Who am I?

I am Yannick Paredis, born on March 7, 2004, and I live in Budel (North Brabant, the Netherlands). My biggest hobby: table tennis. 

I have a neurological condition called generalized dystonia. Dystonia literally translates to a disorder in the tension of a muscle (= tonus). The muscle tension is often too high, but at other times normal. Because the muscles are controlled by the brain, it is a neurological condition and not, as often thought, a muscle disease.

I attended a regular school until group 3 (elementary school). When I was 5 years old, the symptoms of dystonia first became visible. From group 4 onwards, I went to the Mytylschool in Eindhoven. A school for students with a functional disability. In the years I attended the Mytylschool, my disability worsened, and I ended up in a wheelchair. At the age of eight, I underwent deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery at the University Medical Center Groningen. A treatment for movement symptoms of dystonia. In DBS therapy, a neurostimulator is implanted, similar to a pacemaker, which delivers electrical pulses to specific target areas in the brain. The result of this is very good and ensures that I have much less trouble with movement disorders. It is not completely gone, and especially under stress, I regularly suffer from cramps, and my speech is still affected by the dystonia.

Until it was no longer possible, I continued to play sports. I first played soccer at the local soccer club and later with a G-team (team for people with disabilities). At some point, soccer was no longer an option, despite the positive result of the surgery. My father played table tennis, and through him, I started trying it too. In the first year, I trained fanatically with my father, and soon I reached the level to play competitions at table tennis club Budilia in Budel. Apparently, I had a talent for it. A table tennis player saw me play and asked if I had ever heard of para table tennis. She herself had participated in the Paralympic Games, and I became enthusiastic. This led me to play para tournaments at the national level, and now, except for the Dutch National Championships, I play at the international level.

I have now left Budel and since 2023, I have been playing for table tennis club Boxtel in the national competition. After primary education at the Mytylschool, I pursued a regular secondary education. I obtained my VMBO (pre-vocational secondary education) diploma, career-oriented pathway, in June 2020 at Helicon Eindhoven, and my MBO 4 (senior secondary vocational education) diploma in Business administration and control specialist in July 2023 at Rijnijssel in Arnhem. In September 2023, I started my HBO (higher professional education) in Sports Studies.

I combine school with training sessions at the Topsportcentrum Papendal, where I train many hours very hard with the Dutch national team, under the guidance of professional coaches. 

The goal of this hard work: Paralympic Games 2028 in Los Angeles.