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WHEELCHAIR RUGBY/PAT
MARCH 7, 2014
ALL WEEK LONG HERE ON ALABAMA PUBLIC RADIO, WE’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT ADAPTED ATHLETICS. THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IS HOME TO WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL, TENNIS, AND GOLF AMONG OTHER SPORTS. HOWEVER, THIS IS THE AT THE COLLEGIATE LEVEL. DISABLED ATHLETES WILL SOON HEAD TO BIRMINGHAM TO GET READY FOR THE PARALYMPICS IN RIO DE JENEIRO IN 2016. ALABAMA PUBLIC RADIO’S PAT DUGGINS HAS MORE ON THE SPOT WHERE THEY’LL TRAIN, AND ONE UNIQUE SPORT THAT’S BEING FEATURED…
WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL FX FADE UP
HERE AT THE RECREATION CENTER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA, THE CRIMSON TIDE’S MEN’S WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL TEAM IS PLAYING THE ORLANDO MAGIC FROM FLORIDA. LIKE CONVENTIONAL BASKETBALL, THERE’S DRIBBLING, PASSING, AND THE OCASSIONAL FOUL—ALL OF PLAYED FROM WHEELCHAIRS. AND, THERE ARE FANS TOO, TO CHEER THE TEAM ON INCLUDING JAVALLA HARDY OF TUSCALOOSA…
“ACTUALLY, WE WENT TO THE MOVIE THEATER LAST MONDAY NIGHT, AND THERE WERE SIX OF THE PLAYERS THAT WERE THERE AT THE THEATER, AND THEY WERE AS NICE AS THEY COULD BE, SO WE THOUGHT WE’D COMEOUT AND SUPPORT THEM.”
FANS OF ANOTHER SPORT FOR DISABLED ATHLETES SAY THAT’S ALL WELL AND GOOD…THEY PREFER SOMETHING A LITTLE ROUGHER… FX- SMASH BANG OF WHEELCHAIR RUGBY PLAYERS WELCOME TO WHEELCHAIR RUGBY…
“I CAN’T TELL YOU HOW MANY PEOPLE I’VE COME INTO THE GYM… BRYAN KIRKLAND IS A CHAMPION WHEELCHAIR RUGBY PLAYER… “AND THEY’RE WALKING BY TO GO TO THE BLEACHERS AND SOMEBODY HITS…” FX SMASH! “AND, I SEE EM ABOUT COME OUT OF THEIR SHOES, AND THEY GO ‘OH, MY GOD!’ “
KIRKLAND IS ALSO A PARALYMPIAN. HE AND TEAM USA BROUGHT BACK GOLD AND BRONZE MEDALS FOR WHEELCHAIR RUGBY AT THE PARALYMPIC GAMES IN ATHENS, SYDNEY, AND BEIJING. ONE OF HIS TEAMMATES WAS BOB LUJANO…
“ONE OF THE THINGS WE LOVE THE SPINAL CORD INJURY PEOPLE TO TELL THEM IS ‘WHAT’S THE WORST THINGS THAT’S GONNA HAPPEN? I’M GONNA BREAK OUR NECKS AGAIN?’
“ FX-- SLAM BANG…
LUJANO AND KIRKLAND’S TEAM IS CALLED THE LAKESHORE DEMOLITION. TEAM COACH MITCH WATKINS EXPLAINS HOW THE GAME IS PLAYED… “I WOULD SAY IT’S A LITTLE OF A COMBINATION BETWEEN FOOTBALL, RUGBY, AND HOCKEY, AND A LITTLE BIT OF BASKETBALL. YOU GOT RULES FROM ALL SPORTS, BECAUSE YOU PLAY ON A BASKETBALL COURT, BUT YOU CAN ALSO GET A PENALTY WHERE YOU CAN SERVE TIME IN THE BOX.” LUJANO AND KIRKLAND BOTH PLAY FROM WHEELCHAIRS. LUJANO IS A QUADRUPLE AMPUTEE. HE LOST HIS FOREARMS AND LEGS TO A BLOOD DISEASE WHEN HE WAS A TEENAGER. BRYAN KIRKLAND INJURED HIS NECK COMPETING MOTOCROSS. BUT DON’T CALL HIM DISABLED… “PEOPLE ARE NOT GOING TO TIE MY SHOES FOR ME OR PUT MY CLOTHES OR TIE MY SHOES FOR ME, I’M DOING IT. AND I DID IT.“
THAT PHILOSOPHY ISN’T UNIQUE WHERE KIRKLAND, LUJANO, AND HUNDREDS OF DISABLED ATHLETES COME TO TRAIN… FX GAME PREP FADE UP THIS IS THE LAKESHORE FOUNDATION, NESTLED IN A WOODED AREA NEXT TO SAMFORD UNIVERSITY IN BIRMINGHAM. PARALYMPIANS, DISABLED MEMBERS OF THE MILITARY AND EVEN CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES COME HERE FOR EXERCISE OR TO TRAIN FOR COMPETITION. AND THE ONE THING PATIENTS DON’T HEAR IS THE PHRASE…YOU CAN’T DO THIS…
“YOU DON’T HEAR THAT AROUND HERE, THAT’S FOR SURE…” THAT’S JEFF UNDERWOOD. HE’S PRESDIENT AND CEO OF LAKESHORE. HE SAYS DISABLED PATIENTS USUALLY AREN’T THE PROBLEM—IT’S THE PEOPLE AROUND THEM… “THEY JUST DON’T WANT THESE FOLKS TO GET HURT, AGAIN. THEY TEND TO DO EVERYTHING FOR THEM, TAKE CARE OF THEM. THEY SAY ‘LET ME DO THAT FOR YOU, I’LL TAKE CARE OF YOU, DON’T DO THAT, YOU MIGHT HURT YOURSELF…”
THE LAKESHORE FOUNDATION IS A NON-PROFIT GROUP THAT TAKES IN FOUR THOUSAND OF PEOPLE YEAR—TWENTY PERCENT OF WHICH COMPETE FOR MEDALS OR CHAMPIONSHIPS. IT’S ALSO ONE OF ONLY FIVE PARALYMPIC TRAINING SITES IN THE NATION. UNDERWOOD SAYS THAT TOOK WORK, MAINLY BECAUSE OF POLITICS WITH THE OLYMPICS COMMITTEE. “EVERYTIME WE STARTED GETTING TRACTION WITH THE LEADERSHIP, THERE WAS SOME CONTROVERSY, SOME KIND OF SCANDAL, SOME REASON KEY LEADERS LEFT AND WE’D HAVE TO START ALL OVER AGAIN.” THE 1996 GAMES IN ATLANTA WAS THE FIRST TO FEATURE WHEELCHAIR RUGBY.
THAT LED TO FUTURE GAMES IN ATHENS, LONDON, AND HERE IN BEIJNG… BEIJING FX FADE UP SINCE THEN, BOTH BRYAN KIRKLAND AND BOB LUJANO HAVE HUNG UP THEIR MEDALS AND THEIR PARALYMPIC CAREERS. BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN THEY’RE ON THE SIDELINES…
ROLL CALL…
THE DEMOLITION IS THE CLUB TEAM FOR WHEELCHAIR RUGBY AT LAKESHORE. THE WHEELCHAIRS FOR RUGBY ARE SIMILAR TO THOSE FOR BASKETBALL. MOST NOTABLY, THE WHEELS ARE ANGLED IN, AND THERE’S NO BACK REST. OH, AND, THERE’S ONE MORE THING. RUGBY WHEELCHAIRS ARE COVERED WITH ARMOR. AND THERE ARE PLENTY OF DENTS FROM THE BANGING THAT GOES ON. WE CAUGHT UP WITH BOB LUJANO AS HE STRAPPED HIMSELF IN FOR GAME… “UH YEAH, THERE ARE SIDEGUARDS TO PROTECT THE SPOKES WHEN WE SLAM INTO EACH OTHER. SOME HAVE A RAM ROD IN THE FRONT TO HIT OTHER CHAIRS.”
FX GAME FX FADE UP –SLAM!
BRYAN KIRKLAND AND LAKESHORE DEMOLITION WON FIVE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS, ALONG WITH HIS PARALYMPIC MEDALS. KIRKLAND ALSO BECAME THE FIRST ADAPTED ATHLETE IN THE ALABAMA SPORTS HALL OF FAME.KIRKLAND ADMITS SOMEDAY HE NEEDS TO SLOW DOWN… “I BASICALLY ACCOMPLISHED EVERYTHING…ALL MY GOALS, MY DREAMS. I WANTED TO WIN A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP...CHECK. I WANTED TO WIN A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP…CHECK. I WANTED TO WIN PARALYMPIC GOLD…CHECK.” BUT, HE SPENDS A LOT OF TIME AT LAKESHORE—AND THAT WILL INCLUDE OFFERING ADVICE TO THE NEXT ROUND OF PARALYMPIANS WHO WILL FIGHT FOR A SPOT ON TEAM USA FOR THE RIO GAMES IN 2016. AND SERVE AS AN EXAMPLE FOR OTHER DISABLED ATHLETES… TOMORROW, A LITTLE PIECE OF SOCHI RUSSIA COMES TO BIRMINGHAM. THE WINTER PARALYMPIC GAMES ARE STARTING UP, AND FANS WILL GATHER TO WATCH, AND CHEER, AND DREAM OF THE UPCOMING SUMMER GAMES IN RIO. PAT DUGGINS, APR NEWS IN BIRMINGHAM…
