Ask Away Sunday: Week 21

Who were some of your favorite high school players? 
A few of my closest friends were on the girls basketball team. So they were my favorite players to talk to and spend time with on basketball trips.

What was it like? 
It was an interesting experience that taught me quite a bit and made me a better person. I was always disappointed that I couldn't play in the games and I knew that being a manager wasn't the most glamorous thing to do on the basketball team, but I tried to do the best that I could and I think people respected that about me. I actually considered taking choir my senior year, and not being the manager anymore, but decided to stick with basketball.

Did you travel with the team? 
I had to travel with my Dad for a few years, because the team bus didn't have a ramp for my wheelchair, but eventually I was able to travel on the bus with the team which was a lot of fun for me.

What was your favorite tournament?
My favorite tournament was the Flaming Gorge Tournament in Green River. It was fun to see Star Valley try to compete against some of the larger schools in Wyoming.

Tell a story or two about being the high school manager.
When I was a freshman my uncle Dahl told me, before the first game, that if he was ejected from a basketball game during the season  I was next in line to be the head coach for that game. So I remember secretly hoping he'd get ejected and I'd have a chance to coach the team.At the time I was naive enough to believe that the high school would somehow allow me to coach the team in that type of emergency situation

When I became the Varsity manager, as a sophomore, one of my responsibilities was to fill the water cooler with ice.  The first time I tried to do it I had difficulty holding the bucket and scooping the ice into the cooler at the same time. I also thought that I might accidentally knock the water cooler over with my wheelchair if I set the water cooler on the ground.  One of the cheerleaders just happened to be in the equipment room with me.  She insisted that she help me hold the water cooler while I filled the cooler to make it easier for me. 

As I began filling the water cooler I would frequently miss the water cooler and hit her shirt with the ice cubes. However, she just kept holding the water cooler for me without complaining and she continued to have a conversation with me until I was finished filling it. Then she went and asked some of her friends to help her carry it for me to where it needed to go for the team to use for practice. I'd never talked to her much prior to that, but I was very impressed that she was so kind to me. I enjoyed talking to her that day and she became one of my best friends. So that experience helped to teach me that it's important to look for opportunities to help people even if I don't know them very well. She's still one of my favorite people that I talk to consistently online.