Special day in Addison honors young wheelchair basketball players
Karen Jones said that once her 16-year-old son, Hayden, started playing wheelchair basketball about eight years ago, the sport became one of the essentials in his life.
"You know how you need air and food to live? Well now he also needs basketball," she said.
Jones and her son traveled to Addison from Brookfield, Wis., on Saturday to watch the junior wheelchair basketball all-star game, one of several events that were part of the Wheelchair Bulls Annual Kids Day, hosted by the Northeast DuPage Special Recreation Association.
The event, now in its 21st year, gives disabled children a chance to display their athletic skills and interact with adult Wheelchair Bulls team members.
"Every child needs a role model," said Jim Gallo, an Elk Grove Village resident and a retired member of the Wheelchair Bulls. "That was the idea that this event came out of."
The young people who competed in the all-star game Saturday came from junior wheelchair basketball divisions in Chicago and its suburbs, as well as the Milwaukee and Hammond, Ind., areas. Saturday's game was a doozy; the "red" team beat the "black" by a final score of 48-46.
After the game, players and spectators enjoyed lunch and some interactive time with adult Wheelchair Bulls players. In the afternoon, the kids were invited to watch a game between the Chicago Wheelchair Bulls and the Rockford Chariots.
"When you watch this junior all-star team, you see what kids in wheelchairs can really accomplish," said Joe Gerardi, an Addison resident and current member of the Wheelchair Bulls team. "It's a great thing."
Karen Jones said the sport has helped drive her son to see beyond his wheelchair.
"As a parent you want to do two things: meet the needs of your child and make sure he acquires some special childhood memories," she said. "Basketball does both things for him."
Wheelchair basketball was started in the 1940s by recent veterans of World War II. The Chicago Bulls formally adopted and sponsored the Chicago area wheelchair basketball team in 1987.