Children in Motion: Together is Better

Sasha, who is in third grade at school 2010 in Moscow, used to spend Physical Education (PE) classes on the bench watching other kids play sports. He has a rare disability with progressive deterioration of the hip joint and the doctors did not allow him to attend PE classes.   Then, everything changed when Perspektiva’s sports team, as part of the project “Children in Motion: Together is better”, which Nike supports, started holding activities at the school for both kids and the teachers.  Perspektiva staff, which includes athletes with disabilities, traveled to the school to demonstrate different adapted sports activities and to encourage the children to become involved in playing adapted sports. The kids met with wheelchair rugby players, a power lifter of short stature, and wheelchair basketball players and the athletes talked about their achievements and lives off the playing field.  The kids not only had the opportunity to watch the athletes but to get into the wheelchairs, and try their hand at other adapted sports activities. Perspektiva’s team held workshops for all of the kids and for the teachers and, when Sasha saw this, he realized that he too could play sports, have fun, and even compete and win.

Dmitry, Sasha’s PE teacher, not only supported the adapted sports activities at their school, he attended four of Perspektiva’s trainings on adaptive physical education at other venues and consulted with staff at Perspektiva. He learned about adaptive PE, about ways to include Sasha into his classes and in after-school sports at their school.  He returned to his school and developed a PE plan for Sasha so that he could participate and use, above all, his upper body.   Sasha cannot squat, or bend, but he can throw and catch the ball and so much more.  Dmitry consulted with Sasha’s parents and soon Sasha began playing basketball. Dmitry adapted the game for Sasha and all the kids. Now Sasha loves going to his PE class and plays tennis, basketball, and volleyball with his classmates.  Finally, his parents and teachers understand that kids with disabilities can play sports but they just need the right adaptations.

A year and a half ago parents of 10-year-old Vlad and Veronika wouldn’t have believed that their twins, who have cerebral palsy, would both be forwards on one of St. Petersburg’s children’s sledge hockey teams. They are the only brother and sister on the same team in the league. 

They found out about sledge hockey and other Paralympic sports when they attended inclusive sports activities, organized byPerspektiva as part of its project “Children in Motion. Together is Better.”  For the first time, Vlad and Veronika met disabled athletes. They never imagined it was possible for someone in a wheelchair to be so fast and so agile. The kids realized they could play sports too and chose sledge hockey.  They also went with other kids to the Confederation Cup soccer match. The stadium was fully accessible and for the first time they watched football with their peers.

 Sledge hockey is a contact sport that is practiced and played in the cold, and kids get bruises and pulled muscles. At first, the twins’ mother, Elena, was worried how her children, who have developmental challenges and frequently catch colds, would handle the tough training. But she said that, “When the children began to practice, they got noticeably stronger. We don’t remember what colds are. The twins are more focused, they are doing better in school and have learned how to plan their free time better. Life is a lot more exciting! They’ve got new friends in other cities. Sledge hockey isn’t just a sport — it’s spending time with other children, traveling, and holidays.”

Sledge hockey has helped Vlad and Veronika to believe in themselves. They are no longer frightened, unsure of themselves or shy. They’ve learned how to be team players, how to be real friends and feel like equals with their peers.