Kingdom Wheelblasters blazing a basketball trail
Just five years in existence, the Kingdom Wheelblasters is home to a dedicated bunch of sports people. Dan Kearney spoke to some of those involved
THE familiar smell of liniment and well earned perspiration soak the air of the Kerry Sports Academy, at the IT in Tralee, basketball court every Thursday night. The thud of basketballs hitting the timber floor, and the shouts of encouragement from the players to one another, dominate the arena. It is a typical basketball training session with lay ups, shooting drills, and one on one defensive plays, and a shrill blast of the whistle tells you when it’s time to switch things around.
There is one noise that is different though, as the spokes in the wheelchairs whizz around the hall in the practice game like propellers in the wind, and the players go hell for leather in pursuit of the ball. Kerry’s first ever wheelchair National League basketball team, the Kingdom Wheelblasters, are being put through their paces, and the intensity of the session would rival any sport.
Kingdom Wheelblasters was the brainchild of Tadhg Buckley, from Ballydesmond – on the Kerry Cork border – who recognised the need for a sporting outlet for wheelchair users, both young and old, back in 2015. Tadhg’s daughter Niamh, now aged 15, is a wheelchair user, and Tadhg felt that she should be afforded the same opportunities in sport as her able-bodied friends enjoyed.
The wheels were literally set in motion when Tadhg, and four other parents, came together to form a junior club. They enlisted the help of Irish Wheelchair Association Development Officer Paul Ryan, and soon things were up and running. Training took place one night a week, with a Saturday club also formed, a less serious regime with fun and craic the order of the day, as Tadgh explained.
“The club started off mimicking another club that was set up over 10 years ago in Cork called the Rebel Wheelers. The format for the clubs is that they are volunteer led but the governing body of the club is IWA-Sport. The dream is that there is a club core and the spokes are coming out of that, like what Cork were able to establish in 10 years was a wheelchair basketball club, they’ve a wheelchair rugby club, they’ve an athletics unit, Boccia (similar to bowls), and then they have what’s known as a Saturday club. The Saturday Club would be for kids with a slightly higher level of disability that are looking for a sport to keep active and keep fit. We are nearly five years into that journey now, so what we have going is the Saturday Club, we have the Boccia going, and our most successful thing is the wheelchair basketball.”
As the junior players began to get a bit older, Tadhg realised that there was a need for a senior club to be formed. That vision came to fruition in 2018, and he was amazed with the interest that followed.
“As the guys were growing up around us it became apparent fairly quickly that we needed to start thinking about putting a senior club in place, because there would be no pathway for them to progress on,” he explained. “It was two years ago that we had our first go at setting up the senior side of it, and to our surprise at the time, and what we didn’t bank on, was that there was a huge amount of lads out there with physical disabilities that were looking for a sporting outlet, and that’s where Johnny (Quaid), and Paul Murphy came into us, and Paul O’Flaherty. Roy Guerin came as well, and he helped us with the junior club when we were trying to get that up and going.”
The first couple of seasons have been a steep learning curve for the Kingdom Wheelblasters as the more experienced teams have been a little too strong for them in the games that they’ve played. They are improving however, and have played much better basketball this season, prior to the league shut down when the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Tadhg also gets to play on the team, as the all inclusive element allows one able bodied player to take the court, as he explained.
“I got playing myself last year and I am mad for it. I love it. There are about 12 or 13 able bodied players in the country playing the game. It’ s a great game, very tactical. All the kids that play with us love the game. My daughter Niamh is a wheelchair user so that’s where it all began. She loves the basketball as well.
“The thing about the Saturday Club is that in wheelchair basketball able bodied players are able to play alongside kids with physical disabilities, so it’s not an alien thing to them. We have a great Committee. I’m the Chairman, Deirdre Bambury is the Secretary, and the Treasurer is Liz McMahon. There are some more very good board members involved as well”.
The Kingdom Wheelblasters have made rapid strides since they were formed in 2015, and they can now boast 21 members in the Junior section, along with the adult players that make up the National League team. They have had a good share of help along the way, and Tadhg is delighted with what they have achieved in a short period of time.
“We’ve come a long way from when we started the club. You can’t play wheelchair basketball without a sports chair. Sports chairs are crucial. They are expensive though and could cost up to €4,000 per chair depending on the needs of the person. Thankfully, we’ve had great help from a lot of people. The first group that helped us out was an organisation in Dublin called the Lord’s Taverners that specifically help out groups that cater for kids with disabilities.
We got four chairs from them and after that we got two more chairs from Bluebird Care, and this year we secured funding for six chairs through a joint application from ourselves and Kerry Sports Partnership to Sport Ireland. These will be six measured chairs for the lads. It’s absolutely huge for the Kingdom Wheelblasters.”
When the Wheelblasters travel to games the wheelchairs are generally carried in the back of Tadhg’s work van to the various games and tournaments that the junior and senior teams play throughout the country. The junior club is as active as the senior team, and they could play up to ten blitzes in any given season. With that in mind, a delighted Tadhg has just received some great news that will make things a little bit easier going forward.
“We put in an application last year with the Lord’s Taverners for a minibus and we have now got a minibus from them as well. The Lord’s Taverners are actually a cricket based charity that have a ball in Dublin every year, and all the proceeds from the ball goes towards buying minibuses and sporting equipment. They are an amazing organisation. Kerry Spina Bifida have been really good to us as well.
“We don’t get off the motorway. There’s a huge amount of travelling but I suppose if you are in it, you are in it. All of our senior players have added tremendously to the club. Everybody has bought into it. Everybody has an eye on the young lads coming up as well. Dean McCarthy and Cian Horgan are serious talents. They are only 15 but are already on the Irish U-23 squad. We expect them to go all the way”.
Whilst the number at Kingdom Wheelblasters are consistently growing, Tadhg is anxious that the club gains new membership further south of the county.
“I suppose we are very well known in Tralee and have a good base in north Kerry. We have very few participants in the Killarney direction or towards south Kerry and I would love if we could build our numbers from there. If anyone wants to contact us our e mail is kingdomwheelblasters@gmail.com or we can also be found on Facebook.”