FROM STANDING TO SITTING- WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

By: Kenny Wittmann

Nowadays you can pretty much play a sport however you want to play it. For me, growing up with a disability, it was a challenge figuring out how to play the sports I loved. I competed in stand up sports at a very young age and throughout the years it got more challenging as I grew and my muscles didn’t. I have Cerebral Palsy which makes it harder to walk and function on a physical basis, but that never stopped me from trying my best in sports. I played many sports growing up. (Hockey, lacrosse, baseball, and basketball.) It was no mystery that one day all of these stand up sports would come to an end as my legs could only endure less and less every year. After two surgeries and a lengthy rehab process after the fact, I encountered something that has now changed my life forever.

During my rehabilitation process at Bloorview Kids Rehab in Toronto, they had wheelchair sports offered in many categories. This is when I opened my eyes a bit and knew I had a great opportunity coming my way. I participated often in these sports that took place in the gym facility that the rehab had. The one sport I fell in love with was wheelchair basketball. I realized that there are sports for people with disabilities and a big smile came onto my face. I knew I could continue competing in sports when I could no longer stand up and do it.

After I was discharged from the hospital, I did my research on wheelchair basketball and it just so happened that there was a disabled sports organization in my area and it wasn’t long before I handed in my registration form to compete in wheelchair sports.

I played wheelchair basketball and when the season was over i thought to myself “is there any other sports going on for the rest of the year i could try?” The answer was yes! I discovered sledge hockey. You sit in a sled with two sticks with picks on the end to dig into the ice so you basically skate and navigate with your hands. I also competed in some wheelchair track racing to keep active before the hockey and basketball season started up again.

To this point, I realized I was more competitive sitting down. I am now a current member of the Cruisers Organization. A sports organization for people with disabilities who want to play sports. We have a different way of playing but all the same rules of the sports apply and we also play at the same regulations as stand up sports. Nothing is different other than the fact that you are sitting down.

Parasports is what we call sports; Paralympics is our fancy way of saying Olympics. We are the same as able body athletes in that we compete and we want to win. Its nice to know that you can take a seat to compete.

June 29, 2016