Georgia Public Broadcasting presents the 2010 American Association of Adopted Sports Programs Wheelchair Basketball Championship.

Funding for this broadcast is made possible by the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union 72 Slappy and sad attorneys at Law and by the Georgia High School Association.

From the arena at Gwinnett Center, it's the 2010 adapted sports wheelchair basketball championship.

Today, it's the Gwinnett Heat at three and three, taking on the Atlanta Wolfpack unbeaten a perfect six and oh hell ever one.

Good afternoon, Dave Gardner alongside Leslie Sweatman as we get set to rock and roll.

And Leslie, good to be working with you again.

Excited about this year's matchup.

Gwinnett basically playing a home game.

The Atlanta Wolfpack, they've won at the last two years.

Very familiar surroundings.

Absolutely.

It's hopefully will shape up to be a great game.

Gwinnett is brand new to the experience, never having played in the arena before.

So that'll be a big sort of an obstacle for them to overcome those jitters.

Absolutely.

Let's talk a little bit about this Gwinnett Heat team.

They pulled off a big upset in the semifinals to get into this championship game.

They're loaded with talent and they've got a young man in Martinez Johnson, who has really lead the way and led the way this year.

Yes, he's done a great job this year.

I think they've got him on screen now.

He's he's one to watch for sure.

12 points average on the season, a just a sophomore.

Certainly a guy to watch here tonight.

Of course, the lineup series as we take a look at the entire roster, you see Bluford, Zavala, Whistle, Reed Broxton, Jacob Johnson, and such as the team manager right there for Gwinnett, doing an excellent job as part of their roster.

And again, this Gwinnett High team indeed three and three and here but playing some very good basketball.

All right, Leslie, let's talk a little bit about the Atlanta Wolfpack, folks that may have followed this broadcast in the past.

I know that the Atlanta Wolfpack has won the last two championships.

They're trying to make it three in a row here today.

Yep.

Trying to go for a34.

That big great accomplishment, right?

Absolutely.

And we've got Johnson and Johnson.

Reece Johnson's our hero for the Atlanta Wolfpack, a very familiar name.

And Reese has certainly led the way.

Absolutely.

He's the team leader, no doubt.

And look for him to have a big game, I'm sure.

Reece Johnson, of course, 14 points this year as a senior, of course, was really instrumental in the Wolfpack success last year in that championship run.

Taking a look, of course, at their lineup, Mid Todd Griggs, Whitt Chambers, Aboubakar GABA, Burnette, Newton and Johnson.

I had to say Aboubakar wants to kind of get things rocking and rolling right here, but again, the Atlanta Wolfpack certainly are the team to beat this year.

Number one seed and a perfect six and oh we'll take a timeout and be right back with the opening tip.

It's the 2010 Adaptive Sports Wheelchair basketball championship coming up from the Arena Gwinnett Center.

When we return.

Gwinnett Heat and Atlanta Wolfpack get set to tip.

Let's meet the other member of our team.

We're privileged to have Gerald Oliveira with us courtside today.

Gerald, what do you got?

Good morning, Dave.

Well, this is goodness.

First year playing varsity basketball.

Last year was their inaugural season, so they had to play junior varsity and they actually lost a close game in the championship.

Well, today, their game plan is defense.

They feel like if they can hold Atlanta under 30 points, they have a shot to win it.

Now, Coach Arnold knows that on the other side.

And she told her team to remain focused, aggressive and also never take any moment or any team for granted.

Back over to you, Dave.

All right.

Thank you, Jared.

Look forward to hearing from you throughout the game here as we get set for tip off.

And we are officially underway, are game officials Leon Porter, Alvin Jackson, Stephen Lewis, of course, officiating the contest here today.

We have six, eight minute periods with a running clock.

Things move quickly.

So you want to stay with us, otherwise you might miss something.

It is the heat that the rebound and then back out there.

You got to look at our man right there, Leslie, again, Reece Johnson, number 23, certainly the guy to watch here today in gold.

Absolutely.

The combination of his wheelchair handling skills and his shooting skills are they're tough to beat.

He's a hard man to hold.

Johnson, of course, a senior at Crim High School and here's another guy to watch on the other side right here.

This is Alex Reid, number 23.

You see the jump ball call right there.

Great job by Alexander Amy to tie that loose ball up a possession era will stay with Gwinnett and you see Amy, the big defender.

But Alex Reid, 23, is going to be the guy that they're going to put on Reece Johnson defensively, one of the better defensive players for Gwinnett.

Yeah, that he is he's new to his wheelchair, actually has not been injured for terribly long.

But it's amazing how quickly he's learned to handle his chair.

Very.

You look at Martinez Johnson, the other gentleman we focused on, they're up top in the pre game.

Johnson, of course, a sophomore, averaging a dozen points a game You see Reece, of course and basically the dribbling, you get a couple of pushes and then you got to put the ball on the floor.

That's correct.

He wheelchair pushes and then you have to dribble, shoot or pass.

You won't see many traveling calls in varsity.

These guys pretty much have it down.

Shot off the mark would not go by Terry Chambers of the Wolfpack again in yellow Gwynedd heat, of course, dressed in red here today.

And we see the Johnsons teaming up right here.

Martinez Johnson giving way with Reece Johnson defensively read back to him, taken away by Reece.

Quick hands there indeed inside by Reece Johnson.

Absolutely That might be just a little bit of gun shy and Gwinnett side a little nervous about shooting early on They'll get over that nice job right there.

By number four, Rodri Chris Griggs, a senior at Maynard Jackson High School.

And we've talked a lot about Griggs over the years as well.

You know, remember, this team has been here, this Wolfpack team, for a few years in a row now.

They won the championship back in oh six, took a year off in oh seven, but then of course, oh eight and then the last year.

So we're very familiar with this team.

Oh, what Rob, is the sort of the outlook, man.

You'll see you'll see Reece Johnson dish off to him pretty frequently.

You got a whistle on the floor and back the other way.

Again, the Atlanta Wolfpack averaging 39 points a year.

Offensively, they scored 54 in the semis against the cab, the most by any team this year.

So this is an Atlanta Wolfpack team that is certainly peaking at the right time here come championship time.

Meanwhile, of course, Gwinnett knocking off West Georgia in the series 22 to 19 in a game they trailed, denying a repeat of last year's title game between the Wolverines and the Wolfpack.

Yeah, that was a pretty big upset.

There are some some surprise folks on the sidelines that game but you know Gwinnett earn that they stayed in there they played hard and they they fought a good fight It was a great comeback was fun to watch.

I saw Andrea Arnold right there their fourth year, of course, Jimmy Roberts, also an assistant right there.

Meanwhile, Jennifer Ellenberg, the second year head coach for the Gwynedd Heat UGA grad.

And there's two for Alexander, Amy and the Atlanta Wolfpack.

Out to a fast start here.

It's six zero.

Leslie, when you look at this game right here, you have to think that Gwinnett can ill afford to fall behind early because it's a little bit different team right here than maybe what they're used to seeing.

And you don't want to fall too far behind the Wolfpack.

You'll have a hard time catch it back up.

Well, absolutely they are.

Unfortunately for them, perhaps will familiar with Atlanta.

They've already played them twice this year and they know they know well they can't afford to get too far behind them.

Early in the season, the Gwinnett Heat fell behind this Wolfpack team six, Nothing but the Heat rallied back and made it a 3125 final.

That was back on March the third.

So these two teams do have some recent history.

And the Heat played pretty well in that ballgame right there.

So, you know that they could play with them.

But, you know, Coach Ellenberg would like to see her team boy even and not have to play from 16 down.

Right.

Or, you know, is now going to be on number 11.

Brandon Bluford of the Gwinnett Heat, of course, Blue as they call him, a junior from South Bend at high school.

And that's going to put Griggs at the line.

You looking at Rodriguez Griggs averaging nine points a game this year.

First one all the way off the mark would not go.

And it takes a tremendous amount of upper body strength from the free throw line.

As you see.

Griggs not be able to get that ball there.

Yeah, and you'll notice that Rod is what we call a hemiplegia.

He's more involved on one side of his body than the other.

So he's really one arm with one hand.

It's that one arm is pushing his chair up and down the floor and taking all the shots.

It takes a great deal.

Strike.

Hey, Griggs, one of two on that last trip.

So it's a seven point Atlanta Wolfpack lead when he looking for their first points of the ballgame, Reece got a hand on that ball but was unable to come up with it cleanly.

Martinez Johnson inside a chance right here for Bryce Braxton in and out would not go and the rebound underneath by Terry Chambers something I've noticed with his Gwinnett team early I haven't seen him several times already this year.

They can be a slow starting team a lots of lots of shots but not any points.

Hey you say last touch by the Wolfpack going out of bounds.

Martinez Johnson laid off of that one as it rolled away and so the heat will have the basketball they're going to look at Brandon Bluford who picked up that last foul there a while ago.

But he's got three points on average this season per game.

And a junior center.

Great job.

Here's Martinez Johnson.

He makes it and the Heat has their first points of the day.

That's good.

They present the seal over the basket.

Now, I think they'll be all right.

Johnson, a sophomore at Buford High Schools, will take another look there at that last bucket of the first one of the day for the heat, using the backboard there nicely whistle here, blocking foul.

So every year, Leslie, we always have a new audience.

We've been doing this now for several years watching this adapted sports wheelchair championship.

But each year we always bring in new viewers.

So you may want to explain to our viewers out there a little bit about the fouls and how the body is.

The wheelchair basically is part of the body.

Absolutely.

That's correct.

So a blocking foul is most often chair contact.

You see a little bit of a collision there.

Both players up on their own elbow, just like an able bodied ball.

These guys fell out on their fifth personal three team fouls on the Wolfpack.

They're going to look at Coach Ellenberg.

Right.

Nice try to rally the team right there Johnson shot would not go the follow by Amy is there I was there and that's something I've seen with this Atlanta team all season long They're doing a great job on the offensive boards 9 to 2 the advantage here under a minute and a half to play in this opening period from the arena act when at center jump ball court nicely done there and it will stay with the heat when out of course averaging 22 and a half points a game allowing right around 21 which has contributed to their 500 record at three and three but two and three going into the semifinals.

And a lot of folks didn't really give the heat that much of a chance against the more experienced West Georgia Wolverines squad.

And when the Wolverines entered the third period up in that ballgame comfortably, everybody thought it was over with.

But hold everything.

Here come the heat.

And they're here in the championship game today.

They played amazing defense in that game.

And the star player for the West Georgia team ended up selling out.

And that made a huge difference in the outcome of the game shot by him.

You would not go here is Reed back on the other end.

It's also got number 21 Brittney Wetzel in the game for Gwinnett and we've got a whistle inside here that was going to be honorees Johnson that's 14 fouls now on the Wolfpack and you might see every once in a while Leslie there might be a player that may take a bit of a tumble.

They might get up.

They might even be able to walk around a little bit.

And sometimes folks wonder maybe why they're confined to the wheelchair there.

But a lot of these athletes that we see on the floor here are very able bodied athletes that do extracurricular activities at their high schools and middle schools and even elementary schools.

So it should be pointed out that that it's not always just the physical impairment as well.

Yeah.

Many of these athletes are general.

They are illiterate.

They have to have a documented physical disability in order to be able to participate en masse with little.

So you'll see those occasional players will get up to stand up and walk away.

But that's the nature of the game.

That's the end of the first period.

11 to 2.

Terry Chambers ends the first period with another Atlanta wolfpack bucket.

We'll take a timeout and be back with you two from the Arena Gwinnett Center when we return.

Yeah, let's get started.

Let's get a shot in here.

Let's get it started.

This is The two so high cheerleaders in the house here today firing up the crowd here inside the arena, Gwinnett Center, Dave Garner, Leslie Sweat and Gerald, all very courtside.

With you today is the Gwinnett Heat and Atlanta Wolfpack.

Go toe to toe and there's two more for the heat as we open up the second period.

It's a great way to open up this period.

They need a little more of that day.

They're going to look at Martinez Johnson with two more.

He has all four of the Heat's first half points here so far, as you see.

Reece Johnson, quickly battling on the other end.

Little No, look right there, but away from Riggs Pass bounced off of Martinez, though, and out of bounds so it will stay with the Wolfpack now Looks like he got a quick time out on the floor right here called by coach Andrea Arnold and the undefeated Wolfpack squad.

Each team is due in Atlanta, beating the Cavs silver streaks in the cities and Gwynedd heat with the big win over West Georgia.

Let's go ahead and go to Girard.

All very courtside, Gerald, what's going on?

Hey, Dave.

Well, listen, congratulations out to the Gwinnett Heat coaching staff.

Coach Ellenberg is actually pregnant.

Her and her husband helped coach the team.

She's due on June 7th.

An assistant coach, Michaela Hairston Hope, is also pregnant.

Both ladies on the staff are pregnant.

She's due on May 21st.

So congratulations to both ladies on the staff.

And we go, congratulations in order there.

Indeed.

And tell you what, Coach Ellenberg doing an excellent job right there is the head coach for SI, Andrea Arnold, Jaime Roberts right there as the assistants for one name that that has become synonymous with the its forces is Oni Lawson who we saw coached the team several years ago.

We saw her this championship game.

Now she's the area coordinator for the Atlanta Wolfpack.

So it's nice to see a lot of the folks staying with the program, even those that have moved on out of the coaching part of it take over in some of those administration roles.

Absolutely.

And it's such a benefit to have your area coordinator coordinator having that coaching experience, having already coached and laid out.

He's done a great job with this Atlanta team.

See points off of turnovers right there, the Wolfpack with nine points taking advantage, going out, of course, with zero points off a turnover so far.

And that's really what Reece Johnson brings to you.

As much as he is a shooter, a defender, he's so quick able to get down the floor, recover that loose ball, and it's hard for another team to be able to get any kind of points out of transition.

Absolutely.

That's where controlling the wheelchairs is just so critical.

It's a skill that takes time to develop as well as this team is doing.

They will improve dramatically as their chair handling skills continue to improve.

Well, Martinez Johnson picking up that last foul, Martinez also competes in the Derby sports with track and field handball football.

There's two more Johnson making it 13 to 4, a nine point lead for the Wolfpack.

And that's got to be careful here.

They can't let him get too far ahead.

Good passing, good teamwork.

Get the ball down the floor is Alex Repass.

A little too high and a little bit of contact right here.

And that one going to go against Reece Johnson.

It'll be his second in his situation.

Will they'll have to allow the coaches to come out to to help Alex back up.

As I mentioned earlier, his injury is fairly recent and the spinal cord injury is fairly high on him.

So he is not one of those efforts you'll see stand up on the floor.

Reed nominated as the most inspirational senior superlative at Mill Creek High School as a 3.25 GPA, also competes in track and field, won the silver in the shot, put in the bronze in the 200 800 meter flip.

Yeah, he you know, he's a young man who had quite a setback, obviously, with this injury.

But you see it hasn't it hasn't killed his spirit at all.

He's out there fighting through a warrior.

But Leslie, you're going to see a lot of a lot of athletes on the floor here today that are competitive and make no mistake about it.

Absolutely.

You know, it's a very competitive game.

It's very physical.

And we're going to see that a lot here today, as we've already seen in this first half.

Take it away there by Griggs.

He gets it into the hands of number 23 two on one break right here momentarily.

Great move by Johnson, who is very well aware of the rules of the game and being able to control the basketball.

That shot off the mark though.

Nice Martinez Johnson back down to the other end.

He is cut off by Reece and the process and contact right there No whistle at and it continues on the hook What'd he want the whistle right there.

It's good to hear the you know the crowd getting into it.

And we've got a blocking foul right here.

That one going to go against Bryce Braxton, The 10th grader from North Gwinnett High School was stage very good.

Look at Reece Johnson, a runner up of the Georgia force, passing competition, eight years experience and wheelchair sports.

And, you know, again, Reece Johnson is a guy that we followed for for many years now.

And it's great to see you out here again this year.

That might be the biggest difference, really, Leslie, in this ballgame, when you look at it as the experience factor, when you look down the Wolfpack roster and most of their players, if they've got five, six, seven, eight years of experience, whereas the Gwinnett Heat, as Gerald alluded to, just the J.V.

schedule last year, really their first year varsity and their most experienced players have maybe three or four years tops.

Yeah, in fact, I don't even think they to have that much.

And that experience factor is huge, especially when you get to a big game like this because of you know, the pressure and just the whole experience is so new to this Gwinnett team.

And so season that I remind folks adapted sports dot org learn more about this ball game here today and all of the programs we have a time out on the floor right here with 419 left in period number two remember we have six eight minute periods right here so halftime coming up after the third period on your scoreboard there along the bottom of your screen.

This is just period number two.

And you see a lot of the folks over there.

Again, Atlanta wolfpack gathering around number 15.

But once us.

BURNETT Of course.

BURNETT One of those guys with a 3.4 GPA, number 15 right there with his back to us honor roll student involved in the School of Banking and Finance at Washington High School.

He's just a freshman.

Once again, thanks to our sponsors of distributing games 32 for Atlanta over Gwinnett.

Other games we'll see today on GPB, the single-A girls state championship, Savannah, Christian and Wesleyan.

And then, of course, the boys game will also feature Wesleyan as well.

Looking forward to that one right there.

Again, Savannah Christian, 22 and five, Wesleyan at 27 and four should be a great contest.

Looking forward to that one down in Macon.

Meanwhile, here, of course, Atlanta and Gwinnett going at it in the 2010 Adaptive Sports Wheelchair basketball championship was a lot of folks refer to the organization as ask triple ASP, which is the American Association of Adaptive Sports Programs.

Well, that one picks up right there, as you see.

Rodriquez, Riggs number four, Riggs, of course, eight years experience of wheelchair sports, much like his teammate Reece Johnson.

That shot goes off the mark.

And we've been calling Griggs name a lot over the years.

And what he's been able to bring to this Wolfpack team has certainly contributed quite a bit there.

Rod is a great perimeter shooter and you might not think that to look at him, but he's he's very accurate, does a great job and Gwinnett now on the other end this is Braxton who gives up to Reed right here Reed quickly down the court Braxton an honor roll student at Northwood at high school part of the beta Club he club and also plays guitar.

So a multi-talented player out there.

And that's number 30.

Bryce Braxton in Red talking about, you know, and a lot of these folks that we're seeing, a lot of these athletes out here, they are involved in a lot of different extracurricular activities outside of athletics.

And that's what you like to see.

You like to see folks that embody the term student athlete, student first, athlete second.

These guys are no different.

Well, that's a huge part of why ASP is such an important program, because so many of our disabled youth, you know, tend to have tend to be shut out of some of these other activities.

And so getting them involved in something like athletics tends to open them up to other experiences as well.

And you do find that they're very involved in their local schools as well.

When you look down the roster of these teams and you see everything that they're involved in outside of the wheelchair sports, it's truly impressive.

It's amazing these these youngsters, these young athletes, as you see Omega meet right here for the Wolfpack.

A lot of these kids out here, they understand the value of community and the importance of establishing that sense of community.

And they're involved in a lot of things.

What's really awesome, too, is having them on the program.

As long as I have, I enjoy seeing them come back and, you know, come back and read for us.

Don't be surprised if one day restarts and is out there and I'm sure I would be surprised at all here.

You going to look at number 11 Brandon Bluford shot off the right with that got not go now quickly down to the other end Martinez Johnson trying to catch up to it looks like no they're going to come out just a tad short and with a minute 55 left here and period number two looks like we do have a 32nd timeout called by the Atlanta Wolfpack.

It looks like we have an equipment issue that may have been the ref's time.

I believe it was.

Yeah, that's not something you do in every game, right?

Got a chance to wheel out.

That's that's different.

You look at Coach Ellenberg right there.

Well, today ASP is ordering the cheerleaders from Tulsa High School from Floyd County schools for six years of spirit and volunteer service, helping to enhance the quality of this annual wheelchair basketball championship event.

We're going to look at all of the cheerleaders there.

Of course, Adam speared from below Comer Davenport, Doris Hayes and Ervin Kinnaman.

Well, that's Smith stuttered and talk again, coaches Amy Hill and Laney crews.

And we certainly want to thank those young ladies for being a part of this special event here today.

They've been a part of it for six years.

As long as you and I have discussed this part of the broadcast and tell you what that to talk about being involved.

Coosa High really gets it done.

They do.

And their contributions really are appreciated by the athletes and their families and everybody you see in these kids that year.

That's great fun.

It is.

Well, it really lifts up the atmosphere to see the field goal picture right here to Stanford.

Gwinnett, they got to get a goal in Atlanta, six or 17, a little bit better at the end.

And that is translated into a nine point lead here with 145 left and period.

Number two for the Atlanta Wolfpack.

Again, unbeaten number one team in the league at six And oh, but Gwinnett Heat, of course, the true Cinderella story of this year's tournament, definitely the slow start is kind of typical for them.

They need to open it up.

Here we go.

That's a good that's a nice shot there.

And that's true for Alex Reid.

His first points the ball game.

You should see the website on your screen once again.

And for additional information on adaptive sports, visit their website at WW w dot adapted sports dot org.

Little over a minute here left in this second period first championship appearance for the Gwynedd heat.

They played the Wolfpack a couple of times this year.

The most recent was back on March 3rd and they played them a heck of a ballgame after trailing 16.

Nothing to open that ballgame when it rallied back and made it a six point game at the end.

3125.

So they're very capable of playing with this team and we're starting to see that gap narrow just a little bit right here.

A far cry from a 60, you know, start now, just the 13 six and very manageable.

Yeah.

You'll like to see the Gwinnett Heat avoiding Reece Johnson's area of the court at all times because it's so much easier to get a shot off when he's not around.

Then I think Coach Arnold is very well aware that the Heat is capable because she saw it last time of them making a move.

That shot by Martinez Johnson off the mark.

Here's Reece Johnson.

Braxton trying to cut him off right here.

Couldn't do it was Griggs on the shot would not go and picked up by Johnson underneath for the heat still rolling around down there all loose ball We got a jump ball got possession hero to the Wolfpack and time will expire here it looks like well it's going to stop at 1.3 of course going out of bounds from the jump ball and so a shot perhaps right here at the buzzer Lacey Todd there were two from its own middle school sixth grader into the lineup for the Wolfpack.

Right now, I'm not exactly sure what we were doing out there.

There should be a running clock, but they've stopped it for some reason.

I'm not aware why it is that shot.

We're not down.

It did not get it off in time.

And that's our period.

Number two in 13 six Atlanta Wolfpack over the Gwynedd Heat.

You're watching the 2010 adapted Sports Wheelchair Basketball championship on GPB.

Back here at the Arena at Gwinnett Center.

Again, Atlanta Wolfpack leads at 13 six over the Gwinnett Heat.

Dave Gardner, Leslie Sweetman with you along with Gerald, all very courtside.

We'll be joined in a moment by the co-founder and CEO of Adaptive Sports, Tommy Storms.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta Wolfpack right here out of the gate running back to Gwinnett.

He not letting them get away this time as they did earlier this season.

It's just a six, just a seven point ballgame.

They're definitely still in this game.

They've got to handle that ball better there.

They've got to protect the ball.

Too many giveaways like that.

And Atlanta will just eat them up once again, six, eight minute period.

So it reached the half at the end of three.

So the final of the first half right here, it looks like we're going to have a foul on Bryce Braxton, who didn't like the call right there as Reece Johnson went to the floor to clear.

And that will be five teen fouls and that will be a shooting foul as well.

So Reece Johnson at the line here with four points this afternoon and his team up seven this time to get the clock to stop on free throw shots here.

Plus that spot right there.

You look at Johnson's numbers on the season.

The senior from Crabbe High School averaging just over 14 points a game this year on these free throw attempts.

The shooter can have their front small wheels.

The casters can be over the free throw line, but the rear might not touch The folks lining the line, of course, have to have all four wheels behind and between the line.

Marcus the second one on the way and it's good.

So Reece Johnson, one of two on that trip, makes it an eight point ballgame and he will inbound right here.

We're talking about Claxton earlier.

Again, Broxton, the honor student from North Gwinnett High School.

There you go.

Look at Reed.

We talked about his superlatives and the things that he's done.

But also very much involved is in the March of Dimes winning a fundraising award earlier this year.

We always talk about these athletes having that sense of community and that ball right there on the line finally rolled out of bounds.

I just didn't want to take it.

He wasn't sure if he was going to call for having the ball on the lines, always waiting on it to go, but it was rolling slowly.

It's like it looked like it had some backspin on it right there.

I tell you what, it's like a nine iron shot.

Yeah, well, that's really got to protect the ball better than this.

They've got to.

They're turning it over.

Gosh, I don't know what the stats are, but they're high, whatever they are.

Well, and we saw earlier, too, Leslie, the points off of those turnovers.

And that was really what's contributed this lead right now.

Just a moment ago, of course, Atlanta had nine points off a Gwinnett turnovers alone.

It's impressive that Gwinnett still at it as much as they've turned the ball over.

Three kind of boxed in right here.

You see what a good job that standing race got to do that if you want to beat Atlanta.

Well, you know, and Reid's got that wingspan.

We talked about Reid being one of the best defensive players on Gwinnett.

They're going to put him on number 23 all day long.

This ball loose right here, trying to pick it up.

Ball still loose on the floor.

We finally have a jump ball call.

This was going to go in favor of the Wolfpack little scramble right there.

No one could get a handle on it.

It could be hard, especially with some of these Gwinnett athletes.

The trunk control is not there because of where their injury is, where their spinal cord injury is, or without the trunk control.

You go down for the ball, but you can't get up once you have your hands to push yourself back up and your hands are on the ball, which makes it tough to get back up.

Rodriguez Griggs with the basketball right here, we saw Garbo number 14 right there.

A junior at North Atlanta High School guard is a 3.0 student athlete involved in the riding club Taekwondo and also an author.

We'll talk a little bit about that later on in the broadcast here today.

But Garver is one of those multi-talented, just one of many on the floor here today, that one taken out of there.

Well, not doing a great job on defense in that last one back and running the other end.

Now Martinez Johnson feeds it.

Reid is open underneath and knocks it down.

That's what they need.

More on Alex Reid with four points here in this first half is fighting the gap just a little bit now at 14 to 8 with about 5 minutes left here in this first half.

And joining us now, courtside is the co-founder of adapted Sports and the current CEO, Tommy Storm.

The Storm, thanks for being with us right here today.

It's great to be with you all.

I hope you're as excited as we are to be courtside here watching this excellent game today.

I always am.

I always reflect back to the very first teams we played in t shirts.

Leslie and I were laughing earlier.

We at a game called a handball.

We used to build the goals.

You couldn't go to the sporting goods shop, buy those, but come a long way.

And these kids just are so talented and it happens so quickly.

From just starting out to Reese Johnson.

What an amazing athlete.

Absolutely.

We're watching him put on a show right here today and you know, Tommy, this this league has come so far and in such a short amount of time.

I know the partnership with the Georgia High School and with Gp-B is has certainly been beneficial, I think in a lot of ways.

But but talk about that relationship and how you guys have been able to grow this program over the years.

Well, you know, there's it's still a very rare thing to see that there's this much activity in teams within a single state.

And it is attributed to the alliance between Ask and the Georgia High School Association.

And happily, we now have the Florida High School Athletic Association.

As a member.

We were doing track and field with them and the state of New Jersey is on board.

And so we're very, very, very excited.

It there really are no overnight success stories.

You do you think there are they seem to come from nowhere.

But really it's a lot of hard work and a lot of reward.

You guys have done an excellent job and I think you really have sort of been the trendsetter when you talk about getting states like Florida and New Jersey and other states that have strong, you know, able bodied sports and high school sports in particular.

But the fact that you guys have really been the trendsetters here in Georgia has really made this a very special, special deal, as you say, the website right there, adapted sports stories.

Exactly.

And folks can go to the website and learn how to get involved, whether it's volunteer or come out to games.

I mean, just coming out and cheering is a very big thing, very important for these kids and and to support your school district.

These are district teams, as we've talked about before.

And I know Leslie is does a great job for us in talking about how everything is set up.

But I think that these kids, as I say, you're just amazing and they're they're coaches in the school system.

But the thing that makes ask successful day back to your point is that we've created an infrastructure for school systems to be able to coordinate with one another very much like Georgia High School does.

But, you know, we work as a family in coordinating the districts to find the officials, to get them trained, to get the game schedules done, even to determine the needs of the schools and maybe to do some bulk buying.

You know, how many wheelchairs do we need for the state of Georgia next year?

You can buy them a lot cheaper if we all get together and do it.

So forming that alliance, that association makes all the difference.

And other states are getting on board with that and realizing that's what we need to do.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

You're running 6 to 8.

The score right here again, Rodriquez, Griggs, knock it down.

One at the free throw line there a moment ago.

Make it an eight point ballgame, but still very much a game with three and a half minutes left.

And I know, Leslie, you've been very involved with it.

In addition to our broadcast, you very much been a part of from adaptive sports and seeing the growth there.

And I know you guys have a lot a lot of stories and a lot of things to share as well there in the growth of this, not just the basketball, but also the football and the handball and the track and field and all the different programs that you guys have.

Okay.

We have a long history and it's it's so much fun to watch the program grow knowing what it means to these young athletes having an opportunity to get off the sidelines and into the game we see right here again.

Bluford Able to get that pass away and to Martinez Johnson.

Bluford, of course, sings in chorus, has been singing for a long time.

There.

As you see the turnover story here today.

Gwinnett was 17, as you talked about there.

Leslie Allen was just eight.

And that's probably the difference in the ballgame right now.

Absolutely.

You just mentioned blue singing in the chorus.

I had the opportunity to listen to him sing our national anthem a few games back.

He did a great job, his beautiful voice.

He does know listen, I think it was 1993 or something.

We took a team up to Tennessee.

Do you remember that?

Oh, yeah.

Wow.

Time.

First time for a lot of these.

They'd never stayed in a hotel room before.

They'd never traveled to to go somewhere.

So let's say it was an experience for all.

Oh, I'm sure it was.

It was the first time I took a trip to Texas with a a wheelchair team.

All those wheelchairs, checking them, getting them through the airport with the security.

Oh, my world.

It is a it's a challenge to more Forrest Johnson.

He's up to seven here in the ballgame.

And that's a ten point advantage for the Atlanta Wolfpack.

So just under 2 minutes left here in this first half have been Tommy Storms, the co-founder of Ask joining us courtside as we look on here because 2010 championship and how wonderful that going out.

You know it's really I'm sure Leslie mentioned that his only been with us is the second year the second season of basketball they're already here.

That's certainly speaks for that that team that coach I'm loving the goals that won the gold this final fill up several is the area coordinator for the going that day pulled out all the stops.

Oh he did He truly did.

Yeah I saw that earlier and I was I was pretty impressed with that I didn't know if he was, you know, part of the halftime statement or if he was you know, he says it's his lucky best.

You know, we all have our traditions when we make it.

The state champions.

That's true.

That's true.

Coaches are no different for players in that respect.

Absolutely.

No you see right there blew for took one off the noggin right there on that pass.

That's a shame when they did such a nice job keeping the ball in their possession only to have it turned over there.

Here's Griggs with the open look underneath and knocks it home.

Grizzlies six points here in this ballgame and heating up you see Rob miss those shots out of the second time out for the second time out called by the Wolfpack riders we take another look at that last bucket right there and that makes it a 12 excuse me, a 20 to 8 ballgame, a 12 point lead for the Wolfpack with right out a minute here left in the half.

Yeah.

It's starting to slip away just a little bit.

On the turnovers and the ball handling at this point is going to if they can get that back together, they might kind of mount a little bit of a rally.

I hope.

You know, we've come a long way since the Macon Bears defeated the Clayton Eagles back in 2004 for the first wheelchair basketball championship.

And it seems like since then, we've seen a lot more higher scoring games.

You know, a lot of times that, you know, single digits and things.

But, you know, we saw this look team put up 54 points in the semifinals, highest output of the year.

That's truly amazing.

I remember a championship game back in the day, Tommy, with a young rich Richmond team with that let's call that game.

It was a championship.

It went into overtime.

The final score, both teams were in the sixties.

Right.

And I think Israel has scored 50 of those himself or so.

He's still our highest scorer in the league who if you come to a state tournament, just as this is the first time for these Gwinnett kids, it's a little like the movie Hoosiers.

You come out, you want to measure the court a little so so we can give them a little bit of understanding for this whole new experience.

A good analogy right there.

Indeed.

Even though they are from Gwinnett, you kind of think it is a home game, maybe from a travel perspective, but certainly not from an atmosphere perspective.

That's right.

That's right.

On the flip side of that is the Atlanta Wolfpack.

This is their second home.

You know, we've been here the last this is the third year in a row.

I'm surprised I'm not giving tours at the door at this point.

I probably would if we ask them to inside or out here, shot off the back would not go for Alexander Amy, the sophomore from South Atlanta High School for Derby there for the follow with the putback.

I just like to say his name.

Yeah I know.

I know.

Barb again, 3.0 GPA as we talked about also due to that in the classroom as well.

And that's huge.

It is.

We have we have some alumni here.

I've seen several of them and got up and talked.

And it's just so validating to hear them say, you know, this this really changed my life.

I've got a job, I've got a family, I'm moving ahead.

And it was this program that told me I could do it, taught me I could do it and didn't cut me any slack, frankly.

You know, I spoke to a young man at our Simmons, who is an alumni, is now has two jobs, one of which is teaching at the local college.

That's right.

Pretty impressive stuff.

It is.

He credits this program with a lot of his success as well.

You know, sometimes it's the first time these these young athletes are put in a situation where nobody's going to cut them any slack because they have a disability.

Right.

And that's that's good for any kid.

You know, Dave, it's true, too.

In the school system, we see a change across the faculty, the administration, when we bring these programs in.

Sometimes it's it's our attitudes or our perception of these kids.

It's really holding them back.

And to hear them talk about what a great job and how how they see them differently, we're we're making a difference.

Making a difference.

Absolutely amazing.

Indeed.

We have reached the end of the half 22 to 8 Atlanta, Wolf, back on top.

Let's go courtside.

Gerald Oliver is standing by.

Gerald.

Coach Arnold, what was the key to such a fast start this game?

Just making sure that we hit our targets on our press.

We wanted to play defense aggressively throughout the first half, and we picked started off really slow.

But towards the end of this period, we picked up and I'm pleased with the results.

All right.

What are you going to do?

Make sure they don't come back in the second half.

We're going to play even harder.

Our defensive scheme is a key factor to our game.

And with that, the defense, you know, our team basically we struggled.

All right, good.

Look, in the second half.

Back over to you.

Day.

All right.

Thank you, Gerald 22 eight for halftime score.

We're back with more from the half here at the arena Gwinnett Center when we return.

Selected moments moving you like you move it.

I like to move it, move it.

He let the movement.

And I think this is important because it gives kids an opportunity to get a total education.

It only adds to the educational experience of the kids and and what school districts are trying to do.

Well, Douglas will tell you that he would never accomplish some of the things that he's accomplished without asked.

Every kid should have the opportunity to play sports that should be available to kids.

If one graduates, where have they gone?

What are they doing?

Are they going to school or are they going to college or are they working?

Well, it's huge.

Number one, what's great is that just the announcing of that this the game store in class and having all his classmates know that he's playing a sport and, you know, they get to pat him on the back and say good job.

Your team's winning.

It's awesome to just have that community support.

Unless you knew about the effects of that first particular one, you wouldn't know what was his disability.

Notice a lot of changes in Matthew when he's working out, when he's part of the team, when he's doing something in sport, he feels better about himself.

And when you feel better about yourself, you do better.

Whether it's the classroom or in life in general.

When you feel good about yourself, it makes a difference.

And this has really made a difference for Matt and most school districts left behind on this.

I feel like this should be available to every student in public school in Georgia, and it should be publicized.

More and more kids should be given the opportunity because it is sort of left aside and they don't have this.

Where were these kids be?

I mean, they would be at home just wilting away, you know, now we can't get rid of this, this support and that and Leslie, adapted sports has certainly come a long way.

The community support has been phenomenal.

It has.

It has.

And as you hear these parent testimonies, you know, you come to realize that not only is it changing the athlete's outlook and their life, but it's changing the family dynamics.

You've got parents who gave up on being, you know, soccer moms and team parents.

So there you go.

Absolutely.

Let's go ahead to Gerard Oliveira.

You're standing by with a couple of special guests.

Gerald, take it away.

I'm here with Senator Steve Hinson, who is the board chairman for asked, as well as Ralph Swings, and he is the executive director for GHC.

Let's start with you, Senator Hanson.

I got to start with a tough question and there's a lot of difficulties going on right now on the economy and that's affected the alliance with Georgia.

And ask, could you speak to how that has been affected and how that would go forward?

Yes, it's been very difficult.

You know, tax revenues are low and we do get a part of our funds from the state.

Those funds have been cut, but we are working and trying to keep enough funding to keep the program going and moving forward for kids.

And I think the chairman of the House and Appropriations, the governor, all want to help children with disabilities and children in general.

So hopefully we'll be able to keep the program going.

But it's been tough.

Now from an athletic side, can you speak to that same question about how the alliance has been affected by today's situation?

Yeah, obviously the the financial situation has been very harmful, but we're moving forward.

The Georgia High School Association has agreed to do a line item every year and which we are funding disability sports.

We feel like this is so important, this alliance for the people in our high schools.

We had to step forward.

Now, if someone wanted to get involved, a community a parent organization, how can they do that?

Well, I think there's three things.

I think, number one, to talk with young people about this opportunity.

Many students with disabilities don't aren't aware that this opportunity exists.

Second thing, I think we need volunteers to work and they can contact ASHE through the ASP website.

And obviously for people who feel like this is a great cause, they can they can become a donor.

So we have donors and volunteers and we hunt for participants.

Now, you recently, the board chairman as of January, what is your agenda going forward from here?

Well, we're going to try to develop the program, as Ralph says, get more people aware, try to recruit more people, keep the awareness at the capital high so people know what we're doing and then try to promote this nationally.

We're getting a national award in Indiana next week, and we're really proud that people are recognizing that children are healthier, live better lives, more productive lives, and it makes a big important help for them in so many ways to be active in sports.

So we're just proud.

Now, tell me more about that award.

I know it's a national award.

You're going to Indianapolis next month.

You know, what does that mean for Georgia and for the students, I think has tremendous recognition that this program has been going on for a long time, long before they began to develop a relationship with the Georgia High School Association.

It's recognized nationwide as being a premier organization, and it's the American Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance that's given this award.

Well, that's a powerful award.

Gentlemen, thank you for spending time with us.

Listening back over the day to get ready for the second half.

All right.

Thank you, Gerald.

Again, Dave Gardner, Leslie Sweat, and with you courtside right here.

And Leslie, an action packed first half Atlanta wolfpack out to a big lead in the Gwynedd hit pizza caught back up a little bit and we'll take a look back here.

It's the first half highlights in Reece Johnson.

Yeah, well, what else can you say about this young man?

He's just a tremendous team leader, a tremendous athlete.

He's putting up a clinic out there with Johnson, of course, offensively and defensively, getting it done, but also is not afraid to dish it there as we see Alexander Abby, the benefactor of a good pass for Emory's Johnson.

Then back on the other end though the heat's starting to come back here trailing 11 to 2 after the first period.

Martinez Johnson picking up the pace here a little bit for the heat and of course the Atlanta Wolfpack back on the other end here.

You look at Johnson once as the two teams basically traded buckets throughout the rest of that first half.

JOHNSON One more time this time over to Reed, who finishes with the bucket right there.

Alex Reed with four points in that first half.

But once again, Reece Johnson taking over for the Wolfpack there as they finish the half strong, you got to look at the numbers.

A good field goals for 14 for the heat, nine of 28 for the Wolfpack turnovers, 21 body heat.

They're going to have to do something a little bit different in that second half.

You see the points off of those turnovers.

19 of the Wolfpack, 22 points points in the paint, 12 to 4 Johnson again, nine points, two rebounds and three assists.

So that's where and right now as we get set to start period number four, half number two from the arena, Gwinnett Center will step aside to be right back with more basketball on the other side of the break.

Stay with us.

You're watching the 2010 Ask Wheelchair Championship.

Back here at the Arena Gwinnett Center.

Gerald Oliver is standing by with Coach Ellenberg.

Gerald, Coach, what did you tell your team in the second half to get them going at halftime?

Well, first of all, we just told them we're all right.

We're in a good position.

We're down a little bit, but we can come back.

We play with a lot of heart.

We can come back.

We got to make good, better passes, got to make our easy shots.

We got to play hard defense and we'll be back in the game.

All right.

Well, good luck in the second half.

Back over you today.

All right.

Thank you, Gerald.

Again, 22 to 8.

The halftime scores.

We get set to start the second half here inside the Arena, Gwinnett Center, Dave Garner, Leslie Sweat, and with you courtside, along with Gerald Olivesi.

And joining us for the fourth period is Tommy Storms, the co-founder and CEO of Ask.

And Tommy, once again, thanks for being here with us.

He did such a good job in the first half.

We thought we'd bring you back here, you know, four, four, four, a little bit of the second half here, but.

Well, thank you very much.

It's it's an honor to sort of be the spokesman for everyone who doesn't get to come over here.

And there are a lot of them.

But Vaughn, who's also co-founded this organization and leads it as her programing, since that helped to create all this.

And I think when we started about 25 years of relationships from Parks and Rec, the school systems to okay, Bev, we know you well enough to know you're serious about this.

Okay?

So it's been a wonderful ride ever since.

You know, we saw there at halftime, we heard some of the parent testimonials.

We've seen what this program has meant to so many people, but it seems like a lot of people have collaborated and a lot of relationships and partnerships have been formed over the years to make this happen.

Right?

Well, if you have a large school system that has a large population of kids who are eligible for this, of course you might have the Gwinnett Heat or the Atlanta Wolfpack, but West Georgia, he's here.

That's about five school systems cooperating together.

And we also formed a co-op with Clark County in Oconee County.

Those are called the North Face.

Yeah, the renegades from northeast Georgia.

And they're those couple of counties cooperative.

So they share coaches.

They share the cost of the program, whatever it takes to kind of get these kids in the game, as Leslie says.

And we have the Harrison County Sharks who are always fun because they bring these blow up sharks.

And I think they want to the semifinals in a game in this last year and they had their sharks in their lap while they're accepting the trophy.

It was it was really good, really good.

We saw Chris Johnson connect for two more right there in the Wolfpack, basically starting off the second half where they left off the first Johnson.

Now with nine points in the ballgame, it's now a 24 to 8 lead the heat back down on the other end.

The follow would not go right there another opportunity second and third chances are finally brought out of their scramble for the ball taken away by Griggs back on the other end Reece dishes.

And now it's the Wolfpack with a two on one breakthrough momentarily Alexander he gets it to go Alexander 80 with six point down it's 26 to 8 in this league is more than just about the varsity in the table we're seeing today.

We saw a JV championship I guess last week it was the DeKalb Eagles who beat the Houston County Sharks 9 to 6 for the jayvee title.

So it's really good to have basketball and all the different sports at all levels.

J.V.

and Varsity.

Yeah, it's true.

And, you know, this is the only the only sport where the championship game is actually separated out from the overall tournament.

And that's really something to see.

And we invite the public to come out.

We post those events on the website, but we had a huge crowd.

And how's the county and just a great game and and the parents to come cheerleaders and they start yelling across the stands with each other doing some of those wonderful cheers we used to do.

We've got spirit.

How about you?

Yeah.

Hey.

Yeah.

The the volunteer based out in Carson County was was phenomenal.

We we had people everywhere and all this great help.

So it's great to see the community get behind their their student athletes and come out in support of that one.

Absolutely.

And, you know, the important thing is just to get started, You know, once the school system begins and and fields their first team there, they find that the community steps up and there's just a huge amount of support from sponsorships to being in the stands.

And I think when we talk about, you know, you know, Leslie talked about the student athlete and, you know, five players, for example, from this Atlanta Wolfpack team are honor roll students with with GPAs that are, you know, above three.

They range, you know, from three out of the three, five or so.

And I think that's important to know that.

But these student athletes are just like every other able bodied athlete that they're also expected to get it done in the classroom.

They just opened up their whole personality.

It just blossoms.

And that's no different.

That's that's across every gender, every every kid, every person.

When you find something that you can be proud of and be involved in and be like everyone else, it's it's a real boost.

That's true.

Then you get athletes like we got a couple of young men out here in this Gwinnett team who are able bodied up until a year or so ago.

And the depression that sets in.

Yeah.

After an injury like that is catastrophic.

And then they find out, hey, wait, I can still play ball.

I can still do these things.

You know, I can be an important part of my my community, despite the disability.

Well, these kids are twice as likely to drop out of school as likely to become a pregnant teen or twice as likely to suffer from depression or something like that.

And then the surgeries that sometimes accompany a disability can delay the graduation That can cause you to be not as bright as you might otherwise be when your classmates are moving on ahead of you.

So this this really creates a family of their own peers they don't have anywhere else in addition to the normalcy that brings them into the whole school system.

So we save money with the little bit that we put toward these programs.

They're not in the hospital as often because of secondary problems from being sedentary, and we're not seeing as many delayed graduations because they don't have those health problems.

So it's the overall well-being of these kids and sports is just the vehicle to get there.

Now that that turnover right there was caused by Alex wonderful back court defense against Reese forcing a long pass that wasn't handled that's the kind of defense they need see Terry Chambers right there who picked up a foul there a while ago again averages almost five points a game as an eighth grader from silver and middle school.

And that's something else, too, is it's not just high school kids.

I mean, you guys are getting them involved as early as, say, fifth grade.

I know we've seen some fifth and sixth graders on some of these teams.

And so it's it's not just about the high schools.

It's also middle school on down to elementary school.

And on our JV teams, you see, you know, teams that are completely made up of elementary school kids so they can come in here at a GHC, you know, sponsored event like this as an eighth grader.

But they've already got seven years experience, right?

Well, that's right.

And the parents are affected by this in addition to the community and seeing the abilities that these kids have.

But you have dads and moms ago, I really didn't know my kid would ever be able to do that.

And they don't pass the ball so or play ball until they're exposed to something like this.

We have kids who go on to college who in other states who don't have something like this.

And those university coaches tell us they don't know to put up their hands to catch a ball or what a bounce pass isn't.

And that's the shame.

At 1516, 17 years old.

So so we've got to change that.

In the end, it's just taken pulling together in these partnerships to do it.

And it's an exciting time.

Despite budget cuts and a difficult economy, there are a lot of people who've pulled together and Kathy Cox and certainly the folks in our legislature at the legislative level to look at this and try and help us out.

But we're going to figure it out.

We're going to get through it because it's the right thing to do.

It's the right thing to do.

Is Alex Reid, four points today, five rebounds at the line right here.

Missed on the first second and on the way gets the roll there so Reid with five pick and Alex Reid a senior at Millcreek high school so 26 nine right here the wolfpack starting to pull away right here towards the end of this fourth period.

Again, four of six periods right here, six, eight minute periods with the running clock.

So still plenty of basketball left to be played here.

And this 2010 championship, something like that.

Last time, that foul on Bluford second foul and you get a look at Reese Johnson being guarded by the other number 23 Alex Reid when.

It said they're going to put their best defender on Reese Johnson and take their chances.

And Reid has done a pretty good job at Reese with nine points here on the afternoon is still had a solid one that one punched out from behind right there kept alive shot would not go to the follow us there for Alexander Amy and Amy's having a big day to day averaged five points a year throughout the season but he's got eight here today.

Right.

That's the that's the deal with this Atlanta team chef one one aspect down and along comes somebody up to pick up the slack see right there the a miss the ball punched out from behind there Bluford had it the shot from Newton wouldn't go.

But then Amy of course with the follow as offensive boards are just so important in this game.

Alexander Amy, of course, part of the Boys and Girls Club, also part of the architectural club there at South Atlanta High School, wants to be an architect one day.

Now down on the other end, Gwinnett with a minute to go to work with, you see Brittney Witsel, the freshman from Mountain View High School out there as well.

Number 21 second year wheelchair basketball player Martinez Johnson shot wouldn't go Reese Johnson in position.

This junior team is just going to get better and better and you can see it in in just this first game here at the Arena.

I think the nerves are settling down a little bit now, but but you're right, Atlanta, they just won one steps up.

If there's any deficit, the other steps up together.

So long.

Well, and that's what we alluded to earlier.

Leslie and I talked about that experience factor and how you've got Wolfpack players that have played together for seven and eight years and Gortat hasn't even been around as a program near that long.

So, yeah, certainly going to be a little bit of a learning gap, but Gwinnett is certainly laying the foundation, I think, today for future seasons to come.

Absolutely.

So here off the inbound with a minute five left here in this fourth period the Wolfpack will inbound You saw the pass right there from Terry Chambers, a guy that we've seen for a few years.

Some of these players we've seen since elementary school.

And here they are now in middle school and even high school.

And we've got a jump ball call this one down and it will big win at basketball.

That's the great thing I love about this team.

There is no quit in them.

No, they will fight no matter how far down they are.

They will fight till the last buzzer.

Yes.

And you want to see that?

You want to see that in your student athletes in Gwynedd averaging 22 points a ballgame right here are going to try to find inside.

Good pass right there.

But it rolls out of bounds as a block continues to roll.

Tommy Storms, thanks for being with us here today.

The CEO and founder co founder of Adapted sports.

Great job.

Thank you for being with us.

Thank you, Dave.

Appreciate it so much.

We love being here every year.

And just thanks to Georgia High School and and Leslie, you both do such a good job at Leslie here.

She represents.

So thanks for having me.

You appreciate that.

Indeed.

Thank you, Tom.

Appreciate that.

Indeed.

And the clock will roll to zero here at the end of the fourth period with Atlanta leading it 28 to 9 over Gwinnett.

The 2010 wheelchair basketball championship will be right back.

2018 on our score, the fans for the Atlanta Wolfpack are in the house right here today, along with the Gwinnett Heat, Dave Gardner, Leslie Swetnam with the alongside with Gerald Oliveira courtside here today and the rest of the GPB crew in 28 nine.

As we mentioned, Atlanta is taking advantage of a lot of Gwinnett turnovers here today.

Turn them into points.

And that is what's contributed to such a big lead here as we go into this fifth period period, five out of six on the day, definitely.

I've seen this Atlanta team get hot.

It's heard excuse me, this Gwinnett team get hot.

And if they can control the ball and keep it in their hands, they've got a chance of mounting at least a little bit of a comeback here.

If you look at the turnovers here today, Gwinnett with 26, Atlanta with 15, Gwinnett a step up.

The defensive pressure here a little bit.

You see a double team right here.

Martinez and Alex Reid trying to double team Reece Johnson.

Good strategy right there.

Coach Jennifer Ellenberg saying, hey, we need to put two, two bodies on Reese Johnson right here at the game that that would pay dividends.

That was the you know, the turnover so back and going the other way here now Martinez Johnson looking to put up a shot right here does so and hits it boy nothing wrong with that one they can put some points up they've just got to play better defense and they can't turn over the ball like they've been doing.

Look at that last two point bucket by Johnson who has six now on the afternoon 2811 The score now as the Wolfpack is set to inbound in right here.

You know we talked Leslie a lot about the accomplishments some of these athletes on the floor here today and talked about a lot of different two and three sport athletes.

You see Lacy Todd right here, sixth grader from Coen Middle School.

A lot of these a lot of these athletes are involved in clubs, a lot of other extracurricular activities.

It's a lot of other wheelchair sports, as we talked about track and field handball.

We've got the handball champions here today as well out of Atlanta.

That's right.

Not only do they have their sports offered the ask, of course, that they can select from, but, you know, that opens up a different mindset to, hey, I can do I can do more stuff.

I start getting involved in the school organizations church community and that's what you want.

You want athletes who are going to give back to the local community.

We're talking about all the different sports, you know, and again, track and field.

We talked about the the that Alex Reid has had.

And here you can look at some video right here and some clips from the track and field through adapted sports in some of the competitions we talked about Reid, of course, being a silver medalist in the shotput and also a bronze medalist in the 208 hundred meter events.

You can look at track and field again.

For more information, visit adapted Sports Talk.

That's right.

Take these kids, even if they're not on an ask member team right now, but they are in high school and they want to try track.

They can go to their track coach and through this initiative with GHC, they can be on their able bodied track team and compete.

And if there's no other disabled athletes to compete against a particular meet, then they just qualify or attempt to qualify.

To come to the statement by Brandon Bluford with two points.

His first two of the afternoon averaging three a game on the season.

Bluford, again, a singer, sings in the chorus at school as a junior at SAP Gwinnett High School to see Reece Johnson hit the floor.

He is so tough.

We've seen him on the floor a couple of different times here today, is not afraid to go in there and mix it up, though he's definitely not.

And that was that was a pretty tough out there on blue collar.

We've seen.

I think that was a fair call, this one for sure.

So I think so.

You know, we've seen some of these these athletes, as we talked about, to compete in able bodied sports.

We had a wrestler there was on the high school wrestling team a year or two ago.

In fact, the young man from Macon that I know a lot of people enjoyed watching double amputee right is I understand he is qualified for the Paralympic team for the men's wheelchair basketball Paralympic team.

He'll be competing in England for two more years.

Also it's also you know, this this league right here, has opened up a lot of doors, as you mentioned.

And I think that's the thing, you know, that these kids are not getting left behind by any means.

They haven't an outlet to be able to showcase their talent.

And having it right here on TV today is just a testament to how far it's come that it's been.

Part of this alliance with GHC has awesome as it is to hear success stories like, you know, teaching college, going on to an international level of competition athletically, all those things are great.

But I really think that the greatest thing about this program is that it turns these kids into fully functioning, participating members of our society.

Whereas without like this, the history has shown that they typically are not.

I don't know about you, but I want them paying over the tax base.

I don't want to go for it.

I agree with you.

I agree with, what, 2813 as we hit the halfway point of period number five with one more to go, Atlanta with a commanding lead right now at 2813 over the Gwinnett Heat.

But Gwinnett has shown the ability in the past, particularly against this Wolfpack team, to come back and rally as they did back on March 3rd when it ended up being a 31 to 25 game.

But that was only after the Wolfpack stormed out of the gate leading nothing.

At one point, a big win, and he came firing back to score 25 points in that ballgame at the very much do that today all the little take than 25 with this Atlanta sitting on 28 right now three and a half to play where some of the other players there.

Jaisal Zavala If the Gwinnett team is a fifth grader at Center Field at Centreville Elementary, and we were about some of the younger players out there today, we've got him from fifth grade all the way up to seniors in high school.

Zavala First competing in wheelchair, handball and football, remember?

That's right.

And as you say, you've got a kid who's not yet in high school playing on a varsity team.

So there's you know, there's there's no hard and fast rule that says that varsity is defined by age or grade level.

In our league.

It's the total team.

And should they be competing at a varsity or J.V.

level?

And if they happen to have a third grader on the team, then wow, third graders playing basketball.

There you go.

It's probably a little intimidating, I would think.

Maybe not.

You know, for some of these younger players and they get out there and they play with a a player like a martinez Johnson or a Reese Johnson, and they're out there and they're there, but they're learning.

Well, I think it is intimidating.

But, you know, when you play at one a team that's playing at a higher level, you develop more quickly.

So it's it's real good for them.

Yeah, that's a good point because not these players that we're seeing on the floor right now were necessarily the stars that they are today.

You know, when you look back at some of these players, they've been playing for eight years.

I mean, even Reese Johnson at one time when he started playing, was a was the fifth and sixth grader.

Right.

And certainly wasn't the player then that he he is now absolute by any means.

So these guys have learned a lot The longer they play, just like anything else, that experience, that repetition makes it happen.

And there's two more for Johnson.

So it's now a 32 to 13 lead here as we hit the two minute mark and period number five and the Atlanta Wolfpack starting to pull away as they look to remain unbeaten on the year and win their third straight championship.

I'm going to look at it right there.

Grigg's off the Miss Reece Johnson with the foot back.

It's hit for two and now Atlanta with The Takeaway.

Quickly back down on the other end.

And there's two more for Rodriguez Briggs And that's at least the second and third time we've seen that.

Does You know, Reese draws so much attention that other people get open and he has such good vision on the court.

He finds that open teammate for the easy shot.

And you look at Griggs with eight points here today, he's averaging nine a game.

It's certainly been instrumental in the success of the Wolfpack this year.

A senior at Maynard Jackson School, a magnet school, has done a wonderful job.

You also, of course, Terry Chambers has pitched in today Chambers for the Atlanta Wolfpack, is a member of the school band Silver Middle School and also participates in youth choir and Boy Scouts.

Later today, of course, will see single-A girls action between Savannah Christian at 22 five.

Taking on Wesleyan was at 27 and four, and then later on in the boys game Whitfield Academy at 28 three, taking on Wesleyan boys team at 25 and six second Wesleyan looking to sweep class a course.

That's coming up a little bit later on in the double action will feature Buford Vidalia on the girls side at 3:00 on GPB, followed by Thomasville and GRC at 445 in the Boys Championship.

Again, 24 and four against 32 and one.

And then, of course, the winners of the Triple A girls contest between Lagrange and Columbia, taking on the winner of the Kendrick Barber contest West over Columbia on the boys side against the winner of Lagrange and North.

All that at 845 in the nightcap from Macon wrapping up championship weekend right here on GPB.

I mean at 35 left here in this 2010 adapted sports wheelchair basketball championship 34 to 13 a sizable lead for the Atlanta Wolfpack.

But don't count out the Gwynedd heat just yet.

And travel going to be called here on Burnin right now when at Heat.

Meanwhile, we talked about some other folks.

Of course, we also want to mention Brandon Serge, who technically is the team manager, but dressed out there.

Always good to see him.

And of course, Rony Jacob, a 10th grader at Peachtree Ridge High School, second year hoops player, also plays handball.

Those players, of course, swapping in and out right here.

That shot from way outside, just short from Alex Reid before making it before the clock running down here towards the end of this fifth period with one more left here from the arena at center for us.

We hope you've enjoyed watching championship basketball all weekend here on GPB one.

Encourage you to stay tuned throughout the afternoon as we rock and roll.

Once again, the action shifts to Macon for a single double and triple AA GHC basketball.

I don't do that one.

Going back the other way out of bounds, it goes the final 10 seconds playing out was Atlanta with 54 points, as we mentioned in the semi score 51 earlier this season back in February against the silver streaks have put up some offense this year and today has been no different 3413 at the end of third with the end of five with one more period left to play.

We're back to the arena when at center when we return six for the sixth consecutive year, the Georgia High School Association has teamed with the adapted sports programs to bring you championship basketball.

And it's right here on GPB.

Dave Gardner, Leslie Sweat me with you as we open the sixth and final period of this year's championship matchup between the Atlanta Wolfpack in the Gwinnett Heat 34 to 13, the Wolf pack in control right now, Dave Gardner, Leslie sweating in courtside with you, Gerald, all of Barry with us as well, along with the rest of the GPB crew in the house here this afternoon at the Arena Gwinnett Center.

They're going to look at Reece Johnson's numbers, 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

Once again, another excellent ballgame played by the senior.

Absolutely.

We've got a real chess game going right now.

We've got a lot of work on the Gwinnett side away from the ball, trying to tie up Reece Johnson and force him to let those other players make the play if they can.

Second that to you know, Leslie, we've talked throughout the course of the ballgame about adapted sports and what it's meant not only to these student athletes that we're seeing on the floor here today, but also the other teams, of course, that unfortunately could not be in this game.

But regardless of the success of the of the program, whether the win loss record, what have you, what it's meant to these players at all levels is phenomenal.

And I love the the approach and the slogan and that is off the sidelines and into the game.

And that's what we're seeing here today, is players getting off the sideline, getting into the game right here and being able to have this opportunity.

Yeah, And it is you just can't emphasize enough how life altering it can be for the kids and their families.

I've seen teams that once they were formed, the parents formed support groups for one another.

You know, they start to, you know, moms Night out and stuff.

The team moms getting together because they finally found other ladies who are dealing with, you know, a disability in a marriage and at home.

And, you know, the impact that that has for them.

Do they find these supports, you know, amongst themselves?

It's awesome.

There you look at Bluford, the junior at the line right here, puts up the first one and in and out nearly had it but he'll have another again.

Bluford with a couple of points here today, two points eight rebounds for the junior from South Gwinnett High School throws up the second one off the glass and it goes.

How about that?

So he set his average today and 3414 for Atlanta will inbound and it seems like you know with this you've got a lot of different players that obviously don't go to the same schools They it's a it's more of a community type effort that brings folks together from different school systems.

As Tommy was alluding to.

But but despite the geography, it still seems to be a sense of community within the folks that participate.

And even between the teams I was noticing before we came back at the half, you know, the conversation between the two Johnsons on the floor.

One was actually telling the other one was actually explaining an aspect of the game.

And the other one said, You're thinking to myself now, when do you see that?

And able bodied sports, one guy from one to try to assist a player on the on the other team and but you know these guys do have a sense of community and as much as they are competitors and like to compete against each other, they're also you know, they're kind of each other's own cheering section saw coach Andrea Arnold just a moment ago or fourth season as the head coach of the Atlanta Wolfpack, vying for the third straight state title here, winning it of course, in 2008.

Last year in 2009, they won it over West Georgia, 2620 and a very well played ball game right here at No.

And you want to talk about your rivalries when that beat West Georgia at the semis I heard the Gwinnett kids saying well, we're going to come because we want to cheer you on against Atlanta Atlanta I'm it you know so there's those rivalries, too there friendly but they're there.

It's like Martinez Johnson going to get called for the foul line.

I think this the for I was trying to help him retrieve that ball.

It went right under my feet trying to trying to play a little soccer out there, trying to get that ball back on the court for, a four and a half to play here.

And even though things haven't gone today, you see Croxton with the hard foul once it I don't know how many times Johnson has been on the floor but he's taken a few tumbles out there today and he also has a penchant for he's learned how to draw that foul.

He knows how to lean in because the dynamics, the physics behind the way the chairs move just a little a little tap at the right spot will send a chair pinwheel like you just saw.

And it looks like, Oh, that's a hard contact.

The contact isn't that hard, but if you get riscos where to put his body weight when he gets that contact or cause that chair to do that.

Sit right here.

Here's the first feeling.

Yeah, yeah.

Look.

See, Martina is trying to he's talking to rally himself there a little bit.

Yeah.

And you might for our viewers at home, you may want to discuss the.

Oh, boy.

Wow.

Would that have been something drew the whistle?

Wow.

Your last chance for a four point play it look like.

But talk about the wheel angle.

Yeah, the way the wheels are angled, they're chambered out, which does a couple of things.

One is it allows the hands to have more room at the top of the wheel so that you don't have fingers getting wheel to wheel.

But it also makes the chair much more maneuverable.

It'll turn faster because of the way the wheels are set.

It creates that space, but it also makes the chair just throw with your body weight, right?

The way you shift your body weight, you can actually make the chair move.

These are not everyday wheelchairs.

These are $6,000 sport chips.

This is an investment, right?

This is not your, you know, this isn't junk play, but playground ball type stuff.

Shots of shooting three, of course, fouled behind the arc.

So he's was working on his third one right here.

You saw his numbers 16 points here today.

So the senior right third went all the way to a three for Reese Johnson at the line, making it look effortless.

And trust me, it is not effortless, not effortless to shoot from that far away on a ten foot here policy position.

If you don't believe it, take a chair out there at some points.

Yeah, give it a go.

It's surprising how much upper body strength it does take.

You know, we were talking about the wheelchairs and look at this Gwinnett team.

You know, these are their team chairs.

This team had to fundraise and come up with the money to buy chairs for the team.

These are these kids everyday chairs and a whistle.

Coach Ellenberg trying to plead her case over there as you see Bryce Boston and that's experience.

Reese knows how to shift his body to cause that looks like more of a foul.

Perhaps it might really be, but yeah, that's the game.

Crocs has been very physical here today.

He's picked up his fourth foul, as I mentioned, the honor student from North Gwinnett, the club Key Club plays guitar, but boy, today he's a he's a bulldog out there, that's for sure.

Certainly not afraid to get in there and mix it up.

But once again, Reese Johnson as well.

But what's really is that his first year in the league, he was afraid to learn to be aggressive in the sport.

He was very timid when he first came out.

That's the kind of development you look for sure.

Time out of the Florida rider.

With 337 left in the ballgame, the Atlanta Wolfpack leads it 30 to 14 over the Gwinnett Heat.

Atlanta, well on their way to their third straight championship here in 2010.

The Gwynedd heat, it's pretty much been their moniker all year long to never quit it.

Keep on going.

And, you know, they're going to fight for the final 337 in this ballgame.

They will.

They definitely will.

You know, we talked a little bit earlier about track and field.

How about a little football action right here, Leslie?

Oh, football is fun.

It's crazy.

Five The power chairs are allowed to play special rules in place to make them more able to take care of the ball.

You know, if you're a receiver and you're in a power chair, the quarterback just has to hit your chair with the ball and it's considered tough.

You don't have the physical possessions the manual chair uses do, of course, but the power chairs don't add a totally different twist to the game.

All right.

So the watch can.

For more information visit the website at WW dot adapted sports dot org time.

So after the timeout right here again 3614 it will be Reese Johnson at the line for the Wolfpack in that one omega beard with three years experience on that Atlanta Wolfpack team was number one to Reno Duke an average of six points a ballgame relatively quiet here today as you see Johnson knocking down the free throw there.

But Newton, a 3.1 GPA, part of the future business leaders of America as you see free throws here today, Gwinnett two of five Atlanta seven of 12.

What's up?

And another shot right here with Johnson Second went all the way off the back of the iron would not go follows his own rebound puts up the shot and gets the roll one eight points now for reason Johnson.

Hey, let's go downstairs to Gerald Olivetti.

Gerald, what do you got?

I got some more information about one of your favorite players, Abubakar Garba.

As you mentioned earlier in the broadcast, He's an author.

He actually has a book coming out next year called A God of Flames.

It's a fictional story about good and evil.

He's already submitted the application for a copyright license.

So maybe, Dave, one day you can say your favorite athlete is also a famous author.

Well, there you go.

In Ghana, we alluded that earlier.

The fact that he does have a book set to be released, I believe, in August here.

And, you know, that says a lot about that young man.

And he's been able to do part of the riding club type window and also a 3.0 GPA.

And one of our in one of our admittedly our favorite names out there, Abubakar Garba, you just it's just rolls off you just it does does on the other end right here and oh Christ Croxton almost had two good boy Knock it down Johnson Martinez Johnson number 55 of the Gwinnett he with 13 points and 11 rebounds in that semifinal win over West Georgia also serves as a counselor at the George Pierce Park and he's got the basketball right now, his team trailing, trying to put up some more points here before the final whistle getting in position.

Ducks underneath, unselfish play right there, gets rid of it, finds his teammate, Alex Reid.

He misses the shot.

And we've got a whistle inside.

It's the mouths of the three over three fouls Now on Griggs Christian Whitt of the Atlanta Wolfpack, a 3.4 GPA involved in the music club Dallas Austin Fine Arts Program at four years of wheelchair experience is another musician right there in the making.

And also you have Lacie Todd, as we mentioned, just a sixth grader, but a 3.0 GPA, part of the honor roll and also into modeling and fashion.

So we've got it all here today.

Absolutely.

These kids resumes read numbers for us on here.

Yes, I would, too.

We got a couple of models out here, a couple of fashion experts and a couple of young ladies in particular that have have modeled over the years and have been part of the adaptive sports program.

We've got one of our boy, Aboubakar, maybe three fouls on GABA, I think Christ Christ.

And again, playing with those four fouls shoot in the bonus right here.

Number 12 Gizelle Zavala Centerville Elementary School in the ball game there you look at number 44, Jacob getting set to enter the lineup along with number 21.

Brittni Wetzel, a ninth grader from Mountain View High School.

Jacob eighth grader from Peachtree Ridge, 21.

Number number 11, Bluford will go out there, look at Reed's numbers, five points today, six rebounds for the seniors.

She's a player.

Substitutions as well.

Number 21 for Reno Newton with Washington High School going out of the lineup for the Wolfpack and in Steph Lacy, Todd Thomas and get a free throw off the block would not go for Reed Riggs now quickly trying to get it back down on the other end has some open real estate to being chased by Broxton puts up the shot rolls in and out of there the follow won't go another opportunity wolfpack keeping it on their end of the floor and that ball will roll out of bounds to that So a minute left and Leslie once again for the sixth consecutive year, I've enjoyed working with you and I've enjoyed watching more of this year's wheelchair basketball championship.

It's been a very fun experience and I'm looking forward to seeing, you know, the Atlanta Heat's going to win it here today, but I'm looking forward to see how this Gwinnett team progresses now from here into the future.

Absolutely.

And they will they'll be back.

And we've got a lot of underclassmen on the team.

I think our only savior might be Alex perhaps.

So we've got we've got quite a bit of eligibility left.

And so they'll be back here while Atlanta Wolfpack will say goodbye to Roderick Spriggs, a senior, along with Reece Johnson Space Center.

We've seen a lot of good players come through the league and Johnson will certainly be remembered for quite some time.

Meanwhile, you're Coach Ellenberg of Gwinnett.

You've got your players to work with for several more years and it will be a fun ride indeed.

That does a great job by treatment of coming down the court, getting the turnover for her team, final seconds winding down and that will do it.

Time has run out the final Atlanta Wolfpack 41, the Gwinnett Heat 14 and the Atlanta Wolfpack are your 2010 adapted sports wheelchair basketball champions.

What a job by coach Andrea Arnold, Coach Jimmy Roberts And then a tire Atlanta Wolfpack squad who all finished the season a perfect seven oh and a state champ for the third consecutive year.

They deserve it.

They've played a heck of a game.

Take nothing away from the Gwinnett Heat.

You should be very proud of their effort here today.

They were just a little bit overmatched and a little under experienced against a championship caliber team with plenty of Gwinnett arena experience in the Atlanta Wolfpack.

But this Heat team will be back.

Let's go ahead and go courtside.

You're all a very standing by Jarell Take it away, coach Ana.

What a win for your team.

What does this mean for your program has means a great deal.

It means that this year we were able to go undefeated and make it a championship.

Last year we, I think we were seven and two just means that our program is improve and, you know, we expect to continue to do the same thing for next year.

This is not the less we love making it to the championship and we love taking home the victory.

All right.

Well, congratulations.

Go celebrate with your team.

I also have another special guest here, Superintendent Kathy Cox.

Welcome today.

Thank great to be here.

Good to have you here.

I just want to ask you one question.

What is the alliance between the Georgia Department of Education and ask LT right now, considering the current economy?

Well, we're concerned.

We're concerned about funding for all extracurricular activities, quite frankly, including the very special adaptive sports program that we know takes extra dollars to actually put on for students and kids.

So we're very concerned and we hope that we can get some corporate sponsorship and some things so we can keep extracurricular activities available for all kids.

And that's what this is really all about, making sure that all kids have opportunities to to succeed in the field of sports.

And what a great game today.

And I'm about to hand out a championship trophy to some well deserving students.

We'll let go hand out that trophy.

We're glad you're able to make it out today and we look forward to seeing you next year again.

Listen to back over to you, Dave.

All right.

Thank you, Gerald.

Good work today That's going to wrap things up in the arena Gwinnett Center, the Atlanta Wolfpack, your 2010 champs for Gerald Leslie.

I'm Dave and the entire GPB crew.

So long, everyone.

Again, more basketball coming up later today on GPB.

The American Association of Adopted Sports Programs Wheelchair Championship has been made possible by the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local union 72 Slappy and sad attorneys at law and by the Georgia High School Association.