Ryan Martin Foundation Wheelchair Basketball Camp Held In South Windsor

On a basketball court at Nomads Adventure Quest in South Windsor on a sweltering Thursday afternoon, Rachel Grasse grabbed a rebound, went the length of the floor, slalomed around a couple of defenders and laid the ball in for an easy two points.

All while she was in a wheelchair.

Grasse joined 30 other disabled athletes this week for the 5th annual Ryan Martin Foundation Wheelchair Basketball Youth Camp.

It’s the biggest turnout ever for the camp, which drew kids from all over Connecticut, as well as Philadelphia and Boston.

“I am over the moon with the camp,” said Martin, a 34-year-old Somers native who plays professional wheelchair basketball player in Spain.

Indeed, the camp, which has doubled in size in the last year, does more than just teach kids with disabilities how to play basketball in a wheelchair.

“This may be the first time all year that the kids are entirely with their peer group,” said Martin, noting that if they stick out during the week, it’s because they excel at something rather than because they are in a wheelchair. “I don’t think they get a chance to do that very often.”

And while the kids spend plenty of time learning and playing the game, there are other, more practical - and more important - lessons that are also taught.

Martin said that all five camp counselors are college graduates who have excelled in their sporting fields. The idea, Martin said, is to show campers that they, too, can go to college despite their limitations.

“We change their paradigm,” Martin said. “From Monday morning until Friday afternoon, I don’t care about what you can’t do. I just need you to do the best you can do at what I am asking you to do. …

“There are opportunities and goals that are achievable.”

In addition, Martin had speakers lined up every day, including a nutritionist who gave a talk specifically for disabled athletes.

And it fulfills a lifelong dream for Martin, who promised when he was a child that if he were in a position to do so, he would start up a camp to help others like him. Martin was born with spina bifida, resulting in the amputation of his legs when he was just 2 years old.

“It’s gratifying to me,” Martin said. “The things that I longed for when I was a kid, I see kids long for, too.”

The kids, for their part, said that they love the camp.

Ten-year-old Naugatuck resident Hennessy Hernandez, who was in her first year at the camp, said she enjoys playing defense.

“I love it,” she said without hesitation. “I love to knock into people and stop the ball. I also like getting as much exercise as you can.”

Others, like Malachi Mouning, a rising senior at Granby Memorial High School, said they enjoyed the social aspect of the camp.

“It’s really good just getting new friends and learning the game and playing basketball with people who know the sport,” said Mouning, who has attended the camp for four years.

Still others who weren’t wheelchair bound also got something out of the experience.

“It’s an honor being a part of Ryan’s camp,” said East Granby’s Tyler Arsenault, a non-disabled camp counselor. “I love seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces. It’s heartwarming. There’s no words to describe the fun the kids are having.”

As such, Martin said that he was looking into having camps in Philadelphia and Boston next year.

It’s something that Martin couldn’t imagine having done five years ago.

“This week has been great,” Martin said. “It’s incredible that we had this little idea and it just blows up this big.”