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Watching your children play sports can evoke a wide range of emotions, and for Colleen Riley, the feeling on Monday was joy.
Riley, 45, of O'Fallon, Mo., is the mother of four adopted children with special needs. This week they are participating in the St. Louis Society's sports camp for youth with physical disabilities. The camp is a highly anticipated event in Riley's household.
"The kids get to play, and they aren't looked at as disabled for the entire week. For them, that's a big deal," she said.
Susan Weich
June 3, 2009
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Wheelchair basketball squad teaches lesson
By Mick Garry
February 10th, 2008
Recently in Vermillion, I was part of a group of coaches, teachers and assorted bargain-brand luminaries attempting to take on the Red Dawgs, a youth wheelchair basketball team based out of Omaha.
The Red Dawgs range in age from early elementary to high school, and include both boys and girls. They play in regional and national tournaments throughout the year and have one of the top wheelchair youth programs in the country.
During pregame, the "Vermillion All-Stars," as we'd generously been labeled, took turns heaving balls at the basket while sitting in the chairs. At the other end of the DakotaDome court, the Red Dawgs ran plays and did drills while their coaches barked out instructions.
By ken Pagan
February 4th, 2008
Cortney Benedict, co-ordinator for the Bridging the Gap program which promotes wheelchair sports opportunities for youths, said if just one person becomes interested, then the program is working.
A few local youths showed interest during Saturday's introductory wheelchair sports session at the North Bay YMCA, including 11-year-old Taylor Stinson.
Taylor, a Grade 6 student at South Shore Education Centre, spent the afternoon learning the basics of wheelchair tennis and basketball, before spending more than half an hour playing a scrimmage basketball game against her pesky nine-year-old brother, Quincy.
By Megan Lee
January 29th, 2008
The Pros met the Joes last Tuesday as the Oklahoma City Blazers took on the Oklahoma Blaze junior wheelchair basketball team for a competition benefiting the Blaze organization.
The annual match has been held between the two teams for almost a decade and activities include a silent auction to benefit the Blaze team and its members.
'Mighty' Marty Standish is no stranger to this game. This was the Blazers' star center's seventh time to participate in the match.
"I think it's a fun promotion, and it really gives back to the community," Standish said.
Press Release
January 22nd, 2008
(January 18, 2008/South Lake Tahoe) Adaptive Action Sports (AAS), a California based non-profit that champions “action sports” as a rehabilitative and social inclusion tool for youth and young adults living with permanent physical disabilities, is proud to announce its presence at the 2008 ESPN Winter X-Games.
In response to an invitation from Team ESPN, AAS will provide a booth at the events and will field three permanently disabled athletes in the games: Zack Brodrick, Bibian Mentel and Thayne Mahler.
Zack will be racing for the second year in the Mono-Ski Cross event at Winter X. Zack was paralyzed at age 16 when an axel fell and crushed him while he was working underneath his truck. When you see him tackling the jumps, berms and speed in the Mono-Cross X, you’ll agree that, though he is confined to a wheelchair, “disabled” is a misnomer for this young man.
By Sue Ann Carpenter
January 14th, 2008
Highlands Today
LAKE PLACID — John Komasa likes to scuba dive, ride a bike, read and just get out and take walks.
Although an accountant by trade, he seems like a natural for a recreation director, and that's what he became a year and a half ago when he headed Lake Placid's parks and recreation department.
"I'm not in as good as shape as I used to be, and I took this job to get from behind the desk," he said.
Komasa's new job is not just a way for him to be more physically fit. He's also supervising some ambitious recreation projects for the town, but one venture that Komasa feels really made a difference is the new Miracle League.
The League is for those with a physical or cognitive disability that prevents them from participating in mainstream sports. It just finished its first season, attracting 70 male and female athletes from ages 3 to 68 from seven counties.
By Deanna Rose
January 13th, 2008
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The 12-year-old plays for the Sterling Heights Challengers, a basketball team that gives an opportunity to youth who can’t play the sport on a regular team because they have disabilities.
On Oct. 25, 2000, Cooper was in a car accident that rendered him unable to use his legs due to a spinal cord injury.
“When he came to this team, he was so depressed,” said his mother, Lashanda Cooper. “I can tell it makes a difference.”
For Diane Thornwell, the Challengers were also welcome find. Her 13-year-old twins Myron and Byron Hill were born with cerebral palsy, confining them to wheelchairs. As a result, the teenagers didn’t have many opportunities to become involved in sports.
Geri-Anne Zubich was born a hockey player.
The Hibbing, Minn., native hoped her children would play the game, too. But that seemed unlikely after her son, Wyatt, was born having seizures.
When he was 6 months old, the doctors said Wyatt would never walk or talk.
"Every dream I had was taken away," said Zubich, 40, of Golden Valley.
Then she learned about sled hockey - a sport nearly identical to hockey except the participants compete on sleds and are pushed or use two shortened sticks to propel themselves on the ice and to score. Zubich knew the sport would be perfect for her son.
Two years ago, she formed the Minnesota Sled Hockey Association for children and adults with disabilities. The nonprofit has attracted almost 50 adults and children from across the state. Every Sunday, the teams take to the ice in Richfield.
One player is 8-year-old Wyatt.
By Special to the Explorer
December 19th, 2007
Can you believe the holidays are here? We’re saying good-bye to 2007, and preparing to embark on a new year. Most of us are reflecting on past memories and hoping to create more beautiful ones in the future.
With the holidays upon us and resolutions being contemplated, this month I have decided to write about your U.S. Tennis Association District of Southern Arizona (SAZ) and elaborate on the numerous ways you can participate and help others.
SAZ is a volunteer-based 501-C3 organization that supports tennis throughout Southern Arizona. Currently I’m president of the group.
SAZ has offerings for players of all ages and levels. There are tournaments with separate age divisions and leagues for all levels of play, including adults (19 and up), seniors (over 50), Super Senior (over 60), mixed doubles, senior mixed doubles and more. The possibilities are endless and I know a lot of you are already a part of these programs
S.J. PROGRAM GIVES BETTER RIDES TO YOUNG DISABLED ATHLETES
By Bruce Newman
December 20th, 2007
Mercury NewsDominic's old wheelchair was the kind you see in airports and hospitals - functional, unless you happen to be a boy who dreams of playing rugby and basketball. And dancing.
"It got to the point that he wasn't really active because he was scared to go over cracks in the sidewalk or the garden hose," said Iben Rodriguez, Dominic's dad. "He was afraid of tipping over because the chair wasn't stable."
By Julie Creek
November 11th, 2007
Pulished in the Journalgazette
In 1988, Bob Burnsworth slipped on a patch of ice and fell off the roof he was repairing. The accident changed his life irrevocably, leaving him partly paralyzed and often dependent on a wheelchair.“I was trying to get used to the disabled world,” he recalled, “and I got involved with wheelchair basketball at Turnstone (Center for Disabled Children and Adults), playing with the Fort Wayne Bandits.”
His experience with the Bandits, Turnstone’s adult wheelchair basketball team, inspired Burnsworth to switch gears. He began volunteering at Turnstone, “hanging out with the kids” while earning a degree in recreational therapy. Noticing that there were no wheelchair sports programs for children and teens, he organized a wheelchair soccer team as part of his college internship
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