Grand Rapids Thunder ladies bring intensity to PVA Wheelchair Rugby Invitational
In over 10 years of coaching wheelchair rugby, Nick Long recorded a first.
During Friday’s opening day of the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) Wheelchair Rugby Invitational in Louisville, Ky., the Division III Grand Rapids Thunder out of Michigan featured a unique lineup that included three female players — Natalie Wright, Kelly Hott and “Speedie” Hampton — and himself as a player/coach.
Hott, Hampton and Long are all Michigan residents, while Wright, who is originally from Grand Rapids, was recruited from the Chicago Bears Division III wheelchair rugby team to help them out this weekend because their team was short a few players.
It’s not just their bright green jerseys that made them stand out inside the South Hall of the Kentucky International Convention Center.
“They’re all aggressive, competitive players. I don’t really think about necessarily their gender,” says the 55-year-old Long, who sustained a level C6 spinal cord injury (SCI) in a 2002 diving accident in Bay City, Mich. “They play just as hard as any other players. I mean, they’re my more intense players, I would say.”
Although Grand Rapids finished 0-2, falling 52-17 to the Gaylord Warriors and 61-13 to the NEP Wildcats in Day 1 of the three-day, three-division, 18-team tournament, the three players and their coach say they’ve improved their communication. Hott, who’s the longest-tenured of the three women at seven years, is definitely intense. She says she likes going up against the guys.
“Bring it. Let’s go. Never cared,” says the 45-year-old Saginaw, Mich., resident.
Hott was born with cystic fibrosis and is the only one of the four born with a disability. Long had been trying to convince her to play the sport for more than 10 years. He finally got her into a wheelchair rugby chair at a conference. Then, she came out to try the sport and now loves it.
“It’s fun,” she says. “I like running into other people. Bam!”
It’s the second straight year the Thunder have played in the tournament. It’s about a seven-hour drive for most of the team. And with the high number of teams — four teams in Division I, six in Division II and seven in Division III — it’s advantageous. A couple more players will arrive today, as well.
“It’s a huge tournament. I mean, it’s almost like [the United States Wheelchair Rugby Association] Nationals. There’s 18 teams here, so it’s a big tournament with three divisions. That’s unusual. It’s really the only one in the country. So, this is, you know, a unique tournament,” Long says. “… And you know we’re ranked 30th out of 30 in the country. So, we’re kind of the bottom-ranked team. But to come and see D-1 rugby and play at this level and still play, you know we’re only playing against kind of Division III teams. I’m not trying to, you know, beat a D-1 team. So, just overall, it’s been a great experience for us the last two years.”
A 41-year-old Grand Rapids resident, Hampton just started playing wheelchair rugby this season. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2011.
Since her diagnosis, she’s participated in adaptive fencing, wheelchair softball, wheelchair lacrosse, wheelchair basketball and sled hockey, along with wheelchair rugby. This is the newest sport, though, and she’s learned she needs to get the ball out of her hands and up the court quicker.
“I mean, I come from, like, other sports and stuff like that. So, I appreciated that I finally got to be aggressive and be able to play here and everything like that,” Hampton says. “So, I attempt, I try.”
Just two weeks ago, Long put together a lineup with two females (Hott and Hampton) and two males (Chuck Byndom and himself) for the Southern Slam Wheelchair Rugby Tournament, which features four players on each team playing five games and no substitutions, in Jacksonville, Fla. On Friday, the four played the entire two games with no substitutions.
“I mean, it’s tough. It’s tiring because you have no break,” Hott says.
Adds Hampton — “She always wants to play.”
Wright decided to help them out for this tournament. A former wheelchair basketball player at the University of Illinois, the 26-year-old was injured in a motor vehicle accident when she was 5 years old. She started playing wheelchair rugby last season and, like Hampton, acknowledged it was a learning year.
She says physically, they keep up just fine. They’d just like to see more women in the sport.
“But I think you look for community in a sport. And so, having less women, like right now we have a group chat … I know like 24 women in the sport total,” Wright says.
But she also witnessed a first Friday. After her wheel broke, Wright didn’t have a spare and needed another one, so she looked around for some help from opposing teams.
“I was like, ‘Can someone please give me a wheel?’ And they gave me a wheel and axle. So, they were also helping me on the court because I was new. So, it was a really cool thing. I’ve never seen that,” she says. “And I think that’s, in the name, of like, rugby. Like, they’re fiercely competitive on the court. But, like, everyone is like one big family off the court. It’s really cool.”
Paralyzed Veterans Of America (PVA) Wheelchair Rugby Invitational
Jan. 30
Day 1 Results
At Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Ky.
Division III
NEP Wildcats 60, Pittsburgh Steelwheelers 27
Maryland Mayhem 51, Ohio Buckeye Blitz 36
Gaylord Warriors 52, Grand Rapids Thunder 17
Gaylord Warriors 48, Maryland Mayhem 35
NEP Wildcats 61, Grand Rapids Thunder 13
Pittsburgh Steelwheelers 48, Ohio Buckeye Blitz 35
Division II
Jefferson Moss-Magee Eagles 53, Denver Barbarians 37
Shepherd Smash 56, BORP High Fives Storm 43
WASA/CKRI Lightning 54, Carolina Crash 44
MedStar NRH United 39, Oscar Mike Militia 36
WASA/CKRI Lightning 55, Denver Barbarians 44
Jefferson Moss-Magee Eagles 55, Carolina Crash 38
MedStar NRH United 54, BORP High Fives Storm 42
Shepherd Smash 53, Oscar Mike Militia 31
Division I
Wounded Warriors Abilities Ranch Warriors (WWAR) 1, WWAR Generals 0
Lakeshore Demolition 52, TIRR Texans 49
WWAR Generals 65, Lakeshore Demolition 36
TIRR Texans 64, WWAR Warriors 63
