“They Feel They Can Conquer Anything”: Adaptive Sports Lets Injured Vets Sail, Play Basketball Uptown

Research shows adaptive sports programs benefit veterans.

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By Nuri Illini Ahmad

On a calm afternoon by the Hudson River docks in Inwood, Tim Tynan, 72, strapped on a blue life jacket, ready to go sailing. “When we’re out on the water, you forget you’re in a wheelchair,” he said. 

Tynan, a Navy veteran, did two tours in Vietnam; his lower body became paralyzed after a skiing accident 10 years ago. But that didn’t stop him from pursuing adaptive sports. “It’s an opportunity to get your mind off of the fact that you have a disability,” he said, while waiting with other veterans to board a sailboat.

A Bronx native, Tynan said adaptive sports help him socialize. “We compete in a friendly manner, we get out of the house, we get involved with others and realize we are not in this alone,” he said. 

Sailing puts him on equal footing with any non-disabled sailor in the boat. After eight years of adaptive sailing, cycling, kayaking and playing softball, he sometimes forgets that he’s paralyzed, he said.  

Tim Tynan sailing on the Hudson. (Photo by Dukens Pierre)

Hudson River Community Sailing’s adaptive program kicked off in July. It allows veterans with spinal cord injuries, developmental disabilities, cognitive and visual impairment to sail, said Don Rotzien, director of community sailing and operations. 

The Dyckman Marina in Inwood showed potential for adaptive sailing and created waterfront access for residents uptown, Rotzien said. 

A recipient of an adaptive sports grant from the federal Department of Veterans Affairs, it is the city’s only adaptive sailing program and a pilot for the organization. Rotzien said the organization is working with others to learn adaptive techniques for people with various disabilities. 

“It’s very important for our paralyzed veterans to do adaptive sports so they can feel they can conquer anything,” explained Dukens Pierre, a recreational therapist for spinal cord adapters at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center in the Bronx. “Once we introduce them, the goal is for them to continue these activities independently.” 

Jonathan Glasberg, a clinical coordinator for the prosthetic team at the VA New York Harbor Healthcare System, recalled one patient, a Vietnam veteran with bilateral lower-limb loss. He was introduced to adaptive cycling at the Pedal to Honor Veterans bicycle tour and has been riding in cycling marathons ever since. “His health is through the roof,” Glasberg said. “For a very large guy with both legs missing, it’s just amazing.”

With such success stories, adaptive sports for veterans are growing across the country. Roughly 1000 veterans participated in six national adaptive sports events this year, and many more through local programs, said Glasberg. 

The VA and Paralyzed Veterans of America co-host the annual National Wheelchair Games, launched in 1981. They also organize  seasonal adaptive sports clinics for visually and mobility impaired veterans, which offer sailing, skiing, rowing, fencing and more. 

The 40th National Veterans Wheelchair Games in New York City drew about 280 veterans in August. Some were able to play wheelchair basketball at Rucker Park in Harlem, home of basketball legends such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Julius “Dr. J” Erving. Rucker Park streetball legend Bob McCullough came to cheer them on. 

“These are not just some veterans in wheelchairs going out to shoot some hoops, these are people that compete in their hometowns,” said Glasberg. “They love basketball, and they were psyched to go to a play at the legendary Rucker Park.” 

The VA offers $16 million in grant funding this year for community organizations to provide adaptive sports and therapeutic recreation for disabled veterans. Veterans who compete also receive stipends to fund their training, Glasberg said. 

Along with Hudson River Community Sailing, New York City has several centers providing adaptive sports for veterans, including Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, Fencers Club in Chelsea, Achilles International, Row New York and Gallop NYC. The sailing program is the only one uptown.  

Hudson River has wound down its adaptive sailing for the season, but Victor Prato, 28, said he had a great time. “I love sailing. It’s been a part of my life for a long time,” he said. As a kid, he used to sail his father’s Sunfish sailboat on Gardiners Bay off Long Island.

Victor Prato and his 4-year-old Labrador, Barbosa, post-sailing. (Photo by Nuri Illini Ahmad)

Prato was wounded in combat in 2017 in Afghanistan, while serving with the 82nd Airborne Division, and injured his spinal cord. He started fundraising at the Annapolis Boat Show in Maryland this month “to adapt a bigger sailboat for wheelchairs” and sail around the world with other wounded veterans.

Often, programs continue indoors after summer sports and wheelchair games end. Veterans will return to indoor fencing and the Peters VA Medical Center plans to build a bocce court on the hospital grounds, said Pierre. 

Veterans also play adaptive e-sports. The VA has Xbox adaptive controllers set up for patients at its medical centers in the Bronx, Pierre said.  

Many studies have shown that veterans participating in adaptive sports have better community reintegration, Glasberg said. “They get an athletic identity and improved coping skills,” he said. In one recent study by VA San Diego Healthcare System and the University of Zürich, veterans participating in the National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic in 2017 and 2018 showed reduced anxiety and depression as well as continuing engagement with adaptive sports. 

“I see it in my veterans,” said Glasberg. “They have increased employment opportunities and they actually get jobs within these different arenas.” 

(Featured photo by Rachel Szymanski)

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