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CommunityOn the rebound
Players see basketball from a different angle
Friday, May 16, 2008
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by DARWIN WEIGEL
Eric Ramey of Chesapeake Beach shoots a basket Thursday at a wheelchair basketball program at the Northeast Community Center. Ramey does not use a wheelchair but has spent time in a wheelchair because of a bone disease.
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Joy Weir, a certified therapeutic recreation specialist for Calvert County Parks and Recreation, had been involved with wheelchair sports — from tennis to ballet — when she lived in Nebraska.
‘‘I decided to bring the wheelchairs in to have the kids that come on an everyday basis get in chairs, see what it’s like and get an appreciation for people who do play wheelchair sports,” Weir of Lusby said. ‘‘Also have people who are in wheelchairs come in and show them the ropes.”
Weir added that one of the kids came in and asked to borrow a wheelchair to practice in after the first game.
Those who use a wheelchair can play against those who do not. Eric Ramey of Chesapeake Beach, who has spent time in a wheelchair due to a bone disease, sees this as a great opportunity to play and exercise.
‘‘I have been in and out of wheelchair sports since I was 14 or 15 years old,” Ramey said during a game on Thursday, May 8. ‘‘In a typical basketball game I might average around 15 points a game. I also participated in track and field and swimming.”
There are rules set down for a real wheelchair basketball game.
‘‘You can only have so many points on the court and each individual has to be classified according to their disability. If they are higher functioning, they are going to be classified at a higher number. You can only have so many points on a team, to make it even,” Weir said.
Other rules include not having a prosthetic leg on (it’s a violation if they move in their seat), and it’s a violation to deliberately push, kick or block the ball with any part of the wheelchair or leg.
It’s considered traveling if the number of pushes while holding the ball exceeds two and a player may not lift himself up from the wheelchair to shoot, rebound or pass the ball, or attempt to block a shot or pass from an opponent. These rules were taken from the Official Wheelchair Basketball Rules 2006 playbook, as approved by IWBF Executive Council in July 2006.
Those who haven’t spent time in a wheelchair are amazed at the difficulty. It takes a different set of skills to go up and down a court in a wheelchair.
During the game, a couple of kids lost control of the chairs and fell backwards on the gym floor.
‘‘Eric is my downstairs neighbor and he invited me to come tonight,” said Justin Dooms, 10, of Chesapeake Beach. ‘‘I have a lot more respect for him now after playing against him.”
‘‘It’s really hard, I fell five times and I wasn’t even moving a lot of the time,” Kaula Jacks, 14, Chesapeake Beach said. ‘‘You have to have a lot of arm strength to get the ball up, since you can’t use your legs.”
Khoury Bethea, 17, of North Beach was practicing his moves on the court before the game and stayed to play in a pickup game against Raimey and other kids who were playing.
‘‘That was hard. Now that I am walking around again, my legs feel wobbly and my shoulders are tight,” Bethea said.”I have a lot more respect for people in wheelchairs now. Eric was really good.”
‘‘I would love to see wheelchair sports grow within our county,” Weir said ‘‘Whether it is a small group of individuals or getting a group of kids together for a team sport, that would be great.”
