The Transformative Power of Adaptive Sports

Adaptive sports have been a huge part of my success story. For some people, sports are a fun extracurricular, recreational activity. But for me and many other adaptive athletes adaptive sports open a whole new world of possibilities. Being a part of adaptive sports has given me countless resources to better my independence. Most importantly adaptive sports have given me a sense of self and hope for my future. I have been fortunate to have many adult mentors who have helped show me the way and show me that living a fulfilling life is still possible with a disability. I have found a supportive community that understands and shares my journey.

As an athlete, it can be easy to come up with excuses when faced with setbacks and adversity, but as an adaptive athlete, the challenges we have to overcome to simply live our everyday lives can seem undoable. But that is what I love about adaptive sports we all have to overcome daily struggles to be able to be there and so it takes away that self-pity. It is truly an equal playing field it takes away all of the excuses.

Track is the place where I can escape from my reality for a small amount of time nothing else matters. It's the place where I don't feel different. Wheelchair racing has given me a level of playing field. When I do not do well at a meet I can't use my disability as an excuse. It creates a zero-excuse environment.

I have been blessed enough to be on my high school track team. It ha. s been an awesome experience so far. I get the best of both worlds. I got involved with a school group, which I always dreamed of. Having something through school that I was connected to whether that was, a fine art or a sport. But I also get to race against other adaptive athletes at meets. I am the first adaptive athlete in my district to participate in my school's sports team. This experience has come with its fair share of challenges and triumphs. I am thankful that I get to be a part of the change in creating a more inclusive environment in school sports. I get to be a part of something bigger than me. At times mainly at meets when there are tons of other schools around people will say mean things or the exact opposite the exaggerated support that comes off as cheesy. Often it is because they have never seen adaptive sports. The reactions I love getting the most are people who say something similar to "Wow, I have never seen this before, thank you for introducing it to me". Or a young kid with a disability seeing the possibilities for someone with a disability.