Hello loyal blog readers: 

It’s been a crazy few weeks. I’m excited to share with you and recap traveling to Spain and Ireland, as well as all of the Ryan Martin Foundation camps and events over the last month. 

Luck of the Irish

Dublin has always been on my bucket list and I finally got a chance to check it out. Dublin is such a beautiful city and definitely a worthwhile get away. However, much like many destinations in Europe, accessibility is somewhat challenging. The touristy areas: St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Castle, and Ha'Penny Bridge all come with a certain degree of difficulty. With a bit of planning, a few strong pushes, and some assistance from the locals, Dublin turned out to be a great experience. The biggest challenge had to be jumping the curbs of the sidewalk to avoid the empty kegs of Guinness blocking sidewalk access. The aquaducts were quite memorable and reminded me of Amsterdam. Here are a few photos and videos from the trip. Enjoy!

 

Madrid Mania

Ryan Martin Foundation (RMF) hosts an annual camp in Madrid, Spain. This camp is always an awesome experience and I love being able to return to Madrid and work with exceptional young athletes. The ACB team, (ACB is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league) Movistar Estudiantes, is a big supporter of the Estudiantes/AMEB (Madrid Association of Spina Bifida) wheelchair basketball program. The program continues to thrive as this year’s camp was the largest to date and I look forward to seeing the development of these athletes.

Camp Connecticut

When we got back home, our 9th annual RMF camp in Connecticut kicked off. For the 3rd year in a row, Loomis Chaffee hosted. 35 athletes participated throughout the week. Thanks to special guests from the University of Connecticut (UConn) Center for Students with Disabilities for coming to speak to the athletes about Husky Adaptive, our new program starting in the fall on the Uconn - Storrs campus. Special thanks to WFSB News Channel 3 for covering the camp. Check out their piece here.

 

Another big thank you to the 21st Century Tolland Fund/Kevin Ollie Charity Classic for providing the funding for this year’s camp!

RMF Hall of Fame Game

This past weekend we hosted our 5th annual RMF Hall of Fame game at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. The game sponsored by Stanley Black and Decker had a great turnout and showcased some supreme wheelchair basketball talent.Thanks to all the athletes who came down to participate in the game and the continued support we get from countless folks in the community. 

Junior Athlete Profile

This month’s junior athlete profile is James Abele. James began playing wheelchair basketball with the Ryan Martin Foundation junior team in September 2016. He also began practicing with the CT Spokebenders in February 2017. We look forward to James continuing his development as a student-athlete under the RMF program. Take a peek at James's interview with FSY in support of the RMF partnership of Kevin's Kourt.  https://www.sny.tv/uconn/news/geico-sportsnite-ollie-promotes-basketball-to-connecticuts-youth/240192714 As always, thanks for your support of this blog and the Ryan Martin Foundation. Please feel free to reach out with questions, comments, etc. Regards!