Tag: Disability Resources & Educational Services

Illinois wheelchair basketball prepares to play for home crowd

Feb. 02, 2024 | Ethan Simmons

Illini wheelchair basketball teams take on competition at Activities and Recreation Center

Women’s wheelchair basketball player Hailey Smith and men’s player Martrell Stevens pose together in front of this weekend’s game schedule.

For the first and only time this season, the Illinois men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams are facing the competition in their home court at this weekend’s Illinois College Tournament. 

A total of 22 games will be played at the Activities and Recreation Center (201 E. Peabody Dr., Champaign) from Friday, Feb. 9 to Saturday, Feb. 10, including eight individual contests for the Illini women’s and men’s teams. 

For Friday’s 5 p.m. women’s game against The University of Texas at Arlington and the men’s 7 p.m. contest against University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the teams want fans to fill the stands. 

“We want to get as many people in the gym as possible—we’ll have the band and the cheerleaders, we’re trying to make it a loud and fun environment for our student athletes to play in,” said Stephanie Wheeler, head coach of both Illinois wheelchair basketball teams.

Wheeler, head coach of the women’s team since 2010, took over coaching duties for the men’s team after former head coach Matt Buchi moved to a new role at Illinois. 

On Saturday, seniors will be recognized between the 3 p.m. men’s game against Mizzou and the 4:45 p.m. women’s game versus the University of Arizona. 

“We have veteran guys and ladies who have been in the game, and some who are brand new to college basketball,” said Matt Poland, the assistant coach for both teams. “It’s been fun having that blend, and not only helping the fifth- and sixth-year players finish out stellar careers, but help the next generation come into their own.” 

This season, the men’s and women’s teams are playing together more than ever, with coach Wheeler leading joint practices alongside full-time assistant coach Matt Poland and volunteer assistant coach Ranley Clayton, herself an alumna of the program. 

The two teams crossed over in practices before this season, often meeting for skill work, but now nearly everything is done together, with the 22 student-athletes mixing or facing off in most scrimmages and drills. 

It’s a unique spin for two uniquely structured teams, with sixth-year seniors Gabe DenBraber, Ryan Glatchak, Marlee Wagstaff and Ali Ibanez and seniors Shawn Sloan and Mary Wagstaff shouldering much of their teams’ game experience. This week’s focus: staying disciplined on defense, playing free on offense, Wheeler said. 

“Both teams are getting a lot out of training with each other,” she said. “It’s challenging both teams on physical and mental level—it’s been a really positive change and connects the two together.” 

Illini wheelchair basketball teams will face their final tests next month at the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament College Nationals. The women’s team will head to the University of Alabama (March 6-9); the men’s team will travel to Marshall, Minnesota the following week (March 13-16). 

“The message has been each game is a building block on how we want the rest of the season to be going up to the next tournament,” Poland said. “Every single team goes to the last tournament, we have an opportunity to every single game build off of it, and in Nationals is where we need to be our best self.” 

Before then, the women’s team will travel to Brookfield, Wisconsin, to play in the Big Cheese Classic (Feb. 16-17); the men’s team will play in the Arizona College Tournament, hosted in Tucson (March 1-2). 

Editor’s note:

To reach Ethan Simmons, email ecsimmon@illinois.edu.
 

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Illinois’ McCammon selected for inaugural Team USA wheelchair competition

March 27, 2023 | AHS Staff

Morgan McCammon (right) prepares to shoot.

Morgan McCammon of the University of Illinois has been selected to participate in the inaugural Team USA vs. College All-Star competition taking place at the NCAA Women’s Final Four, as announced Monday by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee and National Wheelchair Basketball Association. 

McCammon will compete for the College All-Star team, and the competition is an effort of the USOPC and NCAA Para-College Inclusion Project, which was established to grow awareness around adaptive sport programming at the collegiate level. 

“I’m very excited for Morgan to have this opportunity to represent Illinois at the Women’s Final Four,” said Stephanie Wheeler, coach of the women’s wheelchair basketball team at Illinois. “Morgan is so deserving of this honor and her selection is a testament to who she is as a person, student and athlete. She will be an incredible representative of Illinois and the sport of wheelchair basketball!”

The college all-star roster is comprised of one athlete from each of the six women’s wheelchair basketball teams across our country. The College All-Stars are comprised of:

  • Abby Bauleke (University of Alabama), one-time Paralympian and Paralympic bronze medalist 
  • Crystal Jones (City University of New York)
  • Grace Wembolua (University of Texas at Arlington), one-time Paralympian
  • Emilee Gustafson (University of Arizona)
  • Mada McCabe (University of Wisconsin-Whitewater)
  • Morgan McCammon (University of Illinois)

Team USA’s roster is comprised of athletes who represented the United States at the Tokyo Paralympic Games. The U.S. roster is comprised of: 

  • Darlene Hunter (Commerce, Mich.), three-time Paralympian and two-time Paralympic medalist
  • Zoe Voris (Chicago), one-time Paralympian and Paralympic bronze medalist 
  • Courtney Ryan (San Diego), one-time Paralympian and Paralympic bronze medalist
  • Natalie Schneider (Ord, Neb.), four-time Paralympian and three-time Paralympic medalist 
  • Lindsey Zurbrugg (Portland), one-time Paralympian and Paralympic bronze medalist

Before the Team USA vs. College All-Star competition tips off, athletes from both teams will volunteer their time to host a wheelchair basketball skills clinic for local athletes with disabilitites. The clinic—hosted by the National Wheelchair Basketball Association—is expected to draw dozens of youth from the Dallas metropolitan area.  

“I am thrilled to be representing the University of Illinois and the NWBA at the Final Four event as we share our sport with the world!,” McCammon said. “Wheelchair basketball has given me the opportunity to conquer dreams I thought I had lost, and I am beyond excited to share my experiences and knowledge with those who are just learning about the sport and the next generation of NWBA athletes.”

Team USA and the College All-Stars will take the court during halftimes of the NCAA Divisions II and III Women’s Final Four, located at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, on April 1. 

For more information about the wheelchair basketball at the University of Illinois, please visit https://dres.illinois.edu/. 

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A Journey to Empowerment

May 06, 2019 | Anna Flanagan

Kevin Fritz heard the word “can’t” frequently when he was a child. Today, he is an accomplished attorney in a prestigious Chicago law firm. He described his journey to independence in accepting the 2018 Harold Scharper Award from the Division of Disability Resources and Educational Services.

Harold Scharper Award recipient Kevin Fritz is flanked by Susann Sears, director of Beckwith Residential Support Services, and Pat Malik, former director of Disability Resources and Educational Services.

Kevin Fritz’s disability made his childhood difficult. People noticed his wheelchair before they noticed him. The severity of his disability made it impossible for him to perform the tasks of daily living for himself, and he was often hospitalized with intense illnesses. Despite all of this, he had a strong will to succeed.

So when his health finally stabilized during high school, his thoughts immediately turned to taking advantage of opportunities. It was the first time he felt empowered in his life.

“That was the first time I truly felt authority or power to do something,” he said. “And I did. I immersed myself in academics. I tried to learn things. I tried to become more articulate, sensitive, ambitious.”

In his junior year, he came across an article in New Mobility magazine that listed the top ten universities for people with disabilities. What intrigued him most about the article were the photos of people in wheelchairs.

“They were doing things, going to classes, wearing clothing that wasn’t from a hospital. It was fascinating,” he said.

The University of Illinois was at the top of the list. Although this Pennsylvania resident wasn’t even sure where Illinois was, he called the Division of Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) and spoke with Susann Sears, who now directs the Beckwith Residential Support Services program for people with severe physical disabilities who require personal assistants. She recommended a campus visit.

“She said I could take a tour on a special bus that was accessible and see the place where I would live with other students and get care,” he said. “That was the second time in my life that I felt empowered.”

His father drove him 12 hours for the visit. The ride home was quiet, with Kevin feeling “shell-shocked and elated.” His father broke the silence, saying, “Kevin, if you can get in, you can go.”

At Illinois, Kevin learned how to maximize his quality of life. He credits Susann in particular with igniting a fire in him to push back when people said no. “She fought for me to change what is commonplace,” he said. “I have rights. I’m allowed to be here. I deserve to be here.”

He seized opportunity after opportunity, becoming the first student with a known physical disability to be elected to the Illinois Student Senate, which he also chaired, and to serve as director of the Illini Union Board. A student in Community Health, he served as president of Future Health Care Executives, the largest student organization in the College of Applied Health Sciences, and of the rehabilitation service fraternity Delta Sigma Omicron. He landed coveted internships with then-Senator Barack Obama and with Lynne Barnes, vice president of hospital operations at Carle, who encouraged Kevin to apply his analytical mind and passion to law school.

During his studies at Washington University School of Law, he served as the primary editor of the Washington University Journal of Law & Policy, as a board member of Wiley Rutledge Moot Court, and as executive director of advocacy for the National Association of Law Students with Disabilities. He won several mock trials as well as an Excellence in Oral Advocacy Award. As an associate in the firm Seyfarth Shaw LLP, he counsels clients on a wide range of employment issues. His courtroom experience covers the full spectrum of litigation. He co-chairs the firm’s All Abilities Affinity Group, which focuses on inclusion in the workplace, and speaks extensively on disability and diversity issues throughout Chicago.

Looking back on his days at Illinois, Kevin is grateful for the many opportunities that he had through his affiliations with AHS and DRES. He considers the University of Illinois to be a mechanism that allows people to master their lives, adding that he is very honored and proud to have mastered his own.

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