Edinboro 尘别苍鈥檚 wheelchair basketball continues to grow sport on the East Coast
EDINBORO, Pa. (BVM) — Jim Glatch became the head coach of the 尘别苍鈥檚 wheelchair basketball team at Edinboro University (EU) in 1995. As an able-bodied athlete, that same year he applied for an adult wheelchair basketball camp because he wanted to prepare himself to coach the adaptive sport.聽
鈥淚 found a wheelchair to fit me and I was in it the whole time just like every other camper,鈥� Glatch said. 鈥淚 knew basketball, but I got a real feel for the game because playing in a chair is different. It was a great experience but at the end of the camp I was sore and my hands were torn up.鈥澛�
Nearly three decades later, the EU Fighting Scots are a strong force on the court. Glatch said with a total of 12 尘别苍鈥檚 collegiate wheelchair programs across the nation, he is proud of his team for being a part of the top five in the country over the past several years from 2015-2019.聽
Although Glatch admits that the 2019-20 season did not play out well for the team — finishing with a 5-25 record — he said the athletes made him proud because of their individual accomplishments. A couple of graduates in the Class of 2020 went on to play ball at the next highest level.聽
Will Speed, who was a starter for all five seasons and captain for three, entered the program as a 30-year-old freshman in 2015.聽
鈥淚 was hesitant to come to college at 30 with zero transfer credits, but I feel like Edinboro and Coach Glatch empowered me to reach for the stars,鈥� Speed said.聽
Now he is currently playing for the Tampa Bay Strong Dogs, an Adult Division II team in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association that won the .
Another graduate from 鈥�20 chose to move overseas so that he could play pro. Chayse Wolf, who joined EU as a freshman in 2016, is currently playing in Wiesbaden, Germany, for the Rhine River Rhinos.聽
鈥淚 decided to come to this team because the German league is one of the best in the world,鈥� Wolf said. 鈥淐oach Glatch did an amazing job at developing my game and I can honestly say that I wouldn鈥檛 be where I am today without his guidance.鈥�
Since the current 2020-21 practices and games were canceled because of the pandemic, Glatch said he is ready for next season. He will have a young team which partially consists of one sophomore and seven first-year players.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to give me a few more gray hairs because this young team won’t be ready to play in the first college tournament,鈥� Glatch said. 鈥淲e do offense and defense work starting Oct. 1, so I’ll have only five weeks to prepare them for their first tournament. Normally you have a handful of upperclassmen but next year we’re gonna be leaning on young ball players.鈥澛�
As he and the team look towards a chance to play, Glatch still spends his days taking able-body drills and finding ways to adapt them into his practices.聽
鈥淥nce in a while I鈥檒l still jump in the chair,鈥� Glatch said, 鈥渂ut I mostly adjust to teaching from my feet.鈥�
But Glatch thinks of a lot more than just his own team. Since the NCAA does not recognize wheelchair basketball, he wants to see a transition to the league.聽
鈥淚f we were in the NCAA, it gives respectability to the sport itself, then it鈥檚 acknowledged that the athletes who play on a wheelchair team are true student–athletes,鈥� Glatch said.聽
Currently, college wheelchair basketball falls under the intercollegiate division of the NWBA.
鈥淓U is a Division II [NCAA] school for able-body sports but I think having us as a solo division under DI could be possible and would be an easy move,鈥� Glatch said.聽
Aside from a push for the transition, Glatch is also focused on several other projects. Already with an , last month he was appointed to the high performance team for the NWBA. He says he enjoys taking on other positions but his main focus is always on the success of his team at EU.聽
鈥淚 love what I do, so work doesn鈥檛 feel like work and what drives me are the athletes I coach,鈥� Glatch said. 鈥淭his is real college basketball and the athletes are just as competitive, but you have to to appreciate it.鈥澛�
