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REACHING OUT
ASPO helps launch sled hockey program
By Ryan Buck
BOARDMAN
Spina Bifida (Latin for “cleft” or “split” spine) is a developmental congenital condition; the incomplete development of the brain, spinal cord and their protective covering called the meninges.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke estimates 166,000 Americans live with one of the four different forms of spina bifida.
Wooster native Casey Followay, 17, is one of them. He is one of Adaptive Sports Program of Ohio founder and director Lisa Followay’s four children.
“His disability affects him similar to a spinal cord injury and a paraplegic,” Lisa said. “And he is a wheelchair user.”
He is also an athlete ... and an inspiration, especially for Lisa, who wanted nothing more than to enrich his love of athletics and enable him to compete.
“Early on, he was very athletic and wanted to play baseball and wanted to play basketball and I had no idea what the possibilities would be for him because of his limited mobility,” his mother said.
The family was living in Indiana when she came across a non-profit program with the mission of empowering disabled athletes.
“I will say it changed our lives,” Lisa said. “That sounds like a very drastic statement, but it really did.
“It was profound, the impact and the opportunities had on Casey,” she said. “He had been very depressed, like he was the only person in the world with a disability. He wanted to play sports like his peers and we just couldn’t find a way to offer that until he got involved with Adaptive Sports.
“He had the opportunity to be around athletes with disabilities who are successful — married, with careers, have families — and it was really around that time when we got connected with that population that we knew Casey was going to be OK.
“Despite the challenges that he had, he knew that he was going to be able to overcome them just like those people that we were meeting had.”
Lisa took it one step further. When they moved back to the Wooster area, similar opportunities like those in Indiana did not exist. Individual sports were available, but Casey wanted teammates.
“This has so much power for people with disabilities that we should start an organization and try to make a difference,” Lisa said.
In 2009, a meeting of five attendees in a local library birthed Adaptive Sports, which offers 10 sports to participants of all ages and ability levels.
The severity of the athlete’s disability matters not as sports like power soccer and wheelchair basketball put give the athletes team settings. The organization, with pursuits in Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Toledo, Wooster and now Youngstown, wants to provide opportunities to the participants and their families, Lisa said.
Their first venture in the Youngstown area was January’s launch of a sled hockey program at The Ice Zone. From January to April, 13 players took part, including Wellsville High junior Michael Reiner.
The wheelchair-bound 16-year-old, who had competed in wheelchair track events as Casey Followay had, immediately took to sled hockey and the Adaptive Sports program.
“When they decided that they wanted to start a sled hockey team in Youngstown, I just thought, ‘Awesome, you know?’” said Reiner, who was born with cerebral palsy. “Getting to be in a team sport and getting to be physical as well.
“There are so many great things about the sport, like having teammates and really just going head-to-head with guys.
“It’s all because of ASPO.”
As expected, barriers like lack of opportunities in some localities and funding exist. Lisa estimates it costs $1,000 to equip each sled hockey player, for instance. A handicap-accessible van, which she often drives herself, must be maintained.
Still, little will stop Lisa, who will see the sled hockey program expand in numbers and ice time when a new season begins this month and runs through April.
“We see the power of sports every day,” she said. “There’s so much power in what we’re doing and it’s so important for them.”
For more information on supporting Adaptive Sports Program of Ohio, visit adaptivesportsohio.org.