The American Association of AdaptED Sports Programs (AAASP) is proud to host its Second Annual Wheelchair Basketball Summer Camp this week, bringing together more than 40 athletes from across the state of Georgia—and one traveling all the way from Chicago, Illinois – to work on developing skills in the off-season. This year's camp promises to be an exciting week of skill-building, teamwork, and growth, with expert instruction from Coach Robb Taylor, Head Coach of Auburn University’s Adapted Athletics Basketball Team, as well as the 2024 Gold Medal Paralympic Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team, and Auburn University’s Assistant Adapted Basketball Coach Sophia Livaudais.
Local participants represent several wheelchair basketball teams from the AAASP AdaptED Sports League, including: Clark County Classic City Dawgs, Clayton County Eagles, Georgia Storm, Gwinnett County Heat, Houston County Sharks, Muscogee Lions and the Peach County Rolling Trojans.
On the evening before camp kicks off, 15 coaches and assistant coaches will gather for a special Coaches’ Dinner, providing an opportunity to meet and learn from Coach Taylor and Coach Livaudais, as well as collaborate and discuss best practices to develop athletes and help their teams succeed.
The two-day camp will focus on key aspects of the game, including: chair skills, shooting and ball handling, defensive and offensive transition, and leadership development, with an emphasis on bringing lessons back to their teams. This year’s camp is made possible thanks to the generous support of the following partners: Clayton County School District for providing access to their outstanding facilities at the Instructional Center / Eagles’ Nest, and BSN Sports, who donated water bottles and lanyards for all campers.
In addition to the camp, AAASP will host a collegiate signing on Thursday after lunch for Gwinnett County Heat’s own Jeremiah Hopson, who will be going to play Wheelchair Basketball at the collegiate level at Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) in the Fall.
AAASP would like to extend a special thank you to Coach Robb Taylor, Assistant Coach Sophia Livaudais, Clayton County School District administrators including Dr. Anthony W. Smith, Superintendent; Trina Smith, Director of Special Education; Dr. Sheila Cook, Coordinator of Special Programs; Dwight Smalls, Coordinator of Behavioral Programs, and BSN Sports’ Dr. Alan Long and Zeke Sammons for their incredible hospitality and support.
The American Association of Adapted Sports Programs (AAASP), headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, will celebrate its 30th year as a not-for-profit association dedicated to developing interscholastic adapted sports programs in partnership with national, state, and local educational agencies this year. AAASP represents a standardized approach to extracurricular adapted team sports and has developed one of the nation's most comprehensive school-based athletic programs for students with physical disabilities attending elementary, middle and high schools. For more information, please visit our website at http://adaptedsports.org or join our conversations on X at: @AdaptedSports.
