Fairchild hosts Eagles wheelchair basketball team

FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE – Tyler Hinshaw stretched his arms out defensively for Eastern Washington University to block a shot put up by Chief Master Sgt. Jake Vail.

Eagles sophomore Bob Hunt scooped up the basketball and raced down the court to put up another quick layup and 2 points increasing the Eagles' lead Oct. 22.

In observation of National Disability Employment Awareness month, Fairchild hosted the Eastern Washington Eagles wheelchair basketball team for a scrimmage to raise awareness for disabled workers.

The event was co-organized by Michael Marro, chief of security forces plans, and Joshua Marro, the 92nd Contracting Squadron administrator.

The security chief said Fairchild is extremely inclusive and looks to hire disabled workers.

"Individuals with disabilities are underserved and underutilized," Michael said. "The work ethic of disabled workers is unparalleled, and that a disability does not mean inability."

Describing Fairchild's efforts with an acronym, the security chief said the base puts emphasis in treating their employees "FAIR" meaning they will receive feedback, assistance, inclusion and respect.

The game was a fun-filled, action-packed contest in which the Eagles came out victorious.

The Eagles won by quite a large margin, but in this game, the score didn't matter as much as connecting with and engaging with the community to raise awareness said Major Jeffrey Winter, Communications Squadron commander.

"Local community engagement anywhere we go is absolutely a priority, and the local community here is extremely engaging, we have great relationships, and this is another opportunity to highlight that," Winter said.

Vail said Fairchild also gets to highlight diversity and inclusion, which has been incredibly important to the Department of Defense, recently.

"And at the end of the day, if everybody is out here laughing and having a good time, I think that's the bigger part of the day," Vail said. "Get to do a little team building and something fun for the community and at the end of the day that is the biggest win."

Difficult game

"Playing basketball in a wheelchair is extremely difficult and takes a lot of coordination, and I have a ton of respect for the members of the team we are playing against," Vail said.

Bob Hunt is an Eastern student majoring in special education.

According to Hunt, the dynamics are different as you can push the chair twice and then you either must dribble or pass the ball.

As wheelchair athletes, players develop a lot of upper body strength and different skills to maneuver the chair around the court and that can be tough for inexperienced players, he said.

Hunt said he has been playing basketball since 1998 and for two years with Eastern Washington.

He said he has always had a competitive spirit, and when offered the chance to join the Eagles he couldn't pass up the shot.

David Evjen has been the teams' coach from the start and said he is motivated to give student-athletes from the Pacific Northwest the chance to play wheelchair basketball at a collegiate level.

"The game has given me so much, and I want to pay it forward," he said.

Hunt, who graduated from Riverside High School in Chattaroy, said he is excited to represent the Spokane area and the Pacific Northwest on a collegiate level.

Sophie Munter is a sophomore at Eastern studying communication sciences.

She has played basketball for 12 years.

Munter, a graduate of Ferris High School in Spokane, said she got her start with Parasport Spokane and her competitive spirit has grown from there.

"Basketball keeps me motivated to do well in school and work toward my degree," she said.

Overcoming obstacles is something these individuals are accustomed to, and the coach said the team has faced adversity through the pandemic.

The players were able to "find a silver lining," Evjen said, and they were able to put a lot of work into individual player development during this time.

Moving forward, the coach said he expects the team to grow substantially this year as it is the first full season for this team.

"With this being the first year of in person college classes for all of our student-athletes, coupled by a small team and lower experience levels at the collegiate level of play," Evjen said. "This team is going to grow leaps and bounds, and finally be able to start building the culture of Eagle Grit to go along with every other team at Eastern Washington."

The Eagles will travel Nov. 12 to compete in Arlington, Texas, for their first official game of the season.

They will compete in three tournaments this year.

Matthew O. Stephens can be reached at [email protected]