Jacob Raber
I played softball in the past with The Miracle League but had never played basketball until I joined the Ballers.
I grew up attending physical therapy 3 times a week, occupational therapy twice a week and speech therapy twice a week. I've had numerous major surgeries to lessen the effects of spasticity and I walk with loft strand crutches or a cane. So I stand out whether I want to or not, but not for the right reasons.
When I joined The Ballers I didn't stand out at all--unless it was for being the worse one on the team, because everyone was in a chair, no one treated me differently. For the first time I feel like I am truly an athlete. Being part of a team was a new experience for me and the opportunity to play against other teams in real action and be taken seriously as a true sport has given me a sense of pride and value that I had never felt before.
Sports
- Basketball/Wheelchair Basketball
City
- St. Marys
Personally, I intend to complete my Bachelors Degree and hope to find employment in finance or research. I would like to continue to develop and maintain a personal exercise program that provides the most benefit to my health. Keeps my muscles stretched to avoid spasticity, builds strength to aid in endurance, balance and pinpoints skills to make me an asset to my team. On the court I feel that I best serve my team in a defensive position and I study and train to especially build those skills. I practice shooting for at least 1 hour each day and would like to bring my free throw percentage to 90%. I would also like to work on my personal cooking skills with an aim of developing lifelong healthy eating habits, My team, the Brooks Ballers has just moved up from Division III to Division II and I want to increase my training to continue to keep up with the higher level of play and still be an asset to my team.
