From The San Francisco Chronicle:When Mickey Kay and Brittany Murlas of UC Berkeley decided to offer a class in wheelchair basketball, they worried that only a few people might show up. To their surprise, more than 30 students enrolled - and most were not disabled.
"I don't know of many places where people sign up to play a sport where they strap themselves into a chair," said Kay, 24, whose spinal cord was injured in a bicycle accident four years ago.
He and Murlas, 22, came up with the idea for the class after talking about how adaptive physical education could play a bigger role at Cal - historically a center of the disability rights movement.The one-unit course is among about 140 student-initiated classes available through Democratic Education at Cal, which got started almost three decades ago.
The course description says: "All abilities and skill levels are welcome, and wheelchairs will be provided, so come play the coolest game on Earth!"
This didn't seem hyperbolic on a recent Friday in Cal's Recreational Sports Facility, where the once-a-week class meets.
"It's probably the most fun I've had playing a sport," said Tim Freeman, an 18-year-old freshman on the Cal swim team who is also fond of soccer and water polo. "It's awesome. There's no better feeling."
To meet demand, the course is divided into two 90-minute sessions. The Bay Area Outreach & Recreation Program in Berkeley provides 12 wheelchairs, shared by 31 students.
Only three are disabled. The class includes three players on Cal's rugby team, two golfers, two swimmers and a soccer player.
Murlas said some able-bodied students feared their presence might offend their disabled peers. They quickly got over that notion.
"I thought, 'Is this a little bit taboo? Am I making fun of people?' " recalled economics major Paul DeCoster, 21. "But everyone made it clear: This is a sport like any other."
Paul Jackson, (pictured) first assistant coach for the men's wheelchair basketball team at the Paralympics in Beijing in September, said wheelchair basketball was invented after World War II at a Veterans Administration hospital.
"I was introduced to it as a joke," said Jackson, 54, who'd come by the Cal class. "I fell in love with the sport and I've been doing it ever since."
That was in 1977. Jackson said interest in wheelchair basketball has increased enormously and it has become a popular sport, with official teams at 12 U.S. colleges and universities - a major goal of Kay and Murlas.
"Most people have no idea what wheelchair basketball is," said Kay, an art and anthropology major. "It's cool to give that opportunity to more people and make them aware of disabilities."
Using sports chairs with big wheels, low backs and sides that cave in, the students in the class zoomed back and forth across the court. One student toppled over and there were a few collisions and dented spokes, but no one seemed remotely ruffled.
"Now, because I got bad knees, I prefer wheelchair basketball," Jackson said. "But this is harder. You use the same muscles to propel yourself up and down the court that you use to shoot the basketball."
Murlas, who is majoring in economics and interdisciplinary field studies, agreed.
"As an able-bodied person, this is more of a challenge," she said. "If I'm used to shooting and I'm suddenly down here, there are some adjustments that need to be made."
Kay, who now uses a wheelchair all the time, said different skills are employed.
"I'm still fairly new to this whole world," he said. "But one of the reasons I really like this is the motion you get. It's smooth and satisfying, abrupt and quick."
Acclaimed artist Katherine Sherwood, a UC Berkeley professor who had a stroke 11 years ago, has been one of the biggest supporters of the class.
"I can't help but think it's transformative. They grow week by week," said Sherwood, who got to know Kay when he took her "Art, Medicine and Disability" class.
Lon Rork, a UC Berkeley physical education lecturer, serves as faculty sponsor for the course.
"It's an important class for a number of reasons," he said. "It is opening up the minds of students to other types of sports that include all kinds of individuals. ... There are only a handful of schools that offer any type of competitive wheelchair sports, and the introduction of this class at Cal will open doors for future wheelchair athletes."
Sociology major Andrew Machado, 22, said he was never good at basketball but figured he might enjoy the class because everyone woul be limited to some extent.
"You gain a better appreciation for being disabled, and for what you do have or what you don't have," he said.
Physics major Haider Shaikley, 21, who is able-bodied, said, "One thing I really like is that it levels the playing field."
There are different rules, many intricacies, less mobility and a chair that has a mind of its own. "I'm in the right place but my chair is in the wrong place," said sophomore
Piper Tracy, 20, who is not disabled and is among six women in the class.
Freshman Zach Sklar, 18, said he figured wheelchair basketball wouldn't be that hard - but it was.
"It's pure arms," he said. "At first, everybody air-balled at least five shots. And when you push three times without dribbling, that's traveling. It's a completely different game."
