Wheelchair tennis is a relatively new sport for Thomas Venos, who hits the court every day, looking to improve his game.

"Right now I'd say my serve is really good, along with my attacking shots, but I still have to get more consistent and faster," Venos told CTV News.

The 20-year-old is a natural athlete and team leader, who has his sights set on some big competitions - like this summer's Parapan American Games.

But tennis wasn't his first love.

Growing up, his passion was soccer and baseball, but that dream ended after a tragic accident at his family cabin.

"It was May 17, 2015, two days before my birthday. I was dirt biking. Me and my brother made a time trial course and on one of the laps I crashed somehow," Venos recalls. "I don't remember anything about how it happened."

The accident left Venos paralyzed and he spent the next four months recovering at Vancouver General Hospital and the G.F. Strong Centre.

The teen broke his T13 vertebra -- something most people don't have.

Venos was born with an extra one, and joked he was able to get rid of it because of the accident.

It's positivity like that has helped Venos recover quickly.

"For the first couple days, I was really upset," he said. "Then that was it like, I decided I had to move on and do new things."

One of those new things was wheelchair tennis.

Venos got involved with BC Wheelchair Sports after his mom encouraged him to come watch a tournament. That led to him playing because the team was short a player.

"They only had three juniors, and I was still a junior at the time, so they needed a fourth and my mom asked if I could play," Venos said. "At first I played the number one junior in the world, that was pretty good, I got seven points (laugh) my goal was to get one point, and after that they kept inviting me to play."

Venos soon joined Team Canada, and then the University of Alabama, where he recently helped the team win a national title.

"Before, I was never going to go to a university in the states and compete with a massive school like Alabama, and competing internationally, that probably wouldn't have happen either, but it's pretty cool," Venos said.

His part-time coach, Matt Bees, feels the sky's the limit for Venos.

"He's got great power, a good brain, knows where to place it and his speed is incredible. He can get end-to-end in no time at all, plus his power and precision, he can hit it almost anywhere and his speed makes it hard for anyone else to get there," Bees told CTV News.

Venos will find out in July if he makes the Canadian roster at this year's Parapan American Games in Peru, if that happens expect to see him serving for game point.