Jacquelyn Brazzale is a junior journalism major and writes ‘Let Me Try’ for the Daily News. Her views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Jacquelyn at jrbrazzale@bsu.edu.
It is in my nature never to quit. I am an athlete at heart, with a competitive streak that makes my brother and sister hesitate to play a game of Monopoly with me.
So, naturally, as I returned for my second week of wheelchair basketball and attached the wheels to the shiny red seat of the #15 chair, I was determined to improve my performance.
As I pushed myself in a pregame lap around the court, I noticed some familiar faces from the first week mixed with hesitant new faces attempting to put their chairs together for the first time. Basically a rookie myself, I offered the only advice I am qualified to give: “Don’t roll backwards unless you want to end up on the ground.”
The teams warmed up with a simple lay up drill that was made more complicated by the chairs clumsily crashing into each other like a game of bumper cars. I should have been listening to the tips from the more experienced players on the best way to put the ball through the hoop, but I was distracted by the amount of students that continued to show up.
A group of eight players walked in, six being able-bodied students.
A natural question arose.
What is the reasoning behind these students strapping themselves into a chair to play a game of basketball, and what keeps them returning each week?
Alex Wallace, a sports and exercise psychology and counseling graduate student, said it was the opportunity to immerse himself in a culture he has worked with before. Wallace had the opportunity to work with disabled students through his program, but playing wheelchair basketball gives him a small taste of the limitations some disabled students face.
“The first draw was an opportunity to experience a culture I’ve never experienced and embraced myself in that culture,” Wallace said. “Week two coming back, you know, it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed my time out there.”
Ball State’s team is still in its infancy with only four semesters in existence. But, the league continues to grow with students like Nick Rogell, who made his way into a chair after curiosity got the best of him.
“I saw it last week while I was playing basketball on one of the other courts, and I thought it was going to be an interesting experience,” said Rogell, a counseling psychology graduate student.
At the end of my second night, I had barely improved, but like Wallace, I too have an itch to return to the chair for another game.
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