A simple challenge on the basketball court is leading to new experiences for students at Hamilton’s St. Jean de Brébeuf high school.

Today, the school’s physical education department revived its wheelchair basketball course, which includes lessons on the para-sport’s fundamentals.

with a combination of core strength and balance, students at St. Jean de Brébeuf is finding out what it takes to play the game of wheelchair basketball.

“It’s kind of cool but it’s also challenging because your arms get tired. For me, the movement is different,” says Elijah Ibrahim-Adkunmi.

“All this pushing up and down the court and the shooting is different and a little hard, I can’t shoot while sitting down,” says Francis Peter Bisbal.

On Tuesday, roughly 80 students, from grades 10 to 12, at the Hamilton Mountain high school learned the basic rules and fundamentals like pushing, turning and knowing when to dribble to avoid a travel violation.

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The clinic is an addition to their basketball-focused, gym classes that began nearly 10 years ago. After experiencing a halt during the pandemic, the phys – ed department brought it back this year.

“I think what we’re hoping to achieve is the perception for students to see that athletes are athletes. No matter if they’re able-body or they’re playing sport-chair and we want the students to have that sense of community and sense of belonging,” says Kevin Duffy, a phys – ed teacher at St. Jean de Brébeuf.

Wheelchair basketball is proven to be a vigorous workout, to help one improve their strength and endurance. It’s also a sport that helps foster inclusivity and challenges you to get out of your comfort zone.

Leading the adaptive sport class is Jamoi Anderson with Parasport Ontario.

The multi-sport athlete and a national sitting volleyball medallist says he once was an able-body athlete. However, in 2008, he endured a severe viral infection. Life-saving measures led to gangrene in his left foot, which then led to the decision of amputation.

“I think, for me, the biggest part about getting new people involved in parasport or adaptive sport is that we can make small tweaks to anything we are doing, so we can all participate and have fun together,” says Anderson.

Something the student body at St. Jean de Brébeuf agrees with.

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