Game Changers

Frank: I’m a lifelong bowler. I was a walking bowler for years, but I have a rare neuromuscular disorder that greatly affected  my walking stride. I got my first wheelchair about five years ago.

Maya: In my family, we love tennis. I just kind of got into it because of my brother and my mom and dad. I just really love being able to move and use my arms and legs. 

Ann Tisdale, Maya’s mom: We found a tennis pro in our area who had done an adaptive tennis clinic, and he did private lessons with Maya for a while. That’s how we got started. 

Jason:  After my accident, I was just looking for something to get active again. So, I borrowed a racing wheelchair from a friend of a friend and started doing road races, 5Ks and 5-milers and 10Ks. That put me into a group with other like-minded paraplegics, men and women, and it was the first time that I got to focus on what I could do and not what I couldn’t do. After about 10 years, I needed another challenge, and I saw that one of my childhood heroes who had a similar injury from motocross and dirt bike racing, David Bailey, had finished the Ironman, so that inspired me to go after that sport. 

Maya: Sports can be for everybody. It’s good to get out of the house, move around and just be active. And it’s good to be around other people, especially if they have the same type of disability or situation as you do. 

Frank: I’m constantly meeting incredible, new people from all over the country. Bowling is a sport I can still do from my wheelchair and compete against other wheelchair bowlers and non-disabled bowlers. I didn’t have to quit any leagues just because I got a wheelchair, and all of my colleagues have embraced that. 

Josh: For me, a lot of it is competitiveness. I thought I could just play basketball again for fun, but I just had to have that competitiveness again. I really love the team aspect—the team bonding and the way everybody comes together for the same goal—I just haven’t been able to find that anywhere else. I love it. 

Jason: For me, my body feels better when I’m moving. When I’m competing and pushing my body, everything is better—I don’t put on weight, my skin is better, my emotional state, everything. 

Josh: At the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, we have a graduate assistant who helps us a lot with chair maintenance. I’m 33 now so I’ve been doing this for a while. Maintaining your chair is important so you can keep up in the game. You wouldn’t go into a basketball game if the sole of your sneaker was falling off, so look at bolts, tires because you can slide if the tire is wearing out and make sure we have spare tires. Since we pop tires a pretty decent amount, we actually teach everyone how to change a tire. 

Jason: The good part about racing chairs, is that there aren’t a lot of moving parts. It’s really just the wheels and the tires, but really once you have it, it’s pretty easy to maintain. It does take a little time, though, to get it set up so that it’s comfortable, just like with your everyday chair. 

Maya: My parents make sure the tires are aired up and that everything’s set up and ready. 

Ann: One time we went to a sports camp and we forgot the back of Maya’s chair. We left it at home and we were about three hours away. Luckily, we were able to improvise and use something off of another chair, but we definitely haven’t made that mistake again! 

Frank: I use my existing chair, removing one armrest and the push rim from the wheel on my bowling side. Many wheelchair bowlers leave the push rim in place and bowl. There are other devices available to those who cannot grip a bowling ball normally.

Josh: If you’re interested in a sport, go out and try it! We always want more people involved. For anybody with interest, check out sites online, watch videos on YouTube and reach out to athletes on social media. We can help you find somewhere to compete! 

Frank: Go to the American Wheelchair Bowling Association website (awba.org) and reach out to us. You can bowl at most bowling centers, and we offer regional and national tournaments. Most tournaments include a wheelchair bowling clinic, which give people a chance to try it for the first time or improve on what they’re doing. I’m a certified coach, one of several in the AWBA. 

Jason: You just have to jump in and start moving your body. It’s amazing how many resources are out there if you just search “wheelchair racing.” Once you start asking around, there’s always someone in your community who is doing it, and it’s just a matter of connecting with the right person. Even if you don’t have a racing chair, just start pushing, and you’ll find that when you treat your body well, you can handle a lot more than you think you can. 

Maya: Just have fun and try it out! Maybe you’ll like it or maybe not and that’s OK. But just have fun, try your best and do whatever you can do!