Wheelchair Basketball

This past weekend we went to another Junior Division wheelchair basketball tournament. This time it was in Whitewater, WI at University of Wisconsin, Whitewater.

I really do enjoy the tournament weekends. The days of game after game.

The sounds of clashing wheelchairs.
The shouts of "ball!", teammates names, plays.
The sound of the bounce of the basketball .. on the court and off the backboard or the rim.
The sound of the ball on the net.
The voices of "what?" to the referee, "yes" after a great play, "nice play" to a teammate.
The voices of the coaches calling plays or encouragement to the players.

I enjoy watching the interactions between the players and coaches. The coaches are not only someone who teaches them the game of basketball, they are men and women who teach them the game of life. These are adults who love their players.

Coach Bob is one of those kinds of coaches. He deeply cares about the kid's hearts more than basketball. His goal is to assist the kids to succeed in life with a disability. He believes in each one of them and encourages them to make wise, even Godly, choices in life. He prays with them. He has heart to heart talks with them. He laughs with them.  
(By the way, Coach Bob has a powerful testimony. I was able to hear his story this weekend and I learned that this is a man who has a passion for those that are dealing with a spiritual, mental, or physical disability. He loves and cares for those around him.)

I have come to appreciate the environment of countless wheelchairs, walking/leg braces, walking crutches, prosthetic limbs and more. Being at the wheelchair basketball events has become a comfortable place for our family, especially John Michael. There is no one looking at him like he's not normal. Whatever normal means, I don't know. Being at these kinds of events means that he's normal, just like all the other players in the gym. It's a safe place. It's a place of being able to be who he is ... a paraplegic who's "legs" happen to be wheels.

As a mom to a para, it's a safe place for me. I can freely talk about any aspect of what it's like to be his mom. Talking to someone who completely understands the life of being a mom of a child with a disability is oh so safe and comforting. I don't feel alone anymore. There is a whole world of mom's out there like me, I just have to go out of my way to find others in that world.

It blesses my heart to see my son with his friends who have life challenges just like he does. He thoroughly enjoys hanging out with them and playing the game of basketball with them. These are some of his friends for life. They understand him in a way that others don't.

I saw these two ladies lying on the floor watching the games and talking and laughing together as friends. They were there for the longest time simply enjoying each other. The wheelchairs behind them were normal and something that they didn't even see. One lady appeared to be a paraplegic and the other had stubs for legs. None of this mattered to them. All that mattered was each other and their time together. I love this.