Basketball inspiration

Rebound WA visit

WHEN Paralympian Amber Merritt shared her life story and Olympic journey with Specialised Basketball players in the ORC last week, you could have heard a pin drop.

Students were captivated by the wheelchair basketballer's abilities and attitude in overcoming adversity to win not only a silver medal for Australia at the London Paralympics, but in her off-court career helping people with physical disabilities become more involved in sport and recreation.

Amber, 26, explained that she was born with “congenital talipes equinovarus’’ – otherwise known as club foot, a condition in which her left foot was rotated internally at the ankle, causing her achilles to stop developing – and how she is also living with "Ankylosing spondylitis'' (or spondi''), an inflammatory arthritis that mainly affects the spine. Amber, who is 6ft.1, can walk and drive but when it comes to elite sport she uses her upper strength as a "4.5-point'' wheelchair basketballer who plays forward.

“I’ve had lot of surgery and live with pain and there are three sizes difference between each foot,’’ said Amber, who was originally a swimmer but was recruited into basketball in 2007. “I can’t flex my foot and running is hard because there is no heel-toe action through my leg and I can’t develop any muscle in my left leg and my legs are different sizes.

“But even though I have all these little issues, I’m really lucky to play elite basketball.’’

Amber’s role at Rebound WA, a WA disabled sports organisation, sees her travel to schools to promote the Wheel Life Disability Awareness Program as well as talking to people in hospital rehabilitation wards to encourage them to explore what is possible in their lives.

Amber brought 15 modified chairs with her to St Norbert College and said introducing able-bodied students to wheelchair sports gave them perspective and fostered resilience.

After hearing Amber’s story and asking questions, students spent a couple of hours interacting with her on the court and learning the skills needed to play wheelchair basketball before launching into a game.

“The way Amber was able to challenge the students in something that was quite foreign in the way they moved was exceptional and the students thrived under her guidance,’’ Mr Godfrey said.

“The valuable points Amber raises about the importance of resilience and overcoming adversity through basketball show she is a true representation of what it is to be resilient and our students certainly took something away from the experience. 

“Rebound WA does a fantastic job in promoting the sport and sharing the ups and downs of sport and life and Amber did a great job of sharing her story with our Specialised Basketball students.’’

A story about our basketballers' participation in the program made the sports pages of this week's Canning Gazette.

Mrs L Quartermain (Community Relations and Marketing Officer)