Mar 21, 2014

Lacrosse is the official team sport of Maryland and Kennedy Krieger International Center for Spinal Cord Injury is hoping even more people will be able to play. Kennedy Krieger in partnership with FreeState Wheelchair Lacrosse recently put on a wheelchair lacrosse clinic at Johns Hopkins University. The oldest sport in North America is one of the newest adaptive sports. There are currently only a handful of teams in the country

: Left to right, Larry Toler, 55, Baltimore, and Mark Flounlacker, Ocean Pines, founder of FreeState Wheelchair Lacrosse, share a smile during a break in play in a scrimmage during a Wheelchair Lacrosse Clinic. Toler who contracted polio when he was 17 months old, has played wheelchair basketball for 38 years, but this is his first time playing lacrosse. He says “As you get older you always want to try something new. Today is a new day, an adventure.” (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Mike Fritschner, 23, Fells Point, watches as Jason Myers gives instruction in how to hold and throw with a lacrosse stick. Fritschner, has been in a wheelchair since 2006 with surfer’s myelopathy and is having his first experience with lacrosse. Myers has played the sport and is volunteering to teach others. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Mike Fritschner, 23, Fells Point, checks out a lacrosse ball as he has his first experience with the sport at a Wheelchair Lacrosse Clinic hosted by Kennedy Krieger International Center for Spinal Cord Injury in connection with FreeState Wheelchair Lacrosse. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Eric Morgner, 28, Vienna, VA, tests his hold on a lacrosse stick adapted to his grip with added tape. Morgner is attending the Kennedy Krieger International Center for Spinal Cord Injury Wheelchair Lacrosse Clinic at Johns Hopkins University. He played lacrosse in high school and became quadriplegic in 2010 after an accident. Morgner participates in other adaptive sports such as skiing, rugby, arm cycling. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Left to right. Harsh Thakkar, 28, Silver Spring, keeps control of the ball as, second from right, Ernie Butler, 60, director of Sports and Recreation for Paralyzed Veterans of America, and, right, Larry Toler, 55, Baltimore, try to knock it from his stick. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Left to right, Mark Flounlacker, Ocean Pines, founder of FreeState Wheelchair Lacrosse watches as Ernie Butler, 60, director of Sports and Recreation for Paralyzed Veterans of America and Harsh Thakkar, 28, Silver Spring, try to pick up a loose ball. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Left to right, Josh Burford, tries to pull away as his brother, Tyler Burford, holds onto his wheelchair. Both men, from Glenwood, VA, are able-bodied and are attending a Wheelchair Lacrosse Clinic in support of (not pictured) Ryan Beale, 24, Suffolk, VA. Tyler and Beale were on the Lynchburg lacrosse team together. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Harsh Thakkar, 28, Silver Spring, removes his helmet during a brief break between skills building and a scrimmage between participants at a Wheelchair Lacrosse Clinic at Johns Hopkins University. Thakkar suffered a spinal cord injury from a gun shot in 2005. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Buz Chkielewski, 43, Baltimore, works on handling a lacrosse stick and ball control in the skill portion of a Wheelchair Lacrosse Clinic Kennedy Krieger International Center for Spinal Cord Injury. He played lacrosse when he was younger and is now learning to adapt his game to his abilities. Chmielewski broke his neck when he was 17 years old and is attending the clinic, held in a Johns Hopkins University gym. Kennedy Krieger partners with FreeState Wheelchair Lacrosse to promote the sport. Currently, there are only only a handful of wheelchair lacrosse teams in the country. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Anthony Caparella, 26, Burtonsville, picks up gloves and a lacrosse stick before the Wheelchair Lacrosse Clinic at Johns Hopkins University. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Christopher Mowry, 23, Bedford County, PA, tries on gloves. He has never played lacrosse, but is ready to try the sport. He is attending the Wheelchair Lacrosse Clinic hosted by Kennedy Krieger International Center for Spinal Cord Injury in connection with FreeState Wheelchair Lacrosse. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Left to right, Carlton Coleman, 57, Clarksville, forces Larry Toler, 55, Baltimore, to loose the ball in a scrimmage of a Wheelchair Lacrosse Clinic at Johns Hopkins University. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Detail of lacrosse stick, ball and sport wheelchair. Carlton Coleman, 57, Clarksville, picks up a loose ball in his stick. Kennedy Krieger International Center for Spinal Cord Injury hosts a Wheelchair Lacrosse Clinic at Johns Hopkins University to introduce their patients and others from the area to the sport. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Andre McDonald, 49, Columbia, a T 4-5 paraplegic, makes a pass during a scrimmage during a Wheelchair Lacrosse Clinic. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Left to right, Ryan Beale, 24, Suffolk, VA, talks with Mark Flounlacker, Ocean Pines, founder of FreeState Wheelchair Lacrosse, during skills building at a Wheelchair Lacrosse Clinic. Kennedy Krieger International Center for Spinal Cord Injury partners with FreeState to put on the clinic in a Johns Hopkins University gym. Beale is wearing the helmet he used when he played for Lynchburg College. He broke his neck in 2009 in an accident. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Left to right, Erin Michael, physical therapist at Kennedy Krieger, leans back to try to retrieve a loose ball asAndre McDonald, 49, Columbia, a T 4-5 paraplegic, keeps a hand on her chair. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

Some of the clinic participants are athletes in other sports with no experience in lacrosse. Others were lax players before their injuries. They were outfitted with gloves, sticks and sports chairs before beginning a skills clinic. It wasn’t long before they divided up and a game was on. Kennedy Krieger and FreeState are working to promote wheelchair lacrosse, which was founded in 2009, and to establish wheelchair lacrosse teams in the area.

Wheelchair lacrosse clinic

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