I've never... played wheelchair basketball.

I'm currently participating in this mentoring program that pairs you up with an 'at-risk' youth around ages 10-13.  And once a month, there's a group activity that is organized by the program.  This time it was wheelchair basketball.  I was kind of wondering if playing wheelchair basketball just because we can is offensive to people actually in wheelchairs but I hope not.

But in any case, I wouldn't say I was super worried about my skills as a wheelchair basketball player just because I was going to be playing with a bunch of 12-year olds.  It wasn't going to be competitive.  But I was still prepared to be absolutely horrible. Basketball is the one sport growing up that I just could not play to save my life.  My freshman year of high school, one of my good friends convinced me to go out for the high school team with her.  There weren't very many going out for the freshman team so I think pretty much everyone who went out that year made it.  However, I went to one tryout and had one of the more embarrassing experiences of my life.  Turns out I couldn't even maneuver a very simple layup and one of the coaches pulled me aside and gave me my own personal lesson during a good portion of the tryout.

Wheelchair basketball actually ended up being pretty fun, though it was also very difficult.  Turns out shooting from a sitting position is not the easiest (or maybe I'm just weak) and I never really figured out the whole dribbling thing.  You have to throw the ball up in the air and out a little bit and then while it's bouncing you wheel forward and grab it and repeat.  I just kept running into the ball with the wheelchair or throwing it too far out in front of me so someone else grabbed it.  

Everyone also kept running into each other.  Luckily they strap you in so you won’t fall out of the chair when you are all grappling for the ball and the chairs are designed with the wheels angled out so nobody’s fingers will get smashed. In any case, nobody was very good and I think only 1 basket was scored the entire game.