Louisville Lightning team serves students with limited mobility
By Dyuce Woodson
May 15, 2023—For high school students Furious T. and Brayden T., getting a chance to be on a track has been a long time coming.
“I’ve met a lot of people who have played wheelchair track. They all loved it,” Brayden, a freshman at Fairdale High School, said. “I’ve been wanting to start it for a while, and whenever I heard that this program was going to start up, I was really excited.”
Ballard High School sophomore Furious was also ready to go out and compete. When he first heard about a new adapted sports program, he says, “I was kind of like, bet. I’ll take it!”
Brayden and Furious are a part of the Louisville Lightning adapted track and field team. The JCPS Louisville Lightning Adapted Sports Team is in its first year, with track and field starting in March. On the track team, ages range from second through 10th grade.
“It means that I have the ability to do anything anybody else can do with what I have that’s holding me back,” Furious said.
The program allows students who have a physical disability that impacts mobility—including those who are wheelchair-reliant—to be on a team and show off their athleticism. It also allows student-athletes an opportunity to compete.
“Everybody deserves a chance to compete,” Brayden said. “This is opening the door to college scholarships, college sporting opportunities to people that previously never had those opportunities.”
The JCPS Adapted Sports program offers multiple sport opportunities for students who have a physical disability that impacts mobility. Students do not have to be a wheelchair user to participate. For more information on JCPS Adapted Sports, email the Louisville Lightning team at JCPS.LouisvilleLightning@jefferson.kyschools.us.