With a drive to win, you try harder

Photo By Ronald Wolf | Retired Staff Sgt. Alexander Shaw, a veteran competitor, is aiming to make the Department of Defense Warrior Games 2015. This week at Fort Bliss, Texas, he will compete in sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball and track and field. Army Trials, March 29 – April 2, are conducted by the Warrior Transition Command and hosted by Fort Bliss. About 80 wounded, ill and injured Soldiers and Veterans are competing for a spot on the Department of Defense Warrior Games 2015 Army Team. The Games are from June 19-28, Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia. (U.S. Army Photo by Ronald Wolf, Army Medical Command)  

FORT BLISS, TX, UNITED STATES

03.28.2015

Story by Ronald Wolf 

Army Recovery Care Program

FORT BLISS, Texas - Retired Staff Sgt. Alexander Shaw hopes to make his mark in and outside of the athletic arena. From Clarkesville, Tennessee, he is currently attempting to make the Department of Defense Warrior Games 2015 Army Team. He also is helping to teach wheelchair basketball and other adaptive sports.

The 2015 Army Trials are conducted by the Warrior Transition Command and hosted by Fort Bliss, Texas. About 80 wounded, ill and injured Soldiers and Veterans from across the country have been invited to compete for a spot on the Department of Defense Warrior Games 2015 Army Team, 19 - 28 June, Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia.

This is Shaw’s second time at Army Trials. He is participating in sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, and track and field (sitting discus and shot put).

He currently works as a volunteer at a community center, where he teaches wheelchair basketball and other adaptive sports. He hopes to promote a wider adoption of adaptive sports in the community as well as other ways to help the physically disabled.

Adaptive sports are those competitive activities that wounded, ill and injured individuals participate in to support their physical and emotional well-being. These activities contribute to a successful recovery.
Adaptive sports, Shaw says, help provide motivation, purpose and build confidence.

“Often the individual is depressed after serious injury,” he said.

“Adaptive sports can help to bring those individuals out of a depression. They are more likely at that point to meet people and build friendships. Adaptive sports also help to create an opportunity to interact with a group. Everyone likes to be a part of the group.“

Shaw pointed out that adaptive reconditioning allows you to move forward. “Sports help to give you a drive to win. With a drive to win, you try harder,” he said.

• Date Taken: 03.28.2015
• Date Posted: 03.28.2015 23:09
• Story ID: 158483
• Location: FORT BLISS, TX, US