Blazing a Trail in a Rugby Chair

This past week has been very challenging for me. Not getting a tryout for the Developmental National Team was so gut wrenching it is beyond words. The reason it is so difficult for me is because I KNOW I would be an extremely valuable member of the team.

Unfortunately wheelchair rugby uses a system to classify hands that does not capture the true level of my impairment. All my muscles are still alive, but they don’t work the way they should. They are slow and clunky and get worse with physical exercise. There is nothing I can do to change this at the moment. It just stinks that I have to wait another two years of my physical prime to see some justice. I remind myself everyday to be thankful for God’s time and to not worry about my own.

In a weird way it has been a blessing in disguise. I have had so many people give me their support over the last week it has been incredible! The system is still very flawed, but the love I feel from the rugby world has never been greater.

One of my greatest supporters was Tom Vesco of Vesco Metal Craft. Tom sent me a great message of support and it was very touching to me. After playing one season of rugby in 2004-2005 I realized a used chair that didn’t fit was not going to cut it.

I called around to the different wheelchair companies and finally decided to get a Vesco. I was very nervous about getting a rugby chair because no one had ever built a chair for a cerebral palsy ball handler before in the United States. I was worried chair manufacturers wouldn’t realize I could feel my legs and they wouldn’t realize my legs are constantly jumping up and down out of my control.

Tom and Neil are very solutions oriented people. They suggested I just come out to the shop in San Diego and they would measure me for the chair themselves. My parents gave me my Christmas present three months early that year; I got a plane ticket from Chicago to San Diego.

Tom, Neil and I become a team in how to make me the best rugby chair. We made some assumptions, some were right, some were wrong, but that is what happens when you are trailblazers. Perfection was never the goal, positive growth was. We assumed I would be able to do things with my hands and trunk that I never was able to, but how were we supposed to know this at the time?

I promise making mistakes is one thousand times better then never trying. I look at my 26 inch wheels and wish I had the quick starting of 25 inch wheels. Because of my function loss in my hands I want to move to 25 inch tires, but that doesn’t make my 26 inch tires bad.



I’m proud of my 26 inch wheels because it is a symbol of my innovation and willingness to keep trying things despite barriers.

I was used to 26 inch tires from basketball. When I played college wheelchair basketball I had the worst hands in the league. If anyone touched the ball while I was holding it I was going to turn it over. The one thing I had going for me was my height.

I have long arms and could even block some high function players thanks to my wingspan. I was ALWAYS guarded by shorter players. So I learned to put the ball above my head with two arms that way no one could steal the ball from me. With 26 inch tires I was one inch taller. The way my basketball logic worked back then was all based on stable height. So many people were faster then me, I just didn’t want to cause turnovers the few times I got to touch the ball.

Pushing with 26 inch tires creates interesting advantages and disadvantages. It just seemed like the right thing for me to do to keep doing what I was doing while playing basketball.

I love rugby with all my heart, but it has not been easy. It has been and continues to be a roller coaster. It is nice to have someone to have my back through the twist and turns like the Vescos. I am venturing a guess that no one in rugby has as messed up feet as me that they CAN FULLY FEEL. This creates some interesting challenges and we are still figuring things out. I am currently on my third foot plate and the Vescos have never charged me an extra dime.

People, who know me, know that I am wired differently. I don’t see companies as companies, they are people. Red from Eagle is an excellent man and his son Tate is one of my favorite people in rugby, but I can only have one chair. I’ll keep blazing my trail in the chair with the yellow wheels.

Thanks for reading! Anything is possible!
Chris