A look at how wheelchair rugby has helped two athletes
Michael Belew thought he’d never find a brotherhood like he did in the Air Force again.
Then, he found wheelchair rugby.
It fueled his competitive outlet, lit a fire and gave him a chance to be part of a team again. And for the fifth straight year, he’s back at the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) Wheelchair Rugby Invitational.
“I’m a very competitive guy. I love competing. And after high school, I thought I was done,” says Belew, a 26-year-old who’s played with the Lakeshore Demolition Division I team the past five years. “Also, the team aspect of it. Like, there’s not really a brotherhood like Special Operations, which is what I was doing when I broke my neck. I thought I was done finding a solid brotherhood. And this is a bunch of guys who think the same and play the same. It’s just good to be around competitive guys, even if they’re, you know, disabled as hell.”
Lakeshore finished 0-2 on the second day of PVA’s ninth annual Wheelchair Rugby Invitational on Saturday, falling 52-40 to the Wounded Warriors Abilities Ranch (WWAR) Warriors and 63-40 to the WWAR Generals, at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Ky.
The Demolition will play for third place against the WWAR Warriors in the four-team Division I tournament on Sunday, while the WWAR Generals and Texas Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR) Memorial Hermann Texans will meet for the Division I title.
Wisconsin Adaptive Sports Association (WASA)/Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute (CKRI) Lightning and Shepherd Smash will play in the Division II championship on Sunday, while Division III will finish up its round-robin tournament.
After a June 2020 diving accident where Belew dove into the sand and broke his neck at his C7 vertebra in Panama Beach, Fla., he didn’t expect to play sports again. That is, until the Shepherd Center in Atlanta introduced him to wheelchair rugby, and then a recreation therapist helped get him involved with Lakeshore.
He had played soccer, volleyball, basketball and done cross-country growing up at a small high school and was so happy to find something competitive that had hard-hitting fun.
“I just didn’t see. I just didn’t realize that there was stuff out there. This is a great find,” says Belew.
Carolina Crash teenager Miley Rhoad is grateful for the sport, too.
Injured in a July 2021 motor vehicle accident, she sustained a level C5-C6 incomplete spinal cord injury just outside of Charlotte, N.C. Early after her injury, she was introduced to wheelchair rugby at Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, N.C. She watched the movie “Murderball,” the well-known 2005 documentary about the sport, and then the Adaptive Sports and Adventures Program, which offers children and adults with physical disabilities the chance to participate in recreational sports, helped get her started with it there.
She joined the Division III Crash her first year, though she couldn’t play on the team at all. But she has played the past four years.
“I love that it’s full-contact because you don’t really see that with some of the other wheelchair sports, like basketball,” says Rhoad, who did competitive horseback riding, basketball and clay pigeon shooting growing up. “I like the adrenaline rush. And I actually love that it’s male-dominated because, of course, I want more women to play.”
This is her first year playing at the PVA Wheelchair Rugby Invitational.
”I absolutely love this. Like, the venue is awesome. I love that the hotel is connected. That’s so nice. Because usually I’m freezing because I’m a cold quad. I stay cold all the time, and I’m freezing getting from, like, the car to the gym or whatever,” Rhoad says. “But it’s really nice. I love how big it is. Honestly, I expected it to be, like, louder in here, and it’s not that bad. But, yeah, I love it.”
Carolina won both its games Saturday, defeating the Denver Barbarians (44-40) and the Bay Area Outreach Program (BORP) High Fives Storm (48-33). The Crash will play against Oscar Mike Militia for fifth place in Division II on Sunday. Rhoad says she’s learned plenty already.
“But rugby itself has definitely taught me, like, inner strength and also like patience,” she says. “And it’s been really eye-opening to see so many different, like, injuries and level of injury, different functions, like how we all get together and play this amazing sport, and how every player is important. Everyone has a role. And you wouldn’t be able to play it without those roles, you know, so, it’s awesome. I love the sport a lot.”
During Saturday’s opening game against the WWAR Warriors, Belew played the first and fourth periods and scored in the final one. Although his team didn’t make the final, he still likes the tournament because it helps the team prepare for the United States Wheelchair Rugby Association National Championships later this year. And Lakeshore Foundation will host them in April in Birmingham, Ala.
“It’s gonna be fun. I’m excited not to have to travel. That’s gonna be exciting,” Belew says. “And honestly, just like this tournament, I’m just excited to play in good competition, have high-quality rugby and hopefully play as much as I possibly can, get as much experience as I can. Because every second on the court matters, especially early on.”
Paralyzed Veterans Of America (PVA) Wheelchair Rugby Invitational
Jan. 31
Day 2 Results
At Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Ky.
Division III
NEP Wildcats 53, Maryland Mayhem 27
Pittsburgh Steelwheelers 50, Grand Rapids Thunder 30
Gaylord Warriors 52, Ohio Buckeye Blitz 24
Pittsburgh Steelwheelers 51, Maryland Mayhem 41
NEP Wildcats 51, Gaylord Warriors 50 (OT)
Ohio Buckeye Blitz 50, Grand Rapids Thunder 43
Division II
Carolina Crash 44, Denver Barbarians 40
Oscar Mike Militia 47, BORP High Fives Storm 32
WASA/CKRI Lightning 46, Jefferson Moss-Magee Eagles 51
Shepherd Smash 51, MedStar NRH United 43
Carolina Crash 48, BORP High Fives Storm 37
Oscar Mike Militia 1, Denver Barbarians 0
WASA/CKRI Lightning 55, MedStar NRH United 43
Shepherd Smash 51, Jefferson Moss-Magee Eagles 44
Division I
WWAR Generals 61, TIRR Texans 46
WWAR Warriors 52, Lakeshore Demolition 40
WWAR Generals 63, Lakeshore Demolition 40
TIRR Texans 61, WWAR Warriors 46