, just to see if he can do it. He doesn't believe in obstacles or limitations and advises others to feel the same. "Don't limit yourself. The only way to find out if you can do something is to try it. You can't say 'I can't' until you've proven it."

Thomas says, "I've hit some walls, but I've been able to get over them, There's always an alternative way of doing something. If you can't walk, you use a wheelchair. If one method of teaching doesn't work, switch to another. It's the same for any occupation. You can find a way to do whatever it is you want to do-if you want to do it badly enough."