Tennis Clinic For Players With Disabilities
By CINDY MALLETTE
Staff Writer
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Tennis balls were flying around Dr. Mac McClellan's head as Tyler Junior College Tennis Tech students practiced drills on the courts of the JoAnn Medlock Murphy Tennis Center.
As a fuzzy green ball rolled to his feet, McClellan pinned it between his crutches, then launched it into the air. With the racquet balanced in his right hand, he popped the ball back over the net.
McClellan and a handful of people who use prostheses, crutches and braces were learning how their disabilities don't keep them from playing sports. The free tennis clinic was sponsored by Prosthetic-Orthotic Associates, a Tyler company owned by McClellan, who's been in an orthosis himself from a young age.
The clinic was led by TJC alumnus and First Volley Director
of Tennis, Darren Kindred. Kindred operates a tennis training facility outside Philadelphia, Penn., and helped establish First Volley
with his friend, Robin Burton, in 2005.
Ms. Burton explained she'd heard of groups that helped
disabled people play other sports, like golf. She knew Kindred helped a woman
who was a quadrilateral amputee learn tennis, with the help of special prostheses.
"When she told me that no one was teaching tennis like
this, I thought it was sad," Kindred said.
Two years later, the group now gives 15 tennis workshops each year throughout the United States and Canada.
Participants learned basic tennis strokes and drills. When
the clinic drew to a close, they played a round of "Hitting for
Prizes." If a participant hit a ball near a pile of tennis equipment,
supplied by Prince Sports, they got to keep everything in the pile.
Each player also went home with a beginner's tennis racquet
donated by Billie Jean King and World Team Tennis. Ms. King and World Team
Tennis gave 120 racquets to the Orthotic and Prosthetic Assistance Fund, Inc.,
which operates the First Volley Clinics.
Nakia Myers said Saturday was the first time she'd
participated in sports since losing the lower half of her left leg in an
accident nine years ago. She never played tennis before that day, but her
doctor, Dr. McClellan, encouraged her to try it out.
"I'm inspired by looking at him," she said.
"He's been doing this for decades, and I've only been doing it for nine
years."
Ms. Myers said she used to swim often before her accident, but was afraid to try it with part of her leg missing. She's not afraid anymore, she said. "I think I'm going to try that next."
Billie Jean King Donates Racquets to Clinics
Tennis legend Billie Jean King, along with World Team Tennis (WTT), will donate 120 tennis racquets to the Orthotic & Prosthetic Assistance Fund Inc. (OPAF) and First VolleyTM tennis clinics. The racquets will be given to participants at future First Volley adaptive tennis clinics. King and WTT donated a total of 1,000 racquets to adaptive programs across the nation.
"This donation means a great deal to First Volley and OPAF," said OPAF Executive Director Robin Burton. "It serves as recognition from USTA of our position in the nation as a recognized top-quality adaptive tennis program. It also gives our First Volley participants the equipment to go forward with adaptive tennis and work to build the program. We are so grateful to Ms. King for generosity to First Volley."
First Volley is an adaptive tennis clinic for ambulatory players, aiming toward amputees and those with physical challenges who wish to play tennis, but choose not to sit in a wheelchair to do so. The next First Volley clinic will be held Saturday, September 29, at Frog Hollow Racquet Club in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. Clinics in Tyler, Texas, and Bloomfield, Michigan, will follow.
OPAF Receives Donation to Dale Yasukawa Scholarship Fund
The Orthotic and Prosthetic Assistance Fund Inc. (OPAF) has received a $500 donation from Jeff Brandt, CPO, president and owner of Ability Prosthetics & Orthotics of Gettysburg, Pa. The donation is in memory of Dale Yasukawa, CP and will help sustain the OPAF Dale Yasukawa Memorial Fund Scholarship Program. The fund was established in 2001 to benefit a Northwestern University student enrolled in the orthotics and prosthetics program.
Yasukawa, who died in November 2001 at the age of 43, served as director of prosthetics at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) in the department of prosthetic-orthotic clinical services. Yasukawa was involved in the Midwest chapter of the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists for more than 7 years, completing his service as immediate past president in 2001.
Yasukawa had been both an RIC colleague and a mentor to Brandt.
“One of the most notable attributes of Dale was his consistent, honest nature, not to mention his dedication to the orthotics and prosthetics profession,” Brandt said in an OPAF press release. “This donation not only allows us to give to the profession by supporting an excellent training program, it also allows us to honor a great person.”
This scholarship program is currently open to all full-time certificate candidates enrolled in Northwestern University’s Prosthetic Orthotic Center. The chief purpose of the scholarship is to encourage student participation in the annual meeting of the Midwest chapter. It is expected that the award will be used specifically to defray registration fees and assist in the purchasing of books, supplies and equipment needed for ongoing studies at Northwestern University’s Prosthetic Orthotic Center.
“I had the pleasure of serving with Dale on the Midwest chapter of the Academy board and am pleased that OPAF is able to continue honoring his memory through the generous support of people like Jeff Brandt,” said OPAF president Michael Burton. “Many people throughout the O&P community now make donations to OPAF in lieu of sending flowers in memory of a friend or family member. OPAF acknowledges all of these donations to the families and has received nice comments back with gratitude that their family member has been remembered in such a special way.”
OPAF Auction a Fabulous Success!
The Orthotic & Prosthetic Assistance Fund, Inc. (OPAF) announced the resounding success of First Bid, its live and silent auction event in conjunction with the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists (the Academy) Annual Meeting March 21-24, 2007 in San Francisco, California.
With well over 100 people in attendance, the evening garnered over $20,000 for OPAF and its First programs. "This is the largest single fundraising event ever for OPAF," said OPAF Executive Director Robin Burton. "What a response from the O&P community! To have this type of support and affirmation is such a shot in the arm for the Official Philanthropy of the U.S. O&P community. Our thanks to OPAF vice president and First Bid chairperson Elizabeth Mansfield for an outstanding job."
The evening offered hors d'oeuvres with a cash bar featuring "Cocktails for Cause" martinis by sponsors College Park Industries and O&P Business News. Attendees were also treated to a string quartet, the Garden Strings, sponsored by Ohio Willow Wood. Many attended in formal attire for the upscale event. The evening livened up with the opening of the Live Auction and the featured auctioneer, Brad Mattear of O&P1. "What a performance that was!" said Burton "Live auction items included a sunset cruise off Newport Beach, courtesy of Captain Jeff Kingsley, full-page color ads in both The O&P EDGE and O&P Business News, a one-week stay in a Hawaiian condo, and a week in a villa in Costa Rica. Frenzied bidding ensued over a pair of Saturday Night Live tickets, a VIP tour of Washington DC, and Yankees/Red Sox tickets.
"The story of the evening was the live bidding on OPAF's Paralympic torch from the 1996 Atlanta games, a significant piece of OPAF history," Burton said. "Jack Richmond, former OPAF president, gave an impassioned speech on the meaning behind the torch and the act of giving and raised the bid to $1,000. In the end, Ted Markgren, CO, was the winning bidder for the Paralympic Torch. Ted has decided however, that the torch should not be his to keep. He is having a case built for the torch for display purposes and will offer the torch back to OPAF on a yearly basis so that it can be auctioned offannually with the stipulation that the winning bidder will only have possession of the torch for one year for display purposes and then returned to OPAF so that others within the O&P industry may enjoy this bit of our history."
OPAF Welcomes Industry Leader 2007 Donors
The Orthotic & Prosthetic Assistance Fund Inc. (OPAF) has welcomed several industry leaders as part of its 2007 Donor Campaign, announced OPAF Executive Director Robin Burton. "It is so exciting to see the support and enthusiasm of industry leaders and practitioners for OPAF and our programs," she said.
Bob Arbogast, president of Ohio Willow Wood, Mt. Sterling, Ohio, has renewed as an OPAF Bronze Level Sponsor for 2007, Burton said. "Bob recently completed his term of service on the OPAF Board of Directors in 2006, and remains interested and involved in OPAF programs and events."
Cascade Orthopedic Group, Chico, California, joined as a Patron Level Sponsor for OPAF and "also contributes to the success of the Thranhardt Golf Classic and other OPAF events," Burton said. Cascade will also assist with a First Volley Tennis Clinic sponsored by Berke Prosthetics, Redwood City, California, in July.
Florida Brace Corporation, Winter Park, Florida, and Hanger Orthopedic Group, Bethesda, Maryland, have contributed for 2007 at the Signature Level Sponsorship, renewing their support for OPAF, Burton added. "OPAF also welcomes PEL Supply Company of Cleveland, Ohio, again as a Friend of the Fund with its 2007 contribution," she said. "All of these donors give to OPAF with their financial contributions, but they also support many of OPAF events, such as the Thranhardt Golf Classic, First Bid, and the Strut Your Stuffcustom design contest."
"Patient care facilities and practitioners are also a vital part of the OPAF donor family," Burton continued. Joining for OPAF's work in 2007 are Manfredi Orthotic and Prosthetic Affiliates Inc., Long Branch New Jersey; Ability Prosthetics & Orthotics Inc., based in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; Tandem O&P, Sartell, Minnesota; and Leimkuehler Inc., based in Cleveland Ohio, along with J. Martin Carlson, CPO, FAAOP, and Darren Donnelly, CO, she added.
"We thank each of you for the part that you play in helping us to affect the lives of those we serve," Burton said. "We are working to take the "dis" out of disability and give these individuals the ability to lead active lives"
