Getting Everyone Moving
By Michael Rosenkrantz
Getting Everyone Moving Mar 28, 2021
SoCal Adaptive Sports-January 2024 Programs-with Gene Nichols
Mike Rosenkrantz interview with Gene Nichols describing January 2024 Programs
Gene Nichols Interview April 2023
Mike's interview with Gene talking about Sports for everyBODY and our adapted sports fair on April 22, 2023
Salton Sea Prayer vigil
Salton Sea Prayer Vigil October 10, 2022
76. April Wolfe
April is the Therapeutic Recreation Specialist for the City of Reno, Nevada and has established a sled hockey and many other adapted programs.
75. Kyra and Kendra Edwards
Kyra is a multiple sport athlete and has dreams of opening a coffee shop. Her mom Kendra, her dad who passed away five years ago, and her other family members have been huge supports in helping Kyra to thrive.
74. Bruce Froendt
Founder & Executive Dir. of AllPlay Miracle Baseball League. Commissioner of National Wheelchair Softball Association
73. Teal and Gemma Thron-Guion
Teal Guion was there when the First Tee of the Coachella Valley began in 2008 and is now the Executive Director. Gemma is Teal's daughter who plays adaptive golf and soccer!
72. Jeremy "Opie" Lade
Jeremy "Opie" Lade (born January 6, 1981)[1] is an American Paralympic wheelchair basketball player and head coach from Oconto, Wisconsin. He was injured in a car accident at age 8, and attended his first wheelchair sports camp at the age of 13 at UW-Whitewater. He is a two-time Paralympian American Games gold medalist in both 2007 and 2011. In 2002, he won a gold medal at IWBF World Championship and in 2006 won a silver one from the same place. Six years later, he was awarded a bronze medal for his participation at the 2012 Summer Paralympics and is currently employed as a head coach at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater.[2] From 2005 to 2008 he coached Milwaukee Wizards and led them to a Junior National Championship. In his spare time he likes to watch Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Milwaukee Brewers with Michael Jordan being his favorite athlete. https://rollt-magazin.de/interview-with-jeremy-opie-lade-make-your-decisions-based-on-what-is-best-for-the-team/ https://www.uww.edu/aaec/welcome/advisors/opie-lade
71. Dee Henry
Dee has dedicated her life to coaching wheelchair tennis. She is a tennis coach at Biola University and has been an inspiration to so many athletes.
70. Keith Wallace
Keith Wallace is the Executive Director of Lincolnway Special Recreation Association providing adaptive sports in Illinois. Keith has also done adaptive sports missionary work in Nairobi, Kenya.
69. Jacqui Woods Kapinowski
JACQUI WOODS KAPINOWSKI is the President of Shifting Gears United Inc. and the Director, Freedom Team Kayak Program Coach/Mentor jacqui@shiftinggearsunited.org | 732-236-3576 Jacqui is a two time Paralympian for Team USA in the winter and summer games. Nine World Champions in four sports, curling, triathlon, wheelchair racing, and rowing. Jacqui Kapinowski has been an avid runner and athlete most of her life. She has completed 90 marathons, 19 as a runner and 71 in her racing chair and handcycle. In her early twenties, Jacqui was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis and then again five years later. This left her with a rare progressive disease that affects 1 in 1 million with no cure called “ Stiff Person Syndrome” and also a cancer survivor. Jacqui founded SGU on September 11, 2019 in an effort to change lives one at a time. SGU’s mission and purpose is to provide adapted sports to wounded veterans, first responders and the physically challenged community. Empower, educate and enable this disable community to train and participate in mainstream sports, as well as achieving and teaching their personal goals. Inspire valves of respect, fairness, honestly, community of inclusion and acceptance, self confidence and camaraderie. It is a perfect fit!
68. Lori Alexander
Lori is the author of: A Sporting Chance: How Ludwig Guttmann Created the Paralympic Games. Telling the inspiring human story behind the creation of the Paralympics, this young readers biography artfully combines archival photos, full-color illustrations, and a riveting narrative to honor the life of Ludwig Guttmann, whose work profoundly changed so many lives. Dedicating his life to helping patients labeled “incurables,” Ludwig Guttmann fought for the rights of paraplegics to live a full life. The young doctor believed—and eventually proved—that physical movement is key to healing, a discovery that led him to create the first Paralympic Games. Told with moving text and lively illustrations, and featuring the life stories of athletes from the Paralympic Games Ludwig helped create, this story of the man who saved lives through sports will inspire readers of all backgrounds.
67. Meg McCall
Meg McCall is also an outdoor enthusiast who loves to hike and partake in any activity associated with water. She spent the first decade of her career in the non-profit sector, with a focus on supporting with people with cognitive and physical disabilities. For the last 15 years, she has worked as a marketing executive for software and technology companies in both the public and private sectors. Meg, who happens to be Jim's daughter, knew a good thing when she first saw his paddle, so in 2012 the two partnered together to distribute it to the public. (The apple didn't fall far from the tree, you see!) They worked to fine-tune the design, patent it and manufacture it. Meg continues to head up the business side of Angle Oar LLC.
66. David Davis
David Davis-Author of Wheels of Courage: How Paralyzed Veterans from World War II Invented Wheelchair Sports, Fought for Disability Rights, and Inspired a Nation.
65. Elayne Otstot
Elayne is an aspiring disability advocate in the Dallas/Fort Worth area whose passionate about using multiple platforms and methods to educate people about disability access and inclusion; and health disparities affecting rural, disabled, and other vulnerable or marginalized communities.
Currently, Elayne is the communications and member engagement coordinator for the Alliance for Citizen Directed Supports, and she previously worked as a production/executive assistant for the independent film “Invalid Corps” in charge of out reach, social media tool kits and pitch decks. Recently was given the privilege of participating in Lights, Camera, Access as an artist with a disability, and had my work featured in the National Disability Employment Awareness Month campaign with her good friend, Lydia X. Z. Brown.
Elayne holds a graduate certificate in disability policy through Loyola Law School, and a bachelor’s degree in public health from the University of Texas at Arlington. As an undergraduate student, she served for two years as the Office for Disability Services’ representative to the President’s Diversity Roundtable, and led a community health education project on HPV prevention. In her personal life, she owns two Maine Coon rescue cats and is an urban fantasy/sci-fi writer.
64. Jason Allen-Getting Everyone Moving
Jason Allen has been involved with tennis throughout his entire life, starting with his first job as an assistant tennis pro at a country club in the early1990s at the age of 15.
In October 2016, he was hired as manager for wheelchair tennis, a position based at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. In his current role, he oversees wheelchair tennis across the country, managing tournaments, grass-roots initiatives, camps and coaching-development workshops, among other responsibilities.
Allen is also involved with the professional side of wheelchair tennis, as highlighted by his role as team leader with Team USA. In that administrative role, he oversees the logistics of tournaments for American players and coaches and also coordinates with the ITF, USOC and IPC. He will once again take on that responsibility at the World Team Cup.
Allen’s work also extends to on-court coaching. He helped start a weekly wheelchair tennis program at the National Campus, which has grown from one to 16 participants, and also runs several week-long all-comers camps throughout the year. Allen also helped launch the Net Generation wheelchair tennis initiative after extensive work adapting the able-bodied Net Gen curriculum for wheelchair athletes.
Allen’s unique career path also includes seven years in education, as a Spanish teacher and a principal. He left that field in 2016 to take on his full-time role with the USTA.
63. Rich O'Brien
Rich O’Brien is an adaptive golf instructor who works with advanced and disabled golfers, using golf as therapy. Rich has over 30 years of experience, but he also has his own harrowing narrative about traumatic brain injury and how golf, amongst other factors, helped him in his healing process.
http://www.bcepilepsy.com/blog/rich-tbi-recovery
https://sportsprosconnect.com/richobrien/
https://www.facebook.com/richobriengolf/
62. Dave White and Jaime Gonzales
Dave and Jaime are part of Blind Stokers Club of San Diego
61. Lisa Elliston
Lisa is the President of the NWBA Junior Division. She stared a non-profit adaptive sport organization in Mississippi and her son Jonathan is a wheelchair basketball athlete.
60. Dave Elbert
Dave is on the Executive Committee of the Juniors Division of the NWBA. His daughter Ruby had a rare form of cancer resulting in paralysis. She is a mover and shaker and plays for the University of Illinois.
59. Tom Vandever
Tom is a wheelchair basketball coach in Charlottesville, VA and is the Executive Director of the Independence Resource Center
58. Anthony Lara
Anthony Lara was introduced to wheelchair sports at the age of 9 years old and hasn’t looked back since. He is a 25 year+ veteran of the ITF Professional Wheelchair Tennis Tour and was a member of the U.S. Paralympic Team that competed at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia. He is active with the West Coast Wheelchair Tennis Association and is an excellent Tennis Instructor, receiving the Angel City Sports Foundation’s Coach of the Year Award in 2017. In addition, he is the founder of the One More Push Foundation.
57. Emily Hoskins
A paraplegic from birth, Hoskins has been involved with wheelchair basketball for much of her life. She was a member of the St. Louis Rolling Rams through high school before attending the University of Illinois, where she was a part of the Fighting Illini squad that won four consecutive national championships. After qualifying for the U.S. Paralympics Women's Wheelchair Basketball Team in 2004, Hoskins was a member of the team that won the gold medal at the Paralympic Games in Athens. In 2008, Hoskins was a starter in the gold medal game against Germany and helped Team USA complete its repeat. Hoskins earned her bachelor's degree from Illinois in psychology and and her master's degree at Murray State University. Emily is married, is a therapist and coaches youth wheelchair basketball teams in Nashville, TN
56. Kaitlin Tsue
Kaitlin is a USPTA tennis professional. She is the only fully certified USPTA tennis professional in the world who has had a hemispherectomy. Kaitlin now teaches wheelchair tennis with Head Women's Tennis Coach Dee Henry at Biola University and also is a tennis instructor for Special Olympics.
55. Harlon Matthews
Tennis discovered Harlon Matthews on Cinco de Mayo 2001. A wheelchair basketball player at the time, Matthews had no interest in tennis. “They told me I’d have to hold the racquet but still keep my chair moving. They told me I’d get blisters,” says Matthews. “I told them, ‘No thank you.’”
But when Tennis Day arrived in Athens Ga., Matthews gave tennis a try. And tennis changed his life. “I never felt that in 34 years of my life,” he said. Matthews began as a novice player but kept at it. Now, he is the Therapeutic Recreation Coordinator and tennis coach in Henry County, Ga.
Matthews didn’t stop there; he became a member of the PTR and passed the instructor test. “He’s amazing,” says Julie Jilly, the PTR’s v.p. of operations. “He moved up from beginner player to clinician. He’s very passionate about what tennis can do for people. Now, he teaches the teachers.”
In addition, Matthews is a tournament director for the Geranium Festival Wheelchair Tennis Tournament, which recently was named USTA Southern Section’s 2010 Tournament of the Year.
“The one thing that makes Harlon such a successful person is his passion, love for tennis and his unbelievable competitive nature despite his disability,” says Rick Davison, director of competition for USTA Georgia. “He’s just one of those individuals who inspires others to just do it and stop making excuses.”
54. David Evjen
David is the first wheelchair basketball coach at Eastern Washington University.
53. Kwok Ng
Kwok Ng currently holds a joint post at the School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Eastern Finland and the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Limerick, Ireland. He previously worked at the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä. Kwok does research in (special) educational interventions, Physical Activity promotion as well as sport psychology. Current projects include the Digilearn intervention at UEF, the Health Ireland Demonstration Project, the WHO Collaborative Cross-national Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, the Finnish School-aged Physical Activity (SPA) study and Winning in the Long Run: Towards a Psychosocial Sustainability of Adolescent Dual Careers.'
When sitting is not resting: Sitting Volleyball -
World ParaVolley Sitting Volleyball 40 years 1980-2020: commemorative booklet
International Federation of Adapted Physical Activity - ifapa.net
52. Jeff Welger
Jeff is the Executive Director of the Welger Foundation. His parents Christa and Saul were pioneers in the world of adaptive sports.
51. Cruz Gutierrez
Cruz is a wheelchair tennis/bball player and a leader in the world of adaptive sports in New Mexico.
50. Mia and Adrina (Itty Bitty Beastmode) Castro
Adrina, at 12, is a future Paralympic Wheelchair Bball player, along with her older sister Mia they provide online fitness instruction. https://vimeo.com/454167491
49. Ashley Davis
Ashley is the Executive Director of the Permobil Foundation, providing needed equipment for people with disability
48. Jake Herbert
Jake Herbert is a 29 year old adaptive athlete. He started his adaptive sport career in wheelchair basketball at the age of 19 before moving his focus to powerlifting at the age of 23. He made his first USA National Para-Powerlifting team in 2016 and competed in his first Para-Powerlifting World Championship in 2017 in Mexico City. He also the founder of AdaptivePower Strength & Fitness LLC in Indiana. This is a new business that focuses on giving people that are disable and able-body a way to achieve their fitness goals in a whole new light.
47. Jim Glatch
Jim Glatch took over as Edinboro University’s coach for student-athletes with disabilities in 1995. Most noteworthy is his work as the head coach of the wheelchair basketball team. He ranks as one of the leaders both nationally and internationally in coaching wheelchair basketball.
While winning on the basketball court is important, Glatch takes great pride that 70 percent of his student-athletes have graduated. On the court, he led the Fighting Scots to their finest season in 2006-07, reaching the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament championship game. Edinboro would finish second in the country while playing in front of a large crowd at McComb Fieldhouse, ending the year with a 24-9 record.
Glatch served as the director of Team USA’s Senior National Program from 2009-2012. His teams have earned success in international competition. He guided Team USA 23 team to the 2009 IWBF U23 World Championship, as the United States finished with a perfect 8-0 record while competing in Paris, France. That team included former Edinboro standouts Tommie Gray and Trevon Jenifer. The United States capped its perfect run to the title with a 77-54 win over Spain.
Glatch and his Team USA earned the bronze medal at the 2012 Paralympics in London, England. It was the first medal for the men’s team since 2000.
In addition to his duties with Team USA, Glatch gained previous international experience as an assistant coach for the 2001 Team USA 23 and Under World Cup Team, plus as a member of the selection committee of Team USA Women’s National Team in 2004 and a head coach at the U.S. Basketball Festival in 2003-04.
He has worked numerous camps and runs the Edinboro University Fighting Scots Wheelchair Basketball Camp. Previously, he served as a clinician at the Philadelphia Junior Wheelchair Basketball Camp and worked the Wounded Warrior Clinic, which works with Veterans Hospitals and organizations to teach wheelchair basketball to military veterans.
Prior to taking over as Edinboro’s head coach, Glatch was the Director of Sports Management, PA for Special Olympics from 1989-95. He coordinated 22 sports statewide along with assisting in the development of coaches.
Glatch received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology and Mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh, and also attended the American Sports Education Program (ASEP) at the University of Illinois.
He resides in Meadville with his wife Sandy of 28 years. They have one son, Alex (26), along with two daughters, Carley (24) a member of Edinboro University’s Class of 2020 and Stephanie (21), a junior at Edinboro.
46. Brian Bell
Brian lost his leg at the age of 10 due to a train accident. After he finished rehabilitation, he wanted to get back to playing his favorite sports: basketball and football. He played middle school football on his prosthetic until it became too strenuous. His mother discovered the Lakeshore Foundation, a U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Site in Birmingham, Alabama, where he fell in love with the wheelchair basketball after a attending sport camps for children with disabilities at the age of 12....Married to Diane Bell and they have five children. Brian enjoys drawing, playing video games, reading, cooking, and hanging out with friends and family.
Paralympic Experience
- One-time Paralympian (2016); One-time medalist (1 gold)
- Paralympic Games Rio 2016, gold
World Championship Experience
- Most recent: 2018 – silver
- Years of competition: 2014, 2018
- Medals: 2 (silver)
45. Chad Cohn
You will absolutely love this interview with Wheelchair Rugby Paralympian Chad Cohn. Chad enjoys gardening, cars, shoes, camping and doing anything outside. Paralympic Experience Two-time Paralympian (2012, 2016); Two-time medalist (1 silver, 1 bronze) Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, silver London 2012 Paralympic Games, bronze World Championship Experience Most recent: 2018 – bronze Years of participation: 2010, 2014, 2018 Medals: 3 (1 gold, 2 bronze) Gold – 2010 Bronze - 2014, 2018
44. Shelby Baron
Baron was born with spina bifida, a birth defect that has resulted in weakness in her legs. Until the third grade, Shelby walked around school with crutches and sat out of most PE activities. When she was nine years old, Lolly Romano, an adaptive PE specialist with the Department of Education, introduced her to a wheelchair. This allowed her to participate in most sports along with her classmates. She began playing wheelchair basketball with Coach Jeff Sampaga every Thursday as a way to get exercise, and was referred to a Tuesday night wheelchair tennis class. Tennis was frustrating at first, but she felt so good each time she hit a ball back over the net. After a couple of years, Shelby joined a US Tennis Association (USTA) junior team with able-bodied players. Most recently, Shelby represented the U.S. Juniors a second time in the 2012 BNP Paribas World Team Cup, held this year in Seoul, South Korea. An exciting event, the U.S. Juniors took second place, their best finish since 2003, after beating the top seed, Great Britain
43. Norris Family
Theresa and her husband Bruce are the proud parents of Kai who has a number of disabilities but it doesn't stop this vivacious 10 year old from being a Renaissance Man. Kai plays a number of sports, is also a chef and an artist.
42. Justin South
Justin is a former collegiate wheelchair basketball player at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He is now a youth wheelchair basketball coach for GLASA Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association.
41. Prof. Dennis Frost
Kalamazoo College-Wen Chao Chen Associate Professor of East Asian Social Sciences. His research focuses on modern Japanese history, with particular emphases on sports, disability, militarization, and urban development. At K, I teach courses on the entire scope of premodern, modern, and contemporary East Asian history with particular focus on China, Japan, and Korea. I also teach First-Year and Sophomore Seminars in the College’s Shared Passages Program, as well as Senior Seminars for the History Department and the East Asian Studies Program.
Dennis most recent book is More Than Medals: A History of the Paralympics and Disability Sports in Postwar Japan.
Dennis has a son with spina bifida who plays tennis, sled hockey and other sports
40. Jennifer Ruddell
Jen is a 2-time Paralympic gold medalist in wheelchair basketball. She has been in adaptive sport since 2001 as an athlete, coach, classifier, and educator. In 2004, Jen earned a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois where she studied Sports Management with an emphasis in Adaptive Sport. Jen and her family have been in Flagstaff since 2016. Jen is the Director of Parasport Flagstaff.
39. Kentaro Fukuchi
Kentaro has been blind since birth but doesn't let anything stop him. He has a full career, working at JICA in Tokyo, plays blind soccer and surfs, started an NGO in Sudan to develop blind soccer.
38. Padmini Chennapragada
Born and raised in the South Indian city of Hyderabad, Padmini Chennapragada holds a Master of Science (Adapted Physical Activity, USA) and is a trained Physiotherapist (Hyderabad, INDIA). She has created and leads the AdaptedSportsIndia movement. Started as a social media campaign, today, the initiative is a community driven effort that is encouraging and educating Indians with disabilities to take up sports to improve the quality of their lives.
She currently serves as a Program Director for the Indian Wheelchair Tennis Tour (IWTT). In this role, she helps develop training camps for Indians with physical disabilities to participate in regular wheelchair tennis programming.
Her work is focused on Sport Governance and Physical Education in India’s Special Schools. Through a rights-based approach, Padmini writes about the governance issues within India’s disability sport world.
37. Katrina Piparo
Katrina works for Top End and is the founder of Adaptive Sports Connections and Resources on Facebook.
36. David McCann
K. David McCann is the Executive Director of USA Boccia. Prior to taking this position in April 2020, he was the Director of the Office of Recreation and Park Resources, which provided consulting services, and coaching and parent resources to sport organizations in Illinois and throughout the country. He is one of the nation’s leading experts on Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) and sports programming, having been instrumental in the creation of the American Development Model which is used by the US Olympic Committee and numerous National Governing Bodies. Previously he has served as Director of Sport Development and Coaching for USA Rugby, Manager of Coaching Education for the US Olympic Committee, and Director of Educational Services for the US Ski and Snowboard Association.
While at the US Ski and Snowboard Association he created dozens of award-winning educational CD/DVDs and courses for coaches, parents, and athletes, which generated over a million dollars in revenue for the organization. He has created several websites and educational platforms for the delivery of courses, resources to national and local sport organizations. In 2007 he was elected President of the National Council for Accreditation of Coaching Education (NCACE). He has organized and hosted several National Coaching Conferences, which bring together coaches, coach educators, and program administrators to discuss and develop solutions to improve our sports development, education, and performance systems. Throughout his career, he has trained over 3,000 sport coaches and instructors in clinics and workshops.
He is a former professional project manager and is proficient in the use of project management, database, and budgeting software. He has performed and project managed research consulting reports for the International Rugby Board, and USA Rugby. He has worked with numerous national sport organizations such as the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) on the development of TrueSport, the US Olympic Committee on the development of the strategy for the USOC Safe Sports Environment (SafeSport), and National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) on the creation of the National Standards for Sport Coaches. In his role at the USOC, he advised and oversaw the creation of coaching education and development programs for several national governing bodies. He is a presently a member of the North American Society for Sport Management, and the US Center for Coaching Excellence.
35. Steve Everett
Steve bring 30 years of sports experience to the USPSA as an elite wheelchair athlete, coach and organizer. He competed worldwide in wheelchair tennis for over 20 years and ended the 1988 season as US Open Champion and the #1 ranked player in the world. Steve coached and helped develop quad rugby programs in Southern California as well as multiple able-body youth sports programs. Steve started playing power soccer in 2011 and is excited about applying his past experiences to help develop the sport. Steve is currently the director of marketing and client development for Evo Sports Training and resides in Lakewood California with his wife and two children.
34. Samanta Bullock
Samanta is a wheelchair tennis Paralympian, a model and an entrepreneur through her inclusive fashion line.
33. Doug Dixon
Doug is a wheelchair basketball coach with the Rollin Timberwolves. He started in the field of wheelchair basketball through his son Joe, who played for Missouri.
32 Dug Jones-Getting Everyone Moving
Jones, is the Divisional President of the NWBA’s Intercollegiate Division since 2012, enters the Hall of Fame as an individual who served in a variety of roles during his career. His career spanned 20 years, starting in 1982 with the North Florida Renegades. In 1995, Jones won the first of five National Titles as a player. From 2001-2008 he changed gears to coach the Gator
Wheels and the Dallas Wheelchair Mavericks. As a coach, he won four National Titles for the Mavericks (2003, 2005, 2006, 2007).
From an administrative perspective, Jones has been involved in a variety of roles that started as serving as the President of the Florida Conference from 1992-1994. He was a member of the NWBA Tournament Selection Committee for 1996-1997. He was also a member of the D-I Executive Committee from 2003-2008.
31. Madhavi Latha-Getting Everyone Moving
Madhavi Latha is a para-athletics sportsperson who champions the cause of sports for persons with disabilities. She was the National Para-Swimming Champion (three-time gold medallist), and also the founder of the Wheelchair Basketball Federation of India (WBFI) – India's national wheelchair basketball body. Previously, she has founded the Paralympic Swimming Association of Tamil Nadu in 2011, and Yes We Can Too, an NGO that focuses on inclusivity in sports and the promotion of sports for persons with disabilities.
30 Mark Bookman-Getting Everyone Moving
Mark Bookman is a Ph.D. Candidate in East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania. His research looks at the history and politics of disability in Japanese and global contexts.
Mark also works as an accessibility consultant. He has collaborated with government agencies and corporate entities in Japan and the United States, as well as the Olympic and Paralympic Committees and the UN, on inclusive education, equitable transportation, environmental design, and disaster risk management projects.