Courtesy Photo | Players tip off during a wheelchair basketball exhibition game March 28 at Cpl. Terry...... read more read more
JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. - Civilians, service members and those wounded in battle united to watch and participate in a wheelchair basketball exhibition game at Cpl. Terry L. Smith Gymnasium on the Henderson Hall portion of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall. Before the Joint Military team wheeled out against members of the nationally-ranked National Rehabilitation Hospital Ambassador squad March 28, the crowd was given a wheelchair basketball tutorial and were encouraged with a pre-game pep talk from retired Army Col. Gregory D. Gadsen.
Along with the game, the sport of basketball received a new perspective when able-bodied service members and civilians were given opportunities to take a wheelchair seat and maneuver the hardwood and take some shots.
“You have to use your arms to do everything,” said Navy spectator Lt. Max Kojm after a few minutes of the wheelchair workout. “I’ve played basketball before, but you [in the chair] have to get used to the height difference to shoot.”
While performing some fast-break drills for the spectators, NRH wheelchair warrior Anthony Caparello taught a quick lesson about playing defense in a wheelchair.
“The most important thing is communication,” he said. “We have to know where each other are on the court. It’s important to keep both hands on your chair. If you reach for the ball, your opponent will go right by you."
Another facet that adds a different wrinkle to the wheelchair game is the advancement of the basketball.
Wheelchair players are allowed to hand pump their wheels twice in succession but then must dribble, pass or shoot.
Other than that, the game is the same as Gadsen, a double above-the-knee amputee, pointed out to the crowd before tipoff.
“The height of the goal [in wheelchair basketball] is the same height of the goal in the Final Four tournament and the same goal height that the pros play,” Gadsen said. “The only difference is someone is shooting a jump shot without legs. That takes a lot of strength; that takes a lot of perseverance; that takes a lot of courage.”
During his talk to the crowd, Gadsen, who lost his legs in 2007 when a roadside explosive detonated in Iraq, also stated that he prefers a different term other than wounded warrior.
“So, the term wounded warrior; I prefer the term warrior because I am always a warrior and I will always be a warrior,” said Gadsen, who used wheelchair basketball as part of his rehabilitation at Bethesda’s Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. “I just happened to get wounded seven years ago. That’s behind me, and although my wounds are permanent, I don’t choose to be defined by those wounds.”
After a half of play, NRH led the joint warriors, 16-4, and during the second half, line ups were mixed with spectators and teammates became the opposition in the exhibition.
| Date Taken: | 03.28.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.02.2015 15:26 |
| Story ID: | 158984 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 46 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Wheelchairs collide at exhibition basketball game held at Smith Gym, by Jim Dresbach, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT