Memphis Rollin' Grizzlies

Image result for memphis rollin grizzlies

I had the pleasure of getting to watch one of the Memphis Rollin' Grizzlies' team practices on Wednesday night.  Aside from being such a fun and energetic group of men, they are some extremely talented basketball players.  Their motivation and drive for the sport is something that can be sensed immediately while watching them play.  It is currently their off season, so they come together for practices where they spend their time scrimmaging one another, keeping active, and doing what they love.  

The Memphis Rollin' Grizzlies are a nationally ranked wheelchair basketball team.  They have ranked 3rd and 10th in the national tournament within recent years.  Wheelchair basketball is a very competitive sport.  While most of you may be wondering to yourself how it all works, it's simple.  Almost every aspect of the game is the exact same to that of typical basketball games with a couple tweaks here and there.  Other than the obvious difference that they are in wheelchairs, the basketball court holds the same point values, most rules, and plays.  Some of the minor differences are the variations in fouls, some adjustments to the concept of traveling, and how the 3 second rule inside the paint works.  

Other than these players' obvious talent as basketball players, they represent a true image of what all teams should look like.  They build each other up while taking the time to laugh at one another and give each other pats on the back for their hard work.  Each of them has undoubtedly faced challenges in their lives due to injuries that have led them to this amazing sport, but once they get onto that court and start playing, it's so easy to forget they even have a "disability."  We had the opportunity to get into some of their adaptive wheelchairs they use to play and see how we could do, and let me tell you, it is not easy. 

While watching them practice, I tried to see if I could use my knowledge on spinal cord injuries and make educated guesses as to what level their injuries were at.  However, this was much tougher than I had anticipated.  Each of them plays at such a high and competitive level.  I had a very hard time making a confident choice about their levels of SCIs.  We learned in class that most of the players' SCI levels were much higher than we would ever expect, and that is absolutely true.  They have taken the challenges that are associated with spinal cord injuries, amputations, etc and excelled on the basketball court as a team.  It was truly an awesome experience to see how little these "disabilities" held them back while participating in a sport they have such passion for.    

Getting to meet and watch the Memphis Rollin' Grizzlies do what they do best was a privilege I will never forget.  It made me excited to work with future clients that may have injuries that require them to be in a wheelchair and show them all of the many things that they will still be able to participate in.  I can't wait for their season to begin again in hopes that I will be able to go and watch a few games.  If you want to know more about the Memphis Rollin' Grizzlies, click on this link!! Forget the NBA team, I'm forever a Rollin' Grizz fan instead!
😊🐻💙☝

Image result for memphis rollin grizzlies

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Life Balance Model (LBM)

Image
The Life Balance Model (LBM) is a Model of Practice for occupational therapists.  The main idea for this model focuses on clients being able to maintain and possess a healthy, meaningful, and sustainable activities within each of their life circumstances.  To do so, the client must be able to meet basic needs that are necessary for physical safety and biological health, have rewarding and self-affirming relationships with other individuals, have challenges within their daily routines that allow them to feel competent and able, and create a personal identify that is meaningful to them.  These four standards within the LBM together allow the client to feel satisfied and comfortable in their lives if they can address each of them.  This model could be used for all ages beginning with children all the way to elderly clients.   If an OT were to use the LBM, he/she would measure the client's satisfaction throughout their meetings by using questionnaires or interviews to assess
Read more

Media Project

Image
After finishing my media project, I believe the most meaningful thing that I discovered was that almost any and every object can be creatively manipulated to construct an object for an intervention.  Before completing this assignment, I thought that I would really struggle with finding a relevant way to use a shoebox for my client.  However, the more I thought of the activities he enjoys doing the most and how I could recreate them in a rehab hospital setting, it became more and more clear to me.  I am very happy with how much this assignment pushed me to get my creative juices flowing, as they say.  This project has allowed me to see the wide variety of ways to use everyday objects for occupational therapy activities.  
Read more

Neuro Note #1

Image
For my first neuro note, I decided to watch the 2007 documentary "Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq."  This documentary gives the first-person accounts of numerous veterans who survived traumatic and life-threatening injuries while serving in Iraq.  Each of these veterans refers to the day they almost died while defending our country as their " alive day ."  Each of their alive days is as equally important to them as their birthdays.  This day for them was the day they survived and chose to live despite the terror they experienced while serving in Iraq.  I chose this documentary so that I could hear each of the individuals describe their alive day, as well as their experiences after sustaining the injury.  Not only did I get to hear them tell their stories, I also gained a deeper appreciation for the sacrifice all military members make to defend our country and the liberties we have been given.   Many of the veterans underwent amputations of at least on
Read more