High-School Water Polo Star Won't Let Paralysis Keep Him Out Of The Pool

SHINGLE SPRINGS (CBS13) — For Zach Pickett, every stroke is a struggle, and every splash is an all-out effort.

He was one of the fastest swimmers in the region, until one hot August day when an accident left him paralyzed from the chest down.

Now, the 17-year-old Ponderosa High School water polo player's arms do most of the work.

He tosses the ball to his teammate with ease, and once the ball is thrown his way, he grabs, shoots and scores like a pro.

But Pickett isn't the high-school athlete he used to be—these days, he's even better, because of what he's discovered inside: The will to keep going when all is seemingly lost.

An accident in the summer of 2012 at Cameron Park Lake crushes his seventh vertebrae.

"I took two steps in the water, then dove in and his bottom," he said.

He's now paralyzed from the chest down.

But he had his sights set on an amazing goal: Getting back in the water to play a sport powered by legs.

"That was really his attitude all along, that this was not going to stop him," his mom said.

The one-time standout on his high-school team who scored 20 goals one year punched in two in the season that just ended. Those were the two best of his life.

His coach will tell you that Pickett's best is pretty darn impressive.

"No one even knows that he's injured, until he hops out of the pool," said coach Matt Jaehn. "That's how impressive he is in there."

Before his accident, Pickett was on track to get a water polo scholarship. That won't happen now, but with a GPA well over 4.0, he might just nab an academic one.