OMAHA (KMTV) — The Nebraska Red Dawgs wheelchair basketball team has been around since 1990, providing disabled athletes with an opportunity to learn and play a sport.
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Jack Ortegren from Hastings is always locked in on the court.
“Every game is a big game, every practice is a big game,” he said. “We don’t get many opportunities so we take advantage of them.”
He’s been paralyzed since he was eight months old and faces challenges every day.
“When you wake up, you’ve got to be competitive all day because you’re gonna get up and you’re gonna sit up and swing your legs over, me I’m gonna use my arms to swing my legs over and get in my chair.”
Those small victories keep him motivated.
“And that gives you a little bit of competitiveness even against yourself sometimes.”
Jack and teammate Jacoby Knop from Fremont have been around sports their entire lives and that’s where they found their competitive drive.
“Growing up around sports, my friends have always played sports, my brother plays hockey, and my dad played football, baseball and basketball,” Knop said.
Jacoby has spina bifida.
“Even though I may have a physical disability, it doesn’t mean I can’t accomplish things that some of my able-bodied peers might be able to in life,” he said.
“To let these kids have these dreams and be able to reach them through a competitive adaptive sport, is needed in our community,” Jacoby’s mom, Shonda, said. “And the ability to have that for them is so special.”
“All these kids are trying to win, all these kids are trying to beat other teams,” Jack’s dad, Kirk, said. “It’s just as competitive as anything I’ve been a part of.”
And that’s all the kids and parents want: a chance to compete.
“That’s what we love about it,” Jack said. “In practice, we’re really competitive and yelling at each other and getting on each other, just being athletes and it’s fun for us to do it in a different way.”
Jacoby and Jack are both high school seniors. This fall, Jacoby will play wheelchair basketball at Southwest Minnesota State, while Jack will attend UNL to study sports broadcasting
