Photo By Gerardo Estrada | U.S. Army Cpl. Steven Carrasco, Joint Base San Antonio, Soldier Recovery Unit,...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, Dec. 4, 2025 – Soldiers from the Joint Base San Antonio Soldier Recovery Unit competed in the JBSA Adaptive Sports Camp Nov. 12-21, 2025.
More than 35 Soldiers put their skills to the test in both team and individual sports including wheelchair basketball, pickle ball, wheelchair rugby, sitting volleyball, track and field, rowing, cycling, swimming, powerlifting, air rifle, and archery.
During the Nov. 21 closing ceremony, Army Lt. Col. Anthony Morrow, SRU commander, praised the adaptive reconditioning team and the Soldiers for their efforts.
“Adaptive sports teaches us that when you get knocked off your feet, you take a deep breath, square up your shoulders like a good Soldier, just get back up,” Morrow said. “At the SRU, we talk a lot about recovery, and we talk a lot about progress. It's not always the progress of earning rank or earning medals. It's the progress that's made by doing the work over hard days, days where just showing up might feel like an act of survival.”
“You guys have showed up, done the adaptive reconditioning, you've taken on every challenge, sometimes bruised, sometimes tired, but always moving forward, with grit and with strength,” he added. “As you take the lessons from this last week with you, I challenge you to hold two things close. Recovery is growth, and growth is uncomfortable. Your recovery is what defines you as a Soldier. Adapt and overcome, and above all else, get back up.”
Dr. Jamie Velez, adaptive sports program manager, recognized the adaptive reconditioning team and praised the athletes for their determination.
“Warrior athletes, you should all be proud of what you've achieved,” Velez said. “Thank you for making this our best adaptive sports camp.”
“The competition, the amount of camaraderie that we saw throughout the week, and the true desire to be here has just made this great for myself and my team,” she said. “We cannot thank you all enough.”
During the closing ceremony several awards were presented.
Army Cpl. Delas Bush received the Warrior Spirit Award for his demonstration of great confidence, physical toughness, aggressiveness, and commitment to teammates.
Bush said he enjoyed the camaraderie as well as the competition.
“Wheelchair rugby was my favorite,” Bush said. “We dominated, and we won 24-20.”
Army Spc. Adrian Saenz has been in the SRU for a little over a year and this was the first time he participated in the adaptive sports camp.
“For me, being an amputee, I got introduced to a whole other world of sports that I didn't even know existed,” Saenz said. “It's given me an opportunity to still participate in sports. It makes me feel good, because at one point I was pretty down because I can't perform the way I used to, but with these sports the competition is there. So, it's pretty awesome.”
Saenz received the Iron Phoenix Resiliency Award for his outstanding performance and demonstrated the greatest resilience throughout the adaptive sports camp.
Army Master Sgt. Aaron Frederick was injured in a parachute accident.
“I landed on my left butt cheek and blew my pelvis open and broke my back,” he explained. “I have quite a bit of hardware in my pelvis, and I had back surgery to fuse my L5S1 together in January. That kind of created a little bit more problems for me.”
Because of his injuries, Frederick wasn’t able to compete in some of the events, but he did as many as he could.
He said he enjoyed the wheelchair basketball most. “It's a little less pressure on an individual, and so I'm able to hone in my teammates' skills. When you're in an individual sport, it's a lot harder to compete and be good.”
Frederick received the Most Outstanding Performer Award for demonstrating exceptional skill, perseverance, and sportsmanship, significantly contributing to the success of the event.
“His (Frederick’s) exemplary performance reflects great credit upon himself and the spirit of competition,” said Velez.
Now that the adaptive sports camp is finished, Velez, the adaptive reconditioning team and SRU leaders will determine which Soldiers will move on to compete in the Army Trials, Feb. 25 – March 6, 2026, at Fort Bliss, Texas.
Lorraine Currow has been a recreational therapist for three years, and she has been involved in coaching adaptive sports for more than six years.
“I think a lot of these Soldiers are having a challenge when it comes to finding the end result for recovery,” she said. “I always tell them that recovery doesn't have an end point.
It doesn't have a deadline. Sports allows them to get out of their own head when it comes to challenging themselves again. I think sports actually gives them an opportunity to get vulnerable again, become humbled, learn something new, and find that joy in that process of recovery.”
| Date Taken: | 12.04.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 12.04.2025 15:06 |
| Story ID: | 553018 |
| Location: | FORT SAM HOUSTON, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 13 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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