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Veterans win more than gold

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Natasha E. Stannard
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
SPOKANE, Wash. --  Veterans from various parts of the country came together to participate in the 29th Annual Veterans Wheelchair Games here July 12 to 18.

Many enduring events are held at the games. One of those events is quad rugby.

The quad rugby players roll swiftly onto the court in heavily equipped wheelchairs to play the full-chair contact sport. They capture the ball and race down the court as their fellow teammates defend the security of the ball by blocking the opposing team with their wheelchairs. The dedication the players display to the game and to one another is apparent on and off the court as they bash into one another to steal and defend the ball, and as opposing team members help each other with their equipment.

Former Marine Cpl. Timothy Vixay, Amtrak mechanic, 3rd Assault Amphibian, is one of the dedicated players. Vixay, a former high school lacrosse player is the youngest player participating in the games at 21 years old. He was injured approximately one year ago while stationed at Camp Del Mar, Calif. He suffered his injury when he hit his head diving into a wave while swimming. The injury put him in a wheelchair, impaired his triceps and caused him to lose function of his fingers, he said.

As a newly injured player, and the youngest player at the games, Vixay feels playing quad rugby is a good opportunity to be around other quadriplegic Veterans who understand what he is going through and can help him understand more as well. Seeing other players with similar injuries accomplish day-to-day tasks and take care of themselves on their own is very inspiring to Vixay because he is determined to gain his independence back, he said.

Fellow teammate and veteran with similar injuries, Former Marine Cpl. Todd Kemery, helicopter dynamic component mechanic, broke his neck in 1982. Similar to Vixay, Kemery suffered injuries from getting caught under a wave. He played in his first quad rugby game at the 2001 National Veterans Wheelchair Games in New York City, he said.

Kemery's skill on the court is an inspiration to Vixay. They were injured very similarly so it hits close to home for him, and Vixay feels Kemery's abilities are something for him to work up to, he said.

Kemery is not only a veteran to the country, but also to the sport. He is always excited to see new players on the court because it creates the future of the team and the sport. He feels new players have a lot of potential, and each player has an individual position to fill, he said.

"Picking and blocking is a very important job, and Tim's going to be one of those guys," Kemery said.

It's important to find each players position, and communication is an essential tool to finding their positions and playing the game as a whole. The team got together one hour before their first game on July 15 to discuss strategy and each player's role. Vixay feels communication won the games for them, he said.

Communication was a large key to their success, but the crowd also helped the team. Vixay feels the energy of the crowd was intense and that intensity reflected back on the court, he said

Training was also a variable in Vixay's success in the game and with adjusting to his injury. He trains by hand cycling and weight training, which he does every other day. This is already Vixay's first time competing in competitive quad rugby matches, which he has been looking forward to since he started training in March 2009, he said.

Since playing his first game, Kemery has learned how to ski, snowmobile and scuba dive. He also competes in swimming and softball, which he competed in at the games this year and won gold medals in both. He attributes his ability to participate in these activities to quad rugby. When he was able bodied there were many activities he wanted to pursue, but never got around to doing until he became quadriplegic and found innovative ways to do them. As a quadriplegic he was taught to scuba dive by master divers in Aspen, Colo., at a ski clinic held by the Veterans Association.

"A lot of quads are told they can't do a lot but once they get into the rugby chair, which is very balanced and easy to cycle, they get motivated that they can do this and other activities like fishing and hunting," Kemery said.

Like Kemery, Vixay feels the Paralyzed Veterans of America organization, who hosts the games, helped open the door for him to find the ability to take part in activities he enjoyed before he became quadriplegic, such as kayaking and rafting.

"This injury is not life ending-its life changing," Vixay said. "We can still do a lot of things we did before just a little bit differently. "

Vixay also credits a lot of what he has accomplished since the injury to the training he received in the military, he said.

"A lot of what I learned in Marine boot camp has helped me with the injury," Vixay said.

From Marine to quad rugby player, Vixay has come a long way since his injury a year ago. Even though he is the youngest player on the team and at the games, Kemery has high hopes for him and views him as a player that has great potential. Though Vixay was a little nervous at his first game because he was playing against a Paralympian, which he expressed he hopes to become, he felt great to make such an accomplishment.

Vixay isn't letting his injuries get in the way of reaching his goals to reach Kemery's skill level and become a Paralympian. He already reached one of his major goals, which was to win the gold for quad rugby at the games this year.