Memphis Rollin' Grizzlies

     Last week, some of our class went to watch a practice of the Memphis Rollin' Grizzlies, a local wheelchair basketball team. The team is made up of men with varying levels of disability and a wide variety of ages. The coach- who used to play on the team- talked to us quite a bit to tell us more about wheelchair basketball and answer our questions. We learned that there are different levels that wheelchair basketball teams can play on competitively, and the Rollin' Grizzlies are on a fairly high level and do well in this level. Watching the team practice was very interesting, but also not much different from a non-wheelchair basketball practice. Just like any other basketball team, the players were not afraid to play hard and run into each other, and we saw quite a few players fall over in their wheelchairs. While this made a lot of us students pretty nervous, the players did not seem too phased and just got back up, often with the help of other players (again, not unlike what you see in a "typical" basketball team).
     We also got the chance to try out the sport at the end of the practice. This was a lot of fun and showed us how hard it is to play basketball in a wheelchair. While I am definitely not good at basketball anyways, I found out that it was even harder to shoot while sitting in a wheelchair. You are not able to get momentum from bending your knees and pushing off the ground like you would while standing up. It was also very difficult to maneuver the wheelchair while also controlling the ball, and I can imagine it may take awhile to get the hang of that. The players were all so friendly and encouraging while we tried our hand at this sport that they are all fantastic at.
      The biggest takeaway I got from watching this practice and then participating is that these guys are really no different than regular basketball players. I think that I sometimes start to feel sorry for people with disabilities and forget that they are people outside of their wheelchairs or other assistive devices, with different hobbies, talents, and interests. While we need to keep in mind any specific precautions for people in wheelchairs, we also need to remember that they are not glass dolls and they may be comfortable being rough and occasionally falling over. It is so important to recognize clients as their own individual and not just see them as a disability, condition, or illness.