expensive equipment shouldn’t be a game deterrent. Players can use loaners (thanks to donated chairs from former players), secure wheelchair funding through Challenged Athlete Foundation grants and even find used equipment online at discounted rates. The Orlando Magic Wheels offers a platform for athletes with disabilities to exercise and practice sportsmanship but also, specifically for newly disabled, presents therapeutic opportunities. “We just signed a memorandum of understanding with the Orlando VA to be a continuous part of their rehab in partnership with the Wounded Warriors,” Prakke shares. Aside from likeness in name, the Orlando Magic Wheels have no formal affiliation with the NBA’s Orlando Magic team. The organization is funded, in part, by the Harper Family Charitable Foundation but mostly from supportive individual donors. Want to give it a shot? Come out to a practice, held every Tuesday (6-8 pm) at the Silver Star Rec Center in Orlando. The Orlando Magic Wheels averages about 15 games during the regular season (September to April). The top 16 teams in each division qualify for nationals. For more information, visit OrlandoMagicWheels.org; or, for those outside of the Orlando area, visit nwba.org. 21 AmeriDisability July/August 2017
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