Jan. 19, 2011
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford softball team volunteered at local non-profit Lakeshore Foundation Jan. 8-9, lending a helping hand at its annual Pioneer Classic Wheelchair Basketball Tournament. Members of the Bulldog squad helped work the scorer's table at several of the games throughout the weekend. It was all part of a community service initiative started by the Bulldogs softball program.
"We like to send our student-athletes out to do community service so they can give back to the community," Samford assistant coach Kellie Eubanks said. "It gives our players an opportunity to affect people's lives in a positive manner and teaches them that there's something out there bigger than them."
Players had the opportunity to meet tournament participants, and they spent an extended amount of time talking to Will Waller of the Cleveland Wheelchair Cavaliers.
Waller has been a paraplegic since 1992 and is an example of how wheelchair sports can help victims cope with the reality of their disabilities. He started playing wheelchair basketball for the Rehab Institute of Chicago in 1994 before being recruited to attend the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. As a captain, he helped lead his team to several Intercollegiate Championships, while also making an appearance at the open division Final Four.
Waller was named to the U.S. National Team in 1997 and led the team to a bronze medal at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
"It was a great opportunity for us to participate in the tournament at Lakeshore," sophomore outfielder Kayla Shaffer said. "It was very inspiring and showed me how fortunate we are to be playing a collegiate sport. It was a lot of fun, and we plan on doing more work there in the future."
The Samford softball team plans to go back to Lakeshore next weekend, Jan. 28-30, to volunteer at the 11th Annual Demolition Derby Wheelchair Rugby tournament.
