More Than a Coach: Michael Frogley’s Mission to Empower Others

CAO’s Empowering Stories from Behind the Bench article series – National AccessAbility Week 2026

“Choosing things that are difficult to accomplish, and getting them done, moves you forward in life”

By David Grossman

He has an addiction.

There is no undisclosed or concealed secret behind his obsession.

In fact, Michael (Frog) Frogley is quite open about it.

His fixation is too straightforward. It’s to be successful – and try to persuade others to take a similar approach in their daily lives.

Known by his colleagues, athletes and many followers by his nickname “Frog”, he has a work ethic – and not a replacement for it. Talent, education and hard work are part of his daily formula but so are critical items like integrity, respect, being selfless and his curiosity which can often amount to lots of questions.

Frogley is also adamant about the importance of discipline, and especially as it relates to the world of sports. It’s a word he targets in his dealing with coaches and athletes. As he puts it, “(discipline) is hard, but choosing things that are difficult to accomplish, and getting them done, moves you forward in life”.

Born into a military family in the charming seaside community of Summerside, Prince Edward Island, home for him has changed numerous times – and especially when he continued in his father’s footsteps with admiration and a fondness for being in the Canadian military.

A graduate of Colonel By Secondary School in Ottawa, Frogley struggled to find a career path. Fond of business, math and economics, he spent two years at Carleton University, but opted for the military reserve.

Frogley was a robust kind of dude, super competitive in his teenage years as a macho jock, and like most people his age. But life changed for him on the evening of June 18, 1986. It was a weekend break from the military and the 22-year-old Frogley, along with friends, made a last-minute decision to head to a family cottage near Kazabazua, a small village in Quebec and about a one-hour drive northwest of Ottawa.

“I was driving my sports car, went into a ditch, the car rolled and I broke my back,” he recalled. “I was unconscious, paralysed from the chest down and doctors at the old Civic Hospital in Ottawa told me I wouldn’t walk again. I didn’t have a picture of the future. It was like stepping in to a room with lights off and adjusting to darkness.

“You think you’re always invincible, that things happen to other people, but when it hits home you realize that it’s not a dream but worse. Fortunately, my friends were safe, but my accident put me in a wheelchair for life.”

Frogley wants to be understood, has opinions on many things, but clearly has a message for young people that things can happen to anyone when they’re not careful.

Getting on with his life, days of rehabilitation, Frogley had far too many questions without answers. His fondness for the military took a jolt – and, especially, an opportunity to work in the navy.

“I knew my military career wasn’t going to go well,” he said. “I figured wheelchairs are not really accessible in submarines.”

Frogley had time in the hospital to think about just exactly what his future would be.

“While recovering, I knew I was paralysed and wondered what I could do going forward – and not what I can’t do,” he said. “That’s when I turned those personal lights back on. I was at the rehab centre, while my house was being made accessible, and connected with wheelchair basketball.”

Frogley wrestled in high school, but there had also been a fondness for basketball which he learned at age 10. A local club had heard about him, and it didn’t take long for Frogley to find a place to shoot baskets at the rehabilitation centre. In 1988, his competitive career started with the Ottawa Royals.

“There came a time when I realized my playing days were done, so I figured why not coach,” he said. “So, I approached the staff at Colonel By. They knew my situation and that I wanted a chance to help. I wanted them to see me and even though I was in a chair, I wanted to prove that I could make the athletes better.”

Things didn’t go well at first and Frogley admitted he wasn’t a great coach, but passion and perseverance took over. In 1989, he coached the junior boys’ basketball team to a Carleton Board of Education championship.

“I love coaching – more than playing,” said the 62-year-old Frogley, who has been coaching sport for 40 years with his experience including playing on Canada’s National team at the 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona where the team finished fourth.

After playing that year, he coached at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for four years. While coaching, he finished his Master of Science in Education degree at the same university. After his degree, Frogley moved on to the University of Illinois- Urbana/Champaign where he coached for a remarkable 17 years.

“When you coach, you work with athletes – some more talented than others,” said Frogley, who along with his wife, have three children. “When you work with struggling athletes and see them succeed, there’s a sparkle and I can see them building self-esteem and knowing they accomplished something big because of hard work and effort.”

While his first gold medal may have come at the Stoke Mandeville World Games in Stoke Mandeville, England in 1989, there came a time when he would end his playing career. Frogley then became the head coach of the Men’s National Team from 1996-2004.

He guided Canada to Paralympic success for the first time in program history with back-to-back gold medals in 2000 and 2004. Frogley also served as an assistant coach in 2006 as the Canadian men won their first World Championship title. Two years later, they added a Paralympic silver.

Humble and preferring to shine the light on people he has coached, Frogley has been inducted into the Wheelchair Basketball Hall of Fame and was the recipient of a special Leadership Award for long-term leadership and development in the Junior program of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association.

Looking back, Frogley has become a leader, a trailblazer and a mentor who is still involved in the development of the sport at all levels.

“I have always tried to be the best I can,” said Frogley, who now lives in Whitby and has been involved in sports consulting with targeted wheelchair programs. “To do everything to the best of my ability. My parents taught me that and, as a coach, that’s what I tell others in schools, clubs as well as national and provincial programs.”

As part of its popular feature story series “Empowering Stories from Behind the Bench”, the Coaches Association of Ontario is sharing Frogley’s story on National Access Ability Week (NAAW) in Canada. 

It’s an annual event held this year from May 31 to June 6 to celebrate the contributions of people with disabilities and to promote barrier-free communities creating a more inclusive society. The week includes Red Shirt Day where people wear red to show support for persons with disabilities and their families.

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David Grossman is a veteran multi award-winning Journalist and Broadcaster with some of Canada’s major media, including the Toronto Star and SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN, and a Public Relations professional for 45+ years in Canadian sports and Government relations.

“I love coaching – more than playing. When you work with athletes and see them succeed, there’s a sparkle.”