Rollin with the Grizzlies

Our class had the opportunity to attend a Rollin Grizzlies basketball practice last week.  I had never seen wheelchair basketball played before only seen videos, but I knew to expect it to be physical and intense.  The players were very welcoming and the coach gave us the opportunity to ask any questions.  The rules are strict when it comes to shooting the ball and there is expected to be no physical contact while a player is shooting, including hitting chairs. They have to dribble the ball for every two rolls of their wheelchair and that seemed to be second nature to them.  One of the coolest parts to me was watching them do suicides.  They were so fast and stopped and turned right back around when the whistle blew.  I asked the coach about what that will do to your hands and he said after playing a while you build up calluses.  I am sure those first few practices are rough though!  The coach told us that they did so well last year that they were recently bumped up to the next division.  I can see why after watching them scrimmage.  The team had good chemistry and even though they were playing each other you could tell that they worked well as a team. 

At the end of their practice we got to try it out in their chairs that they use to play.  Respect.  I struggled to roll and hold the ball at the same time, let alone shoot it.  They had players on the team making three-pointers and really good plays.  I would suggest going to a game or practice for anyone and hope to attend a game in the future. Having more accessibility to adaptive sports is something that I think more cities should strive for because that could be a barrier for people wanting to participate.  This may be something I am interested in doing when I am a practicing OT.