The Impact of Wheelchair Lacrosse
Our video of team of Mason Perricone and Michael Wallin bring a truly inspirational story from their visit with Wheelchair Lacrosse USA in California earlier this year.
"The motivation behind why we started this I guess was just kind of born out of necessity," said Ryan Baker, founder and president of Wheelchair Lacrosse USA. "Team sports for wheelchair athletes tended to be fairly limited. We wanted to really just kind of create a new option for guys to participate in a team-oriented sport. We really had no idea what we were getting ourselves into when we started this thing. We’re just really excited to share it with the rest of the country and disabled athletes from all over the world.
"We’re putting sticks in people’s hands that have never held a stick before and they’re just falling in love with this game."
One of those players is, John Schumacher, who lost both of his legs in 2011 while serving the United States in Afghanistan.
"I chose wheelchair lacrosse because it was physical," Schumacher said. "I was a United States Marine, I didn’t take the easy road. I wanted a challenge. When I came out here, I liked the physicality of the game, the competitiveness. I didn’t want soft gloves and people treating me as if I’m an injured person. I might not have my legs, I might not have what I had before, but I’m still capable."
