BlazeSports helps foster athleticism in all children

Physically disabled youth swim, play tennis

Jim Miller/ViewAndrea Anzalone, center, a coach with BlazeSports Las Vegas, talks with participants before they begin a game of lacrosse. Advertisement

It's a cold Wednesday night, and the brightly lit gymnasium at aging Garside Middle School, 300 S. Torrey Pines Drive, is full of smiling children. Most of them are in wheelchairs, flying around the gym at high speeds, laughing together as they "warm up" for a night of fun and activity.

Wednesday nights are open recreation nights for BlazeSports Las Vegas, a year-round program for youth with physical disabilities run by the city of Las Vegas Department of Leisure Services.

These are the nights when program coordinator Jonathan Foster and his crew introduce the kids to new games and sports, to see if they take to it and enjoy it as they do with basketball, skiing, bocce ball, track and field, tennis and swimming.

And usually, they do.

"I've tried them all, and I like pretty much everything," said 12-year-old Cheyenne Leonard, a Cadwallader Middle School student who's been involved with BlazeSports for more than five years. "I really like skiing, and track, and tennis, and I get to travel around the country to compete in track and field and swimming. It's a lot of fun."

Cheyenne was born with spina bifida, a common condition that affects the spinal cord and associated nerves. Her father, David Leonard, said she didn't participate in many sports-related activities until she found BlazeSports.

"Her brother played soccer, and I think she wanted to get involved somehow, but then her P.E. teacher in grade school told us about this program," he said. "At first, Cheyenne didn't think she'd like it, but she really took to it fast, and now she's competitive in multiple sports."

The Wednesday night recreation events are a weekly event, but the program takes its athletes to several locations around the valley for different sporting events. Wednesday night, the Henderson Multigenerational Gym across from The District at Green Valley Ranch will host the U.S. Paralympic Academy's activity night from 5 to 8 p.m. After a meet-and-greet session, competitions in table tennis, track and swimming will be held.

BlazeSports America is the national program that was formed from the 1996 Paralympic Games, held in conjunction with the Atlanta Olympics. The program expanded nationally in 2002, when Las Vegas was selected as one of the charter programs across the country.

Foster has been involved with the local program for three years, but his history in adaptive sports goes way back. His mother, Leola Foster, once served as the state director of the Special Olympics, and her son grew up volunteering and organizing athletic events in programs in sports like skiing, swimming and soccer.

"This program is so effective because of these recreation nights, where we get to introduce the kids to different things," he said. "They get to know each sport, and the equipment involved, and then they get to pick their specialty. And there are always new sports that can be adapted. This week, we're going to try lacrosse for the first time."

Foster said the parents usually are surprised to find out just how many activities their young athletes can take part in.

"Also, through playing sports, we kind of trick them into getting stronger," he said. "Without knowing it, they are building strength and coordination they might have never known about, and that's going to make their lives easier off the court on a daily basis, just getting out of bed by themselves or getting in the shower or doing what they need to do."

David Leonard said he's seen those results firsthand in a number of BlazeSports athletes.

"When they first come out, a lot of kids can barely get around the gym a few times in their chair," Leonard said. "But after just two or three times out, they're really getting up and down. It helps that all the coaches here are really good with the kids, and there are all sorts of disabilities, but they take the time to adapt what they're doing for each child."

Not only is the program beneficial in many ways, but the best part is the kids have fun. A lot of it.

"It's great to get all this support from our coaches and friends," Cheyenne said. "Everyone has a lot of fun here."

For more information about BlazeSports Las Vegas, call the city's Adaptive Recreation Division at 229-4900.