Garrettsville – Late last week, JAG Elementary students in grades three through six had the opportunity to participate in wheelchair basketball. Around 20 students in each group were sorted to either Team Purple, wearing purple jerseys, or Team Conner, captained by Conner Hunt, eighth grade student from JAG Middle School. Conner participates in wheelchair basketball on a community team and competes on the JAG Middle School team in Track & Field.
According to JAG Elementary Principal Melinda Ensinger, the idea of hosting a special event began when third graders learned about the Paralympics during guided reading exercises. Conner’s mom, who serves as a substitute teacher at JAG Elementary, shared details about Conner’s experiences with both wheelchair basketball and track, and suggested having him speak to students.
On one of many recent snow days, Principal Ensigner reached out to Adaptive Sports Ohio (ASO), who suggested holding a wheelchair basketball presentation as they’ve done in other schools. Last week, that program came to fruition, giving students by grade level the opportunity to see and experience the sport. Student participants were sorted either to Team Purple wearing colored smocks, or Team Conner, following the lead of Team Captain Conner Hunt. The gymnasium erupted in cheering as each student learned to dribble and shoot before playing a brief scrimmage.
With a vision that everyone deserves a chance to play, Adaptive Sports Ohio’s mission is to remove barriers so that individuals with physical disabilities have a chance to use sport activities to elevate ability and empower futures. Since the organization’s inception in 2009, ASO has served hundreds of physically impaired youth and adults across the state through an abundance of competitive and recreational sports. According to Program Manager Brian Veverka, ASO holds school programs several times a month, sharing adaptive sports with students based on school district requests. For example, the group recently held a program about goalball, a sport for visually impaired athletes, at a Cleveland-area school.
In addition to wheelchair basketball, Conner competed as a member of JAG Middle School’s Track and Field team. In 2021 as a seventh-grader, he ranked first place in the Boys 100 Meter Dash-Seated event, setting the middle school state record at the state meet with a time of 21.19. At that same meet, Conner placed second in the 400-Meter Dash-Seated event as well. He shared that he’s looking forward to the start of the 2022 track season; practice begins this week to prepare for the first middle school meet on March 30th.
In addition to basketball and track, Conner noted that he’s also considering joining the school’s bowling team. For each new activity, Conner must be fitted into a specialized wheelchair to better accommodate the demands and requirements of each activity; that’s where ASO comes in. Through this Wooster-based company, Conner and other athletes can be fitted and outfitted with specialized equipment to better enable them to participate in school activities and community sports teams in activities including wheelchair basketball, track and field, tennis, power soccer, and more. Specialized equipment is fitted to each athlete depending on the activity, and can be rented or purchased through ASO.
At the end of the presentation, Veverka reiterated that sports like wheelchair basketball exist so that everyone has the opportunity to play together. He thanked kids for their exuberant participation and encouraged them to tune in to the Winter Paralympic events, which take place on March 4th through the 13th in Beijing, China.
“I was thrilled the program came together so quickly,” Ensigner marveled. “And the kids were so enthusiastic, thrilled that Conner could join them.” It seems the State Champion athlete has become a minor celebrity with JAG students of all ages
