Armando Rodriguez, 42 of Union City has been dedicating his free time honing his skills in wheelchair basketball at the Berkeley Adult School Gym. There, the Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program provides sports, recreation and fitness options for children, youth and adults with physical disabilities and visual impairments.
Rodriguez has been wheelchair bound for 17 years. Before his injury, he frequently played basketball and was even part of an adult league. A year after suffering his life altering injury, he began to miss playing the sport and started exploring wheelchair basketball to see if it was something he wanted to pursue. Initially, his attempts were challenging.
“I got introduced to wheelchair basketball in San Jose. I played there for a month or two and wasn’t really into it,” recalled Rodriguez. “A few years later, I found out about the BORP team in Berkeley and I started attending practices and was enjoying it. But I had some health issues and I had to have surgery and was out for 6 months; so I stopped playing. About a year ago, I reached out to the BORP organization again to get back into wheelchair basketball and I have been going continuously ever since then.”
“I reached out to the BORP [Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program, Adaptive Sports and Recreation] organization…to get back into wheelchair basketball and I have been going continuously.”
Armando Rodriguez, Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program attendee
Rodriguez mentioned that he was playing pretty good starting from the first practice he participated in and started to enjoy the game again. Initially, he would borrow the specialized sports wheelchairs made available through the program, but he has recently acquired his own sports wheel chair.
As time has passed since his first day, Rodriguez has become more involved and is committed to elevating the team anyway he can. This past season, he took it upon himself to procure new uniforms for his team, which previously did not have uniforms when he first started. He provided the uniforms for his team just in time for the upcoming tournaments and is always searching for other ways to help improve the organization.
“I go and practice on my own a few of times a week and I have been registering with the Golden State Warriors’ professional wheelchair team,” Rodriguez said. “I have been practicing with them since last summer and my goal is to make that team this upcoming fall and BORP has definitely helped me with the training.”
Rodriguez plans to continue to attend practices and assisting with coaching tasks for the team he is part of. His advice for those looking to get into wheelchair basketball but are hesitant is to put the time in and do the work to overcome any obstacles they may face.
To find out what Berkeley Adult School can do for you, visit bas.berkeleyschools.net or call (510) 644-6130.
To learn more about BAS’s BORP Adaptive Sports and Recreation program visit borp.org or check out the wheelchair basketball classes held on Monday evenings from 6PM – 9PM at the West Campus Gym located at 2100 Browning St.
Written by Whip Villarreal
| Regions | Classes |
|---|---|
| Bay Area California | Enrichment |
