Para-athlete is here to compete
Brooke Neilio sits down with her dad to discuss her experience as a disabled athlete playing sled hockey
Joe Lamberti, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
Growing, Arthur Aston, executive director of Jake’s Place, doesn’t remember ever seeing anyone who looked like him on TV.
“I’m in my late 30s so I grew up in the ’80s. There were certain sitcoms that were on that had African-Americans as characters but there was never anybody who had a physical disability like mine, with crutches or used a wheelchair,” said Aston.
As a spectator of previous Paralympic Games, Aston also noticed the difference in airtime in comparison to that of the Olympic Games.
“In years past I’ve made the observation and shared it with my social media following that the Paralympics were a one- or two-hour special on a Sunday afternoon where they did a recap of a week- or two-week-long event and tightened down into an hour-and-a-half or two-hour presentation and with the Olympics it’s like you know they’re on three or four different NBC channels and you can find something on 24 hours a day,” said Aston.
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This year, that all changes with 1,200 Hours of Paralympic broadcasts from Tokyo starting with Tuesday’s Opening Ceremony on NBCUniversal.Coverage continues through September 5, with over 200 hours of television coverage across NBC, NBCSN and Olympic Channel, with the first-ever primetime hours on NBC.
South Jersey athletes, coaches, and individuals with physical disabilities are looking forward to more inclusive media coverage.
“They have come a long way and it’s being broadcasted nationally for a much longer time now this year and I just hope that they can really continue to bridge that gap between the two events,” said Aston.
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Along with his work operating Jake’s Place, Aston is also the general manager of Camden County’s Miracle League, a Jake’s Place program that allows those ages 5 and up with a medically diagnosed disability the chance to play America’s favorite pastime, baseball.
Aston says being an active participant in sports holds the same value for those with disabilities as it does for those without disabilities.
“Just like with everyone else it gives them a chance to be active and its for health reasons, it gets them moving and out, then for the social interaction it gets them around their peers,” said Aston.
The Miracle League plays on Boundless Field, a baseball field complete with a rubberized surfaced that allows all children with special needs, including those that use walkers and wheelchairs for mobility to join the play.
Although Aston says the league is a recreational non-competitive one and doesn’t keep score, equal representation of athletes with disabilities such as in the Paralympics highlights that individuals with disabilities have the same multitude of talents as peers without disabilities.
“We all strive to for people to see us as a well-rounded (athlete) who has many talents and many interests to help get past the outward glare of what others see, judging a book by it’s cover,” said Aston.
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If there’s one thing head coach Stephen Jennings has learned over the years coaching his son’s Weisman Sled Stars team is the talent pool for the Sewell-based team is deep and wide.
Among the players who’ve competed on the team is Jimmy Connelly, who was on the team when they were based in Vineland and brought home gold after representing Team USA Sled Hockey in the the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver.
“These games are extremely exciting, you know, hockey is a very fast, dynamic sport, this is a checking league, meaning that these kids can hit each other, and they get going fast on these metal sleds and they can hit hard and there can be some really fast plays,” said Jennings.
For Kyle Jennings, competition is his biggest motivator.
“It’s competitive because I’m playing with kids that are like the same as me and I like getting out there with the other kids that are like me as well,” said Kyle. “I learned how to be a part of a team and I learned how to talk to people, become a little more social.”
Knowing all too well the comfort in competing against others who look like him in sports, Kyle is happy to see Paralympic athletes getting equitable media recognition.
“I think it’s great. Just because, obviously most of us can’t use our legs or have full control of them we shouldn’t not be able to have the same opportunities as somebody who is just a regular hockey player,” said Kyle.
Jennings adds that moving Paralympics coverage to primetime TV will allow more spectators to see that there is no difference in the athleticism between Paralympic and Olympic players.
“You think of the Olympics, they’re the elite athletes of the world, they’re on display, it’s no different than the Paralympics,” said Jennings. “The athletes over there are absolutely incredible at what they do, the preparation and the amount of time and effort they put into their sport. The fact that it’s nationally televised is fantastic because people can see that now.”
Brooke Neilio, who also plays on the Sled Stars, can relate to her teammate Kyle’s seeking out sports for the competitive pleasure.
“I joined about three years ago and what sparked my interest was that I just wanted to be in a sport that was competitive and that you would actually play games,” said Brooke.
For Brooke’s father and one of the coaches of Sled Stars, Nick Neilio, seeing his daughter find a sport that is inclusive of her was a monumental moment.
“For a parent, this isn’t a small thing, this is a huge thing,” said Neilio. “When you have a child with a disability, and in Brooke’s case a physical disability, she’s a born athlete, it’s in her DNA, she loves competing, and because of her physical disability she sits on the sideline and watches her brother or watches other kids run track and do stuff, when she just wants to get out and compete and try to win she’s never had an outlet. So when she found this, you know she lives and breathes it.”
Brooke noted the importance of the networks new commitment because other people are just as invested as they are in the Olympic games.
“It’s important; it’s an important sport that people want to watch and people think it’s awesome. Other people do care,” said Brooke.
Neilio also adds the record coverage is not only good for Brooke and her teammates and all disabled athletes but also for spectators to see Paralympic athletes in the same spotlight as other competitors.
“I know watching the US team, I know the guys names and I’ve watched them compete and games going down with medals in history, you know, have been some of the greatest games I’ve seen and they’re just as competitive, said Neilio.
Assistant Director of the Athletes With Disabilities Network Northeast based in Moorestown, Kelly Worrell, who is also a USA Triathlon Elite Para-triathlete, speaks from personal experience to the competitive difference of physically disabled athletes playing against each other.
“I didn’t get introduced to the adaptive sports side of thing until I was 41. I’ve always been athletic, like I played soccer in high school and I was a runner, and I got into triathlon in 2013 but I would race against able-bodied athletes and that was fine,” said Worrell. “But finding a community of adaptive athletes where the playing field got level, I’ll never forget meeting a very close friend of mine who is an above the elbow amputee, with the same arm, we both are right arm and just sitting there forever talking about how you swim and how you break, its just nice to have those community of people that you can share things with, and learn from. It’s very important.”
Worrell feels organizations like Team USA are doing a great job increasing the interest of para athletics and points to an increase this year in the number of medal events
“There’s a wide variety of sports, in my opinion I think they are doing a great job, with triathlon and paratriathlon they’re doing an incredible job of trying to get like grassroots organizations and tri-clubs try to increase the para interest,” said Worrell, “I think its growing and it’s great.”
Worrell also finds comfort in the fact that Paralympians and Olympians now being paid the same when there was a $30,000 difference in pay for gold medal winners back in the Rio Games.
But when it comes to the media portrayal of Para-athletes, Worrell applauds the coverage focusing on their strength and athleticism.
“I think too that the fact that the media has been showcasing the strength and athleticism of the people with physical differences this year and what they can accomplish is so incredible, mostly for the younger generation and those who doubt their ability to see the potential they have,” said Worrell.
Although Worrell will always appreciate hearing how much of an inspiration she is after competing, she wants people to recognize her achievement not because she has a physical disability, but for her performance.
“Oh every race that I’ll do, you know you’ll hear oh you’re such an inspiration or something like that and that means a lot to me I’ll never not appreciate that, but I don’t want to be an inspiration because I crossed the finish line and I have a little arm,” said Worrell. “I want you to be inspired by me because of the performance that I had or that I did something worthy of that. Not because I’m living my life with a physical difference. “
As for the future Paralympic games, Worrell hopes media coverage will also continue to seek storytelling that focuses on the athlete, and not the athlete’s disability.
“Even in Rio, I think, this is just an example, the guy ran the 1500 (meter) faster than the Olympian did and you don’t hear about that kind of stuff,” said Worrell. “People see oh there are athletes with disabilities and they’re racing but I don’t think people understand how great their athleticism actually is so that’s what I’d like to see more of.”
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