Wheelchair basketball: the inclusive sport having a big impact
SCOTTISH wheelchair basketball player Josh Manson is pretty clear about the positive impact the sport has had on him since he picked it up more than 15 years ago.
“I probably owe my life to basketball,” he says while on a visit to Shetland. “It’s given me everything.”
Manson was speaking while setting up for a ‘come and try’ wheelchair basketball session on Saturday in Scalloway, put on by local team Shetland Ravens and supported by Ability Shetland.
Shetland Ravens co-founder Lou Jackson, a wheelchair user, also says taking part in the sport has been a “massive” thing for her.
The pair were among a number of people at the Scalloway Games Hall for the come and try event on Saturday when Shetland News called along.
There were plenty of chairs available for people to use, and folk did not need to be a wheelchair user to join in.
And Jackson said that applies also to the Ravens’ weekly sessions at the Clickimin, with anyone able to join in – wheelchair user or not.
“And the thing is with wheelchair basketball is that everybody is on the same level, because we’re all sitting in chairs,” she says. “It makes it make really inclusive for everyone.”
Despite my inexperience, and having barely shot a basketball hoop since my PE days many years ago at Brae High School, I took up the opportunity to try it out for myself.
It is fair to say my roam around the games hall was fairly snail-paced as first as I got to grips how to manoeuvre the wheelchair, probably looking like I was navigating the NorthLink ferry through treacle – it did not take too long for things to get going, though.
It also took about eight attempts to finally get a basketball in the hoop, however, even with some one-to-one coaching from Manson. But boy, did it feel sweet when it finally dropped in.
What followed was a four-against-four match, and as a newbie I was somewhat relieved to have made the decision to sit out and observe given the intensity and speed it was often played at.
Jackson said the competitive matches are a “good workout” and it is clear to see why, with the match often end to end as players zoomed into pockets of space to receive forward passes or to track back to defend.
The rules are largely the same as basketball, and the hoops are not lower than usual.
After my colleague Ryan Nicolson showed his lack of skills on a paddleboard recently, Shetland News is perhaps getting a taste of some of the more different sports on the go in the isles.
Despite it being a very brief foray onto the court at the Scalloway games hall, it offered a new, and fun, dimension to basketball, and I certainly would not say no to giving it a proper go another time.
For Manson, his journey into wheelchair basketball started following a search for a parasport to play.
He has cerebral palsy, and his physio in Edinburgh came with a list of sports for him to try.
“I did play football in my younger days – having cerebral palsy, my legs were a bit stiffer, so I wasn’t able to keep up,” Manson said.
“I went from playing mainstream football to thinking ‘what can I do now?’
“I’ve done horse riding, played wheelchair tennis, ping pong – and then I got into wheelchair basketball, fell in love with it and it’s just kind of gone from there.”
He has played across the world, and has also taught the next generation in schools – with sessions taking place with PE pupils in Lerwick and Brae in recent days.
Manson said he is keen to “push the word out there that anyone and everyone can play – it doesn’t matter whether you’re disabled, able bodied, injured”.
Jackson meanwhile said some people who have taken part at Ravens training sessions have included basketball and rugby players.
The Ravens hold training sessions at the Clickimin every Thursday from 6pm to 8pm, and the sessions are open to anyone aged 16 or over.
Another founding member of the Ravens is Laurence Hunter, who alongside Jackson raised thousands for Ability Shetland last year by tackling the 10km Hams o’ Roe circuit in their wheelchairs.
“For me and Laurence there’s not a lot of sport in Shetland for us to do, being in wheelchairs, and we just absolutely loved it,” Jackson said.
“If it wasn’t for that, me and Laurence would just be sitting at home.”
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:
- Removal of third-party ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
