Herriman’s Mayor Lorin Palmer and Bluffdale’s Mayor Natalie Hall went head-to-head in a good-natured game of wheelchair basketball to raise money for a local nonprofit serving young special-needs athletes at the end of July. Summit Academy High School in Bluffdale hosted the festivities, and before tip-off, attendees shopped at various vendor booths outside the gym, enjoyed live music and entered a raffle. 

The gym suddenly went dark to kick off the game while upbeat music blared through loudspeakers. Spotlights followed the players as they wheeled onto the court in style between two lines of cheerleaders, announced by the emcee amidst the cheering spectators.

“I loved that we were able to bring the two communities together that traditionally have a friendly rivalry for a good cause,” Palmer said. 

Team Herriman was comprised of Palmer, City Councilman Teddy Hodges,who sported a jovial Santa costume, Herriman resident and Utah House District 48 candidate Doug Fiefia, local vendor Shelby Wilson, Herriman resident Max Brown and the reigning Miss Herriman, Scarlet Lankford.

Throughout the game, the energetic emcee provided regular comments and sound effects to accompany the action, and the crowd was treated to a performance from Forever Athletics, which offers programs for all abilities and ages. 

An amazing cause

All proceeds went to Adaptive Arena in Bluffdale, a large, indoor gym inspired by a 9-year-old Phoenix boy named Jensen. Jensen has autism and is the nephew of Ashley, Andrea and Miranda, three sisters who created Adaptive Arena. They were impressed by the community surrounding Jensen’s adaptive baseball league. 

“We originally set out to start something similar here and decided that in order to work with the ever-changing Utah weather, something indoors was needed,” CEO and Herriman resident Ashley Guymon said. 

Along with the fun of playing, the three sisters aim to provide opportunities for athletes to learn the lessons that often accompany participation in sports. “[Jensen] makes great friends [playing baseball], and so do his parents. They are meeting people who live with many of the same challenges—what a gift to find this community!” Guymon said. 

“We met the owners of Adaptive Arena earlier in the summer and were very impressed with their mission and their vision.” Palmer said. “We wanted to be able to magnify our connections to help get the name out there and help shine a light on the amazing work they
are doing.”

“I was grateful that a simple idea of supporting a business while playing a fun game of basketball would bring the community together to help raise awareness and funds for the adaptive community,” Hodges said. “It was such a fun event and we had a lot of support from
all over.”

Inside their 3,000-square-foot facility, the organization focuses on inclusivity, teamwork, empowerment, community and education while welcoming athletes from second grade through high school. “It is so fun to get to know them and their families throughout the season. They share some of their victories and heartbreaks with us,” Guymon said. “It is an absolute honor to know them and do what we can to support them.” 

Adaptive Arena is a Bridge Athlete Program, meaning anyone can play whether they have a disability or not. “These kids can be on the same team as their friends, neighbors, siblings and other relatives,” Guymon said. 

As much as possible, the staff creates conditions enabling disabled players to compete fairly. “For example, when we play wheelchair basketball, everyone uses one of our sports wheelchairs,” Guymon said. “I love the compassion and understanding that these kids build with each other.” 

The programs at Adaptive Arena are currently offered free of charge. “We rely on donations and sponsorships, and now that we are an official nonprofit, we can begin applying for grants…” Guymon said. “We are always raising funding so that we can hopefully continue to offer them for free. Families that have loved ones with disabilities have so many extra expenses that the rest of us wouldn’t even
think of.”

Marvelous Max 

Without a doubt, the most popular player on the city’s team was Herriman athlete Max Brown, who was born with cerebral palsy because he did not have enough oxygen at birth. Though Brown had never played basketball, he received a special invitation from Palmer to join the Herriman team, quickly becoming a favorite with the cheering crowd and the other players. 

“He has a pretty big personality and is extremely social, so he was pretty well known in high school (Mountain Ridge),” his mother, Maryann Brown, said. “It’s hard not to notice Max.” In fact, Max Brown was so popular in high school that he was selected to speak at the graduation ceremony.

“Max is such a dreamer, so the hardest part about being handicapped for him is that it limits his ability to do a lot of the things on his wish list…” Maryann Brown said. Like so many others, Max makes the most of what he has and regularly works to expand his experiences. He enjoys playing baseball, working with charities and fundraisers and helping the community. 

“It is my pleasure to help other people. A lot of people have helped me, so I like to return the favor,” Max Brown said excitedly. “Like Ellen Degeneres has said, compassion is what makes the world a better place. So let’s do this. Let’s have compassion!”

Though he makes her smile every day, Maryann Brown sometimes struggles with feelings of isolation. “It is so hard for anyone without a special needs child to understand how different our lives are and how the most mundane tasks for them can be tiresome for us,” she said. “Having said that, having Max in our lives has been the most amazing blessing, and he has taught us so much.”

Jazzy Jeff 

The Herriman team was supplemented with other disabled and nondisabled athletes, including players from the professional wheelchair basketball team, the Wheelin’ Jazz. Founded in 1990 by Mike Schlappi, the Wheelin’ Jazz became an outlet for him after he lost mobility at age 15 when a friend accidentally shot him. 

The Wheelin’ Jazz has been ranked in the top ten within the championship league for 30 years, nearly since the team’s inception. 

In 2010, paralympic athlete Jeff Griffin took the reins for the team. Like Schlappi, Griffin wasn’t born disabled. He was a collegiate football player sought by Lavell Edwards to play for BYU but ultimately attended BYU Idaho. 

While working as a painter between football seasons, Griffin fell 40 feet, shattering his back and his career. 

Though he and his teammates didn’t medal in Athens in 2004, Griffin took silver at the World Cup in Amsterdam in 2006. 

Anyone willing to work hard is welcome to join the Wheelin’ Jazz, though not all players travel to out-of-town games. “We create space where anyone and everyone is able,” Griffin said. “Adaptive Arena is such a crucial piece to this program. There are kids who are intellectually or physically disabled and [Adaptive Arena] allows for the gap to be bridged.”

Wheelin’ Jazz players are volunteers, so the team conducts fundraisers to help cover fees. “We’ve created a relationship with the Jazz organization. They help a bit with our logo and marketing and equipment,” Griffin said. 

He hopes that when the Paralympics come to Salt Lake City in 2034, his team will have a dedicated building for the international athletes who share his struggles. 

When he’s not coaching or running the team, Griffin makes his living as a motivational speaker. What he enjoys most about coaching is the sense of belonging. “The team provides a community. When people need wheelchairs or things for their car or medical equipment or someone to relate to, it’s there. It’s available,” he said.

Unstoppable Amy

Wheelin’ Jazz player Amy Chapman has participated in wheelchair basketball since she was 12. She was born with fibular hemimelia, a rare congenital condition that results when an infant is born without all or part of the fibula bone in the lower leg. Chapman was born without either of her fibulas and did not have most of her foot or ankle bones. 

“At a year old, I had an amputation surgery in order to help my limbs fit prostheses better and allow greater mobility,” she said. “I got my first pair of prosthetics at 15 to 16 months and have never really looked back.”

Passionate about paralympic sports since she was a child, Chapman has also competed in swimming. “I love that you can put anyone in a basketball chair and share this sport…,” she said. “Wheelchair basketball is a very strategic sport and one you have to constantly be learning about.” She is also a high school special education teacher and swim coach. 

Though she doesn’t allow her disability to slow her down, she admits that sometimes, trying to do things that most people take for granted is frustrating. “Having to adapt and figure out a way to do things that are not compatible with being a double amputee is something I have had to do my whole life,” she said.

The incredible Mr. Jackson

One of the youngest players at the July 31 game, Jackson Meier is a senior in high school who has played with competitive wheelchair basketball team Utah Rush for two years. Players from Utah Rush took over for a quarter while Team Herriman took a breather. The organization welcomes girls and boys ages 12 to 18 with lower limb disabilities.

In utero, Jackson had amniotic band syndrome, where the developing fetus becomes entangled in strips of amniotic sac that have separated. Jackson’s leg was pinched and unable to develop. “I am a congenital amputee, which means I was born without my leg,” he said matter-of-factly. “I have been like this my whole life.”  

Continuing to defy expectations, Jackson has never known anything different. “My favorite thing about playing for the team is that I get to compete like any other high school athlete…, and I’ve always loved basketball…,” he said enthusiastically. 

Fantastic Felix

During the second quarter, several local mascots in association with nonprofit Mascot Miracles Foundation arrived, including Willy the Wolverine from UVU, Bumble from the Salt Lake Bees, and Felix the Falcon from the Utah Falconz, Utah’s professional two-time national champion women’s football team. Providing meaningful entertainment and support for critically ill or disabled children, Mascot Miracles also brought two of their own original characters, Talon the Eagle and KC Coyote. 

Mascot Miracles president Rich Ellis also participated in the fun while overseeing the mascots, who joined the game, showboating and interacting with the players and crowd. At halftime, the mascots even participated in an acrobatic dance-off with Summit High Cheerleaders to Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.”   

Like most superheroes, Felix the Falcon has a secret identity. In 2013, he knew he wanted to create a mascot-based nonprofit serving children, but before his organization even got on its feet, he was contacted by a single mother needing help with her daughter’s eighth birthday party. Bald and missing a leg, little Macie was battling bone cancer, and her mother, Mindy, didn’t have money for a party. 

Felix accepted the challenge. His mascot friends—Willy, Bumble, Swoop the Red-Tailed Hawk from the U of U, Jazz Bear and Lil Bear from the Utah Jazz, Grisby the Bear from the Utah Grizzlies and Mascot Miracles’ own Kodiak the Wolf—all lent a hand.

“Macie was our first hero,” Felix said. “The mascots absolutely fell in love with this young girl.” 

Complete with a visit from Princess Belle (and a matching dress and wig for the birthday girl), a rose from each mascot, a life-sized functioning Cinderella carriage, an appearance by the mayor and a parade, Macie’s birthday party was one for the ages. She dubbed the mascots “the zoo,” a name still used today. 

But it wasn’t long until Mindy frantically contacted Felix, asking him to come to the hospital—Macie was dying. Felix was devastated. “Her mom told me that all she was talking about were the mascots and the zoo,” he said. Without his costume, Felix stood by Macie’s side as she passed away, and he and the rest of the zoo were pallbearers at her funeral. 

Emotionally broken, Felix decided to stop progress on the foundation. “I thought, I can’t do this. We’re not even an official foundation yet, and I buried a kid,” he said, his voice breaking. A few days after his decision, he received a phone call. “How dare you?” the indignant woman on the other end cried. An acquaintance proceeded to berate him for abandoning something so “magical.” 

“She said, ‘You think any parent plans on burying their kid?’” Felix said through tears. “She said, ‘The reason you were a pallbearer is because of the impact you had. Macie won’t be the last kid you bury, but this is above you. This is bigger than you.’” 

Yet, alongside the heartbreak, Felix has also seen miracles. Some time ago, he sat down at an event in costume to meet a 7-year-old girl who stood a few feet in front of him, physically supported by her mother. 

The girl began taking steps toward Felix’s outstretched arms and then threw her own little arms around him—while her mother burst into tears. The mascot was confused, until her mother said through sobs, “My daughter has never walked. She’s been in physical therapy for five years! You just made my little girl walk!” 

Uniting as warriors 

At the end of a heartfelt, heartwarming and entertaining evening, Herriman was declared the victor with ticket sales and contributions from both sides totaling over $6,000. “We appreciated seeing so many people from the community come out to support and [are grateful] for all the donors and sponsors that helped make this first year a huge success!” Palmer said.

In defiance of their disabilities, players demonstrated superior skill, sportsmanship and determination.

“We are already making plans for next year to make this event bigger and better and hope to find ways to involve even more people,” Palmer said. 

“We are excited for what this next year will bring,” Hodges added. 

Shaking his head with a grin, Ellis said, “It’s been an honor to serve the community. It is amazing to see people who are told, ‘You can’t do this,’ and they say, ‘Wanna bet?’” λ