MONUMENT, Colo. (KOAA) — A new wheelchair basketball team, Colorado Silverbacks, is giving disabled veterans something many thought they had lost, a sense of purpose.
For Army veteran Matthew Spang, basketball has always been part of who he is.
“I grew up playing basketball… sports are a big passion with my family and friends and kind of my life in general,” said Spang.
Spang enlisted in 2006 as a combat engineer, deploying to Iraq and later Afghanistan.
But in 2011, his life changed forever.
“My truck hit two IEDs… it crushed my legs, my feet and ankles and broke my legs,” he said.
Spang lost both of his legs and, with that, the future, he says, became uncertain. But just like a basketball, he found a way to bounce back. This time, with a team.
Wheelchair basketball didn’t just bring back the sport he loved. It introduced him to a community of other veterans who understood his journey.
“It definitely gave me a new purpose… I got to meet other veterans… we traveled around the country,” he said.
One of those veterans is Dan Hendrix. He's now both a teammate and a coach. Hendrix was injured during a parachute training jump after years of service.
“It was my 812th jump… I got complacent, made a mistake, and it turned out to be a pretty big mistake,” he said.
Like Spang, Hendrix says he lost more than just physical ability. He lost his sense of direction. That is, until he found basketball again.
“I found my purpose again when I found basketball… it gives me that feeling of having my guys back and having a sense of purpose again,” said Hendrix.
They say it’s never just been about winning or losing. It’s about getting out of the house, finding mentorship and rebuilding their lives.
“There’s something out there for everybody… you just gotta find it… something that will get you off the couch and give you a new purpose in life,” said Spang.
This weekend, Colorado Silverbacks will play its very first game, from April 10 to 12, at the Military and Women’s Wheelchair Basketball National Championships.
"We have a saying in the military, adapt and overcome, and that's kind of what... being in this situation is, you know... you don't know what the situation is going to be, but you have to adapt, and you have to overcome," said Hendrix.
For more information, visit Colorado Wheelchair Basketball's website.
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