Junior Nets Prepare to Defend Title at National Junior Prep Championships
The 2005 National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) Prep League National Champions, the United Spinal Junior Nets wheelchair basketball team, is preparing to defend their title at this year’s National Jr. Prep Championships at the RiverPlex Recreation and Wellness Center in Peoria, Illinois. The Junior Nets, comprised of youths ages 14 and under, is co-sponsored by United Spinal Association and the New Jersey Nets. The tournament will run from Friday, March 10 to Sunday, March 12. Saturday and Sunday games may begin as early as 8 a.m. and the championship game will take place Sunday at 11 a.m.
Last season the team went undefeated, 16-0, clinching the championship title in Birmingham, Alabama against the Milwaukee Wheelin’ Wizards, 38-23. The team will also be competing at the 2006 Junior Division JV National Championships at the University of Nebraska in Omaha, Nebraska from Friday, March 17 to Sunday, March 19. The tournament will feature the top 16 wheelchair basketball teams from around the country. Last year, the Junior Nets placed third at the JV Nationals with a 2-point win against the Seattle Junior Sonics. The first place trophy went to the Mad City squad from Madison, Wisconsin.
Doug Garner, commissioner of NWBA’s Junior Division, is looking forward to the upcoming national championship tournaments. He believes that youths competing in the NWBA, as well as other adaptive sports programs, gain invaluable tools for everyday life. “Youth basketball for children with disabilities promotes the same social, cognitive, physical, and psychological development and opportunities that youth sports does for children without disabilities. In everyday terms, by joining a basketball team, these kids have something to look forward to. Practices and tournaments give this population an activity where they can actually make their own choices––many times limited in their everyday life by their disabilities,” Garner says. “Sports participation encourages social participation within their communities, fosters confidence and self esteem, promotes the development of problem solving skills, and is very important in their development of a sense of ‘self.’”
United Spinal Association is a national membership organization for people with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D). Guided by the belief that the benefits of athletic competition are no different for athletes with disabilities than for the able-bodied, the Association sponsors a wide variety of wheelchair recreational and adaptive sports programs. Membership in United Spinal is free and open to all individuals with spinal cord disabilities. For more information call our toll free number, 800-404-2898.