Photo retrieved from http://www.rollingrizzlies.org/
Last month, I attended a practice for the Memphis Rollin' Grizzlies, Memphis' nationally ranked wheelchair basketball team. During this experience, we had the opportunity to watch a team of men, some who always use wheelchairs and others who do not use a wheelchair other than when they play on the team, practice different basketball drills and scrimmage each other during their off season. I really loved getting to sit in on one of these practices because I have never experienced anything like this before. The amount of athleticism, strength, endurance, and strategy necessary to play on this team was so impressive and awe-inspiring. I chose to write about this experience because it impacted me in a way that changed how I viewed those who use a wheelchair and how their use of a wheelchair impacts their leisure occupations. These men put their all into playing and didn't hold back in the least bit, which was so fun to watch. This experience tied really well into our neuro course. For example, we were able to see how the level of their spinal cord injury played into their ability on the court. All of these men used wheelchairs with lower backs so that they could be more mobile with their upper bodies. I think this experience was a wonderful example of how traces of occupational therapy can be seen outside of OT services. These men were using their occupation of playing basketball to enhance many areas of their lives including their physicality, social connections, and mental health. I would absolutely recommend this experience to anyone because it is truly an inspiring game to watch, and will certainly make anyone recognize that a person in a wheelchair is just as capable at living life to the fullest as someone who happens to not be in a wheelchair.
Home. (n.d.). Retrieved May 24, 2017, from http://www.rollingrizzlies.org/
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