Bring the Hammer: Lakeshore Foundation holds tryouts for new USAWFL team
Football tryouts looked nontraditional in Homewood on July 10.
First of all, tryouts were held inside, not on a football field. Second, every person trying out was in a wheelchair and had a permanent disability.
Lakeshore Foundation announced in June that it was selected as an expansion team in the new USA Wheelchair Football League. The team’s name will be the Birmingham Hammers.
Wheelchair football is a full-contact sport that is played by both men and women with a permanent disability. The sport has been played for more than 20 years across the country, but in 2020 a new, organized form of the game began under the direction of the USAWFL. The league was established through a Salute to Service grant from the National Football League and the Bob Woodruff Foundation.
“We are excited to be an expansion team in the USA Wheelchair Football League and to add a new high-impact sport to Lakeshore’s athletic program,” said Jeff Underwood, Lakeshore President and CEO. “We are the only team in a city without an NFL franchise. Our experience in adapted sport made Lakeshore an attractive candidate for a team.”
After holding tryouts in July, the football team was named. One member of the new wheelchair football team was Tim Alexander, who is a Lakeshore member and director of character development for football at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He was also the leader of the 2014 #FreeUAB movement after the UAB Football program was temporarily terminated.
When Alexander was in high school, he could have gone just about anywhere for college to play football. Then in 2006, his senior year of high school, his friend fell asleep behind the wheel, and Alexander was paralyzed from the neck down in a wreck.
“When I was in the hospital and the doctor told me I’d never walk again, I gave up on everything,” he said. “I told my mom, if I’m going to be like this for the rest of my life, you might as well pull the plug.”
He tried to commit suicide multiple times. He told his doctor he didn’t like being alive. But his doctor told him he needed to get his mind right, and that’s what “changed the game,” Alexander said. Through lots of rehabilitation, he slowly regained control of his upper body.
Alexander became the first paraplegic to get a football scholarship at UAB. He loved the camaraderie and teamwork, and he called it a dream come true.
He coached the other UAB football players on gratitude. His mission was to take away excuses and provide opportunities.
“I told my guys, ‘Whenever you don’t want to run, you think of me. Whenever you don’t want to go somewhere, think of me,’” he said.
He has worked with UAB since 2010. He first heard of the Lakeshore Foundation when he got in his car accident, but Alexander said he felt hesitant about being surrounded by other people in wheelchairs.
“But they just never gave up on me,” he said. “I call it ‘positively harassing’ me. … I’ve been an advocate for them ever since.”
When he tried out for the wheelchair football team, it brought tears to his eyes, he said. “It felt like I was running again. It just really felt like I was back there on the field.”
Alexander said he’s learned the importance of using what you have. He also said that nothing in life is easy; you just have to work hard.
They’re ready to get out and put those helmets on and show people what they’re able to do. They’re excited to be on the ground level of a new sport in this country.
SUSAN ROBINSON
“My No. 1 campaign always was this: it’s not about where you go, it’s about what you do when you get there,” he said. “You can go to the biggest school in the country … it doesn’t matter. It’s what you do when you get there. So you have to take pride in where you’re at.”
Susan Robinson is the team manager for the Lakeshore Foundation’s wheelchair football program. She said that there has already been a lot of community support for the team.
“It’s pretty exciting to see that much support in the beginning,” she said. “For many new sports, it takes it a while to get rolling. But this one, it looks like it’s going to be successful off the bat.”
The players are “ready to go,” she said.
“We had a team meeting a couple of days ago, and we showed them the helmets,” she said. “They’re all ready to hit something. They’re ready to get out and put those helmets on and show people what they’re able to do. They’re excited to be on the ground level of a new sport in this country.”
All nine teams will compete this fall in the inaugural USAWL season with two tournaments scheduled Sept. 10-11 in Phoenix and Oct. 30-31 in Chicago. More information about the league and opportunities to get involved can be found at usawfl.org. More information about the Lakeshore Foundation can be found at lakeshore.org.
“Hopefully, people in Alabama will love wheelchair football as much as they love Alabama, Auburn, UAB, Jacksonville State, Troy and all of the other universities in the state,” Robinson said.
Lakeshore Foundation announces new CEO
John Kemp will be the new president and chief executive officer of the Lakeshore Foundation in Homewood, effective Nov. 1.
Kemp succeeds Jeff Underwood, who last year announced plans to retire this fall. Kemp currently serves as president and CEO of the Viscardi Center and Henry Viscardi School in Long Island, New York.
Kemp has decades of experience in the disability movement as a disabled leader and is a co-founder of the American Association of People with Disabilities. His previous leadership roles include serving as the national executive director of United Cerebral Palsy Associations, president and CEO of VSA Arts and VSA Arts International and as general counsel and vice president of development for the National Easter Seal Society, among others.
Kemp is a recipient of the Henry B. Betts Award, widely regarded as America’s highest honor for disability leadership and service, and the Dole Leadership Prize from the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas, whose recipients include Nelson Mandela and former U.S. Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
“John will be only the second CEO in Lakeshore’s 30-year history,” Board Chair Mark McColl said. “It is important to our board that the new CEO be able to build on our strong foundation and continue to expand our mission to provide opportunities for individuals with physical disabilities to lead active, healthy lives. With his wealth of experience as a national leader and passion for our mission, John is a great fit for Lakeshore.”
Kemp is a graduate of Georgetown University and Washburn University School of Law. He and his wife, Sameta, will relocate to Birmingham later this year.
— Submitted by Damian Veazy, Lakeshore Foundation.