Memphis Rollin' Grizzlies

The Memphis Rollin Grizzlies are a Memphis local wheelchair basketball team. After attending one of their weekly practices, I can simply say that I was very impressed. I consider myself to be a competitive person who enjoys watching sports, and I felt like I couldn't take my eyes off the court just watching them in practice mode. The skills that these men gave me a new consideration for my own abilities and a little inspiration to always do the things I love, no matter what might be a setback. I took note of the insane core strength they have to possess to be able to hold themselves in the chairs, and also get back up if they fall. Speaking of the falling, I was quite taken aback and felt like I should run out there and help them up but it seemed very normal and their teammates would give them a hand in flipping over. Also, the arm strength in being able to shoot the ball from a seated position is impressive. I found myself thinking about the agility and athleticism it takes to run up and down a basketball court and dribble and shoot and all that goes in to it, but then add wheelchairs to it and consider the amount of athleticism it takes to maneuver that. We also were educated on the rules for playing on the team and learned that you don't have to be a paraplegic, you just have some form of injury that keeps you from playing typical basketball. Learning about fouls was also interesting because they can get aggressive and the wheelchairs often run into each other. I think my favorite part was being able to get in the chairs afterwards, or even just observe my classmates get in the chairs and try to do even a fraction of what the team was able to do. It feels so foreign to us and I wondered how long it took each player to get to the point they are at now. Overall, it really just gave me a new appreciation for my ability to run up and down a basketball court if I wanted to. I also thought about how long it must have taken this team to form and the fact that there are college teams out there, kind of giving me a warm hearted feeling about the progression of sports like this and the inclusiveness of it all.