Shreveport, La., hosts wheelchair basketball clinic

From The Shreveport Times. In the picture, wheelchair basketball athlete Tomas Lobo (left) explains how to do a pick while attending a wheelchair basketball clinic

Shooting a basketball can be difficult. But for the young men and women who participated in the wheelchair basketball clinic Jan. 9 in south Shreveport, that might seem like the smallest of hurdles.

"Anytime you can get out and help a junior program like this, it's a great opportunity," said clinic host Doug Garner, wheelchair basketball coach for the University of Texas at Arlington.

Aided by his players, the Movin' Mavs wheelchair basketball team, as well as local coaches, Garner taught the fundamentals of wheelchair basketball to more than a dozen physically disabled Shreveport area residents of all ages in Southern Hills Recreation Center. This is the clinic's second year, which Garner for free with sponsorship by, among others, Paralympic Sport Louisiana, Louisiana GUMBO (Games Uniting Mind and Body) Inc. and Wheelchair Sports U.S.A.

"We wanted to do something with the kids ... keep them active," said Dianna Gates, an event organizer and physical therapist with Caddo public schools.
Gates, who also is a wheelchair basketball coach, reached out to Garner more than a year ago and asked if he would come to Shreveport. On Saturday, he watched as local players tackled drills like passing and ball-screens.

Typical wheelchair basketball is fairly similar to regular basketball: there are five people on each team, and players must shoot through the regular net. But mustering the appropriate arc while sitting down can be a fairly difficult task, Garner said.

Dribbling also can be a problem. One one method players use to race down the court is to throw the basketball ahead of the chair while adding backspin so the player can move to the ball while it bounces back toward them, Garner said.

Traveling is a violation just as it is in regular games, only in wheelchair basketball, a player must dribble for every two pushes of the wheelchair.

Junior wheelchair basketball is a growing sport nationally. Garner, who became involved in coaching because his son was born physically disabled, said there were only 35 teams for those age 21 or younger in the country in 1999, compared to 96 today.

Gates and the other Shreveport coaches, who host regular practices and games for wheelchair players, said they always are looking for more people to come out.
The games are only for people with physical disabilities, though a player does not have to be permanently wheelchair bound.

Some of the participants Saturday can and do walk but cannot play regular basketball because of physical disabilities. Those people are welcome to play in wheelchair basketball, Gates said.

Garner a national wheelchair organizer besides his role as coach, said such clinics are worthwhile to him not only to bring the values of team sports to wheelchair users but also in the hopes of encouraging more participants to come out.

"Maybe someone will see this article and say, 'Wow, maybe I can get involved.'"