We sat down with Kyle to learn his thoughts about sports and himself:
What sports do you play?
I play baseball, football, basketball and hockey with The Bennett Blazers.
How do you participate in these sports with your disability?
When you play basketball, you are in a wheelchair with the ball beside you. When you play hockey, you sit in a sled that has blades on the bottom, while the hockey stick has picks on the bottom. When you play football and baseball, you sit in a wheelchair and play the games like you normally would.
What is your favorite part about these sports?
I love to play defense in hockey! I play defense by, basically, trying to go for the puck on my sled. I have to do this without hitting any other sleds because, if I do, I could get a penalty or be ejected from the game.
How do you practice these sports at home?
For hockey, I will sit on the floor and, with my hockey stick and a tennis ball; I will hit the ball at the wall.
What do you have to do differently from other kids because of your disability?
I have to wear braces on my legs everyday. This is because my legs do not work normally. I had too many surgeries. I also had to get surgery to heal my lip, which was damaged.
How do you move around at home and at school?
I move around with my crutches and braces, which I mentioned before. But, when I am at home, I might just leave my crutches on the floor and walk with my braces on.
Kyle, when I talked to your friends, they told me that you were a cool, enjoyable, and friendly person. Did you know that they liked you this much?
I basically did. I knew that they thought of me as a normal kid, like them.
Do you think people look up to you?
Yeah. (With a confident grin.)
Are there any positives to your disability?
I get a lot more friends then I usually would.
Are there any negatives to having your disability?
The only thing is that I can’t be as rough as you guys can.
Does that bother you?
No, I can live without it.
Do you have any other interests, besides sports?
I like to go to the beach. I like to go on the boardwalk and ride roller coasters. Sometimes, I’ll even eat a lot of corn dogs and then go on roller coasters until I throw up.
And finally, what do you have to say to people that have a disability?
A disability is one of those things that you have to deal with. You can’t make it disappear.
The Baltimore-based Bennett Blazers Physically Challenged Sports program offers opportunities for physically challenged children and young adults (ages 2-19) who want to play sports. The Blazers are part of Kennedy Krieger’s Physically Challenged Sports and Recreation Program, which attracts athletes from Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The program offers many kinds of sports, including competitive team sports, such as wheelchair football, sitting volleyball, wheelchair floor hockey, sled hockey, tennis, track and field, and swimming.
For more information on the Bennett Blazers you can go to this website www.bennettblazers.net.
NOTE: Spina bifida, also known as myelomeningocele is a birth defect, which occurs when the spinal cord is not completely covered by the spine. Because of this, often times, the nerves are damaged. Depending on which nerves are damaged, there can be different levels to this problem. Often surgery is required at birth to repair the spinal cord. However, life-long treatment is still needed to help patients.
Hammond Middle School students Kevin Baker and Maria Janush wrote this article. Maria liked finding out about sports for the disabled. Kevin wants to look more into disabilities like Kyle’s in the future.
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