Latest / Living Loud and Proud: Disability Conversations / Game On: Matt Berwick's Adaptive Sports Journey
Transcript
- Phill Rosen Voice Over 00:00:00 Welcome to the Living Loud and Proud Podcast brought to you by Disability Pride Pennsylvania. If you need a link to the transcript for this episode, please visit our accessible website at www.disabilitypridepa.org/podcast. And now here is your host... Phill Rosen 00:00:27 Hey folks, welcome to the Living, Loud and Proud Podcast. I'm your host. Phill Rosen for this episode today, and I have my guests here, Matt Berwick, so just a little bit about him. Oh, and I forgot about Ray for a second there. Ray's my co-host for this episode as well. Ray Horton 00:00:48 How's it going, everybody? Phill Rosen 00:00:50 So before we get started, I just want to thank our sponsor for the podcast, Highmark Wholecare. Ray Horton 00:00:57 Yayyyyyy! Phill Rosen 00:00:59 Thanks guys! You make this possible. All right, so now, Matt Berwick, he currently serves as the Senior Program Manager of disability accommodations and clinical services for the UPMC health system in the Disabilities Resource Center, and teaches part time at the University of Pittsburgh. Matthew has worked in the area of disability services for almost a decade, serving on local, state and national boards for people with disabilities, and currently serves as the President of the United Spinal Association of Western PA, as well as being on the board for Disability Pride Pennsylvania, of course. Prior to joining UPMC, Matthew worked in higher education and as a Youth Specialist focusing on youth transition services. Matthew has a BA in Elementary Education, an MA in Adult Learning and Training, and an MS in Health Informatics. In addition to the work Matthew does, he is very active in the Pittsburgh disability sports community, playing wheelchair rugby for 20 years with the Pittsburgh Steelwheelers and curling for 16 years with the Pittsburgh Curling Club. Wow, that's a lot right there. Ray Horton 00:02:11 Oh yeah, definitely is! Matt Berwick 00:02:15 I have some free time as well. Phill Rosen 00:02:17 Oh, well, I hope so. Um, so real quick, before we actually get into the bulk of the episode, which is going to be about adaptive, adaptive sports, I wanted to just kind of ask you about, you know, serving on the Disability Pride Pennsylvania board. You know, you're out in Allegheny County. We're mostly, you know, in the eastern part of the state, you know, Philly area. So, like, you know, what's that like? You know, you know. Is it important to you? Like, give us the rundown. Matt Berwick 00:02:49 Yeah, absolutely. So thanks so much for having me today. I have to say that Vicki has a way of just encompassing the state in such a way. And when she said, 'Hey, we need some representation from the Pittsburgh area. Would you be interested?' Of course, I didn't let it get let her get it all the way out of her mouth before I said yes, because anything for Vicki, right? But it's really important as a statewide organization that we do have that representation from the better side of the state. Sorry for those folks in Philly, but we needed to make sure that we had that representation from across the state. I know Chuck is in Harrisburg, and the rest of the the crew is out there in, in Philly, but it was important that I said, 'You know, I'm going to step up absolutely Vicki, anything you need, and make sure that we have that representation from the west side of the state.' Ray Horton 00:03:44 Okay, so Phill, what's the next question we're going to ask? Are we going to ask about what was his draw to adaptive sports? Matt Berwick 00:03:58 So Ray, that's a great question, you know, Ray Horton 00:04:01 I guess so! Matt Berwick 00:04:02 Right? So I was six days out from my spinal cord injury. So I was 15, had my spinal cord injury dove off of a railing into the snow in a cold February, and I was drawn to adaptive sports, really, as soon as I saw it. So six days after my spinal cord injury, I was transferred to a rehabilitation hospital out here in Pittsburgh, and it was some of the most amazing things I had ever seen. So wheelchair rugby, people with disabilities, specifically individuals with quadriplegia, just slamming into each other. And I was like, 'This is the most amazing thing and the wildest thing I've ever seen in my life, like I have to try this.' Ray Horton 00:04:44 Hold on a second. Matt Berwick 00:04:44 Sure Ray Horton 00:04:45 So, am I to understand that within the first year of your injury, you went and got involved in adaptive sports? Matt Berwick 00:04:58 Yeah, so there's, there's more to that Ray. So I spent three months in the rehab hospital. Every Sunday I had the opportunity to watch this great group of people come in from the Pittsburgh Steelwheelers and practice wheelchair rugby. And it's a fine art to seeing the sport. But after that discharge, so three months after my discharge, my spinal cord doctor, at the time, said to my parents and I, 'We really think he needs to get involved in adaptive sports, and we think it should be wheelchair rugby.' And I wasn't alone at the rehab hospital, so my parents had seen it, and they knew it was full contact. And they're like, 'Well, he just broke his neck. Like, is it safe for him to go out and slam into each other?' And my doctor was like, 'Well, you know, maybe wait a little bit, you know, let's wait at least six months post injury before he does full contact.' But I was right there ready to go, and I went out. And, I mean, there were 20 year veterans that were playing the sport, and I'm like, you know, putting on the red jersey like I'm playing football, and it's like, no contact. And of course, you know, one of the athletes comes up and just like, gives me that gentle tap. And they're like, 'Yeah, we know the doctor said, Wait till six months, but you're fine. We'll just throw you in now.' Ray Horton 00:06:12 Oh my God! Matt Berwick 00:06:13 And really, it was, like, from the first point of contact, I was hooked and and I've been playing ever since. Ray Horton 00:06:19 Wow! Matt, you know, like, the average story is usually, like, a couple of years after the injury. Matt Berwick 00:06:27 Right? Ray Horton 00:06:27 At the very least. Matt Berwick 00:06:29 Yeah. Ray Horton 00:06:29 Wow! And you were so young too! Matt Berwick 00:06:32 I was. So I was an athlete before my injury. I was a soccer athlete and played some baseball. And, you know, it's in your blood. Once you're an athlete, you're an athlete. So I had to say. Ray Horton 00:06:42 I guess so! Matt Berwick 00:06:43 You know, how can I be involved in adaptive sports? And that was it. Ray Horton 00:06:47 Yeah, after you, I guess that is a fact. Once an athlete, always an athlete. Matt Berwick 00:06:53 For sure. Ray Horton 00:06:54 Wow. Huh? Okay. So, okay. So basically, I mean, are there any other sports that you play? Matt Berwick 00:07:08 Yeah, so I've tried just about everything, you know. Right after my spinal cord injury was when I got into rugby, but I was also interested in water sports as well. So I tried water skiing and kayaking. I'm also a competitive curler. So for those of you that may not know, there's curling, which is the, the sport with the rock and the ice, and I started that in about 2008 so it took me a little bit of time to find adaptive curling. And it's funny, because my sister-in-law's Canadian, and that's, of course, where curling is super popular, and we were getting ready to, to really hang out with each other, and there was an adaptive sports clinic, a Winter Sports Clinic, and, and she said, 'Why don't you go try curling?' And honestly, it was the stupidest thing I have ever done. I fell in love with it. I was like, 'This is so stupid, but I love it!' So I have been curling since 2008, and really have met some of the most amazing people through adaptive sports. And I think that's what's really the important thing is, you know, it doesn't have to be full contact rugby. It can be something is, I'll say leisurely, is curling, but adaptive sports is just an amazing community that you really don't get any other way. Ray Horton 00:08:21 That's great. I mean, that is wow. That is so amazing, Matt. I mean, you know, I, I didn't even know all this was going on. Wow. Okay, huh. Well, you know what, there's a question here to ask you about how have adaptive sports evolved over the years, and what milestones have shaped the current landscape. Now, are we going to be talking about the general thing, or just specifically with your experiences? Matt Berwick 00:08:56 So I think what the important thing is, so from my experience, but generally, right? So adaptive sports have changed exponentially over the the years, really, with the advent of technology. You know, when I started playing wheelchair rugby, I was literally pushing around in a what felt like 60, 60-pound wheelchair. That was just, I feel like it was welded together in somebody's garage. And now, I mean, there's companies that are focused just on making adaptive sports equipment that are top of the line, right? So it is some of the best of the best equipment. And so that's just in the short time that I've been playing, if you want to consider 20 years a short time. But the change in technology from curling is something that is absolutely amazing as well. So when I started curling, it was literally a broomstick that I bought in Canada and a head that you could screw on, that you can buy from a curling company that was designed for, I'll say, semi-able-bodied individuals that were able to stand and walk. To push the stone. So they were stick curlers, and then wheelchair curling came on the scene, and that's really where the technology changed, from using a stick that was designed for a stand-up curler to wheelchair curling sticks that are, you know, $400 3D-printed and absolutely amazing technology. Phill Rosen 00:10:22 All right, so Matt, I actually kind of want to just circle back to the first kind of answer that you had about wheelchair rugby. A lot of people who you know may not necessarily know too much about the world of adaptive sports, have seen the movie Murderball, is that the same game? Is that the game that they were showing in the the movie? Matt Berwick 00:10:44 Yeah. So that's a great example of wheelchair rugby. So that is kind of the, the original version of Murderball. So if you've, if you've seen it, right? So they talk about the name change of why it's now wheelchair rugby, as opposed to murderball. We couldn't murder, we couldn't sponsor, get sponsors through the name of the sport being murderball, so we had to change it over to wheelchair rugby. But, you know, we just talked a little bit about the change in technology. And really, you can see, even in a documentary that came out, you know, not that long ago, the change of technology has really seen a change from the time that that documentary came out to the technology we're using today. Phill Rosen 00:11:27 Wow, wow, that's, that's great. Ray Horton 00:11:33 So, you know what? Uh, well, okay, so like, what challenges do you face related to adaptive sports, you know? Matt Berwick 00:11:43 Yeah, so I think there's a lot of things that you have to think about from an adaptive sports perspective. You know, there's not a lot of gymnasiums or places that are accessible, Ray Horton 00:11:53 Ahh, yeah. Matt Berwick 00:11:53 ...when it comes to getting in, having access to the facility. They may have a basketball court that you know is available to the general public, or, you know, if we're talking about a YMCA or even a university, those facilities are dedicated to their programming. So having access to a place that is accessible, from a standpoint of just having access to a gym, is one issue that you run into. Cost is another thing you have to think about. The wheelchair rugby chair that I use is about $7,000 to $8,000 that's not covered by insurance. Phill Rosen 00:12:29 Wow! Matt Berwick 00:12:29 So that's another aspect of access to adaptive sports. And then thinking also along the same lines of facilities, is when you have a facility that may have a gym that is available to you or accessible to you, then you have to think about the physical accessibility side of it as well. You know, you might have access to the gym, but are the restrooms accessible and do they meet the needs of all of your athletes? So that's one of the things, especially being out here in Pittsburgh, everything's built on a hill, so you might have a gym that is a great facility that has a beautiful court and they're willing to host you, but you know, it might not be an accessible facility that meets the needs of all of your athletes. So it's really it's tough to find something that is accessible in every way, shape and form, from physically accessible, accessible from timeframes, and then also accessible from a cost perspective, right? Phill Rosen 00:13:24 Yeah, and, and accessible bathrooms. That's a big issue in a lot of places too, like restaurants. Is a big one for a lot of wheelchair users. I know as well... Matt Berwick 00:13:33 Yeah. And... Phill Rosen 00:13:33 ...that's a big problem for sure. Matt Berwick 00:13:36 For sure. And you know, if you look at Pittsburgh as an older city as well, you know, the YMCAs, the Boys and Girls Clubs, the community centers that were built pre-ADA, so before the 1990s you know, you're not going to find an accessible bathroom that's maybe even on the same floor as the gymnasium. So, you know, that's an issue that we run into a lot. Phill Rosen 00:13:56 Yeah, yeah, that's awful. Ray Horton 00:14:01 So well, you know what? You talked about, how young it was when you got involved. So, I mean, are there, are there opportunities for kids to get involved, of all ages or? Matt Berwick 00:14:16 Absolutely! So here in Pittsburgh, we have a couple of different sports that have Junior programs. So the Mighty Penguins, which is sled hockey, has a Juniors team. And then the Steelwheelers are partnering with the Hope Network to, and have developed the Steel City Swish, which is our Junior basketball team. When it comes to rugby, you have to be a certain age. I think the age is 12 or 14 now. Ray Horton 00:14:39 OK! Matt Berwick 00:14:40 That you have to be that old to play, but you're playing with full-grown adults. So you know, the age range for wheelchair rugby is, you know, 12 or 14, all the way up to 70 years old. Is some of our athletes are still playing in their 70s. So Ray Horton 00:14:54 Okay! Matt Berwick 00:14:54 It's a wide variety of ages that you see in rugby, but when you get into some of the, the wider sports, I'll say because rugby is for quadriplegics or individuals that have disabilities in four limbs, so the pool of athletes is much smaller. Where you look at basketball that has amputees and paraplegics and and other disabilities, you have a wider pool of athletes, so you have more opportunities for junior programming, Ray Horton 00:15:20 Okay, like, what would be the youngest age in one of those? Matt Berwick 00:15:24 Oh, goodness. I think the Steel City Swish has like, six or seven year olds that have come out and played. Ray Horton 00:15:30 Oh that's great! Phill Rosen 00:15:31 Wow! Matt Berwick 00:15:31 An opportunity for young athletes to really get involved from a young age and really find a lifelong love of adaptive sports. Ray Horton 00:15:39 That's great. That's really great. Phill Rosen 00:15:40 Yeah, amazing! So how do the adaptive sports programs impact local communities? Matt Berwick 00:15:48 So it's in multiple ways, Phill, so that's a great question. So from a community standpoint, disability community, it really is more like a support group. So that's, you know, we're you're going to learn a lot of the things in life from your fellow athletes. It may be, you know, 'How do I Cath myself, or how do I do this, or how do I do that?' And you can learn everything you can learn in rehab. But rehab stays are getting shorter, unfortunately, so you're not learning everything you need to know in rehab. Ray Horton 00:16:18 Right... Matt Berwick 00:16:18 And depending on what your disability is, you may not have had an inpatient rehab stay, like individuals that have new spinal cord injuries. So you're learning things from your your fellow athletes, but from a global community perspective, it's a great opportunity for individuals to get involved. So we have a lot of physical therapists and doctors that are interested in adaptive sports, that don't have disabilities, that are participating and helping our community grow as adaptive athletes. And then, from the, the even more global aspect of adaptive sports, it gives something that people can rally around. I know one of the things that people are all excited about the Olympics, and then they forget the Paralympics happen two weeks later. But you know, we really saw this year that the able-bodied Olympic athletes have really rallied around the the idea of the Paralympics and really have chosen to be a voice where, traditionally, the, the Paralympics haven't had that able-bodied voice. Phill Rosen 00:17:18 Yeah, that's really interesting. You know, is it maybe a reflection of the wider like understanding and maybe recognition of disabilities in the wider society that we live in? Do you think maybe? Matt Berwick 00:17:36 I think so, and I think the even though the able-bodied athletes also have disabilities in some cases. You know, what we saw four years ago with Simone Biles coming out as being a person with a disability, I think they're really starting to connect with their their pride and being part of the disability community, and they're supporting the athletes that have the Paralympics as their opportunity to participate in sports. So individuals with with mental health disorders and, and different mental health conditions and as well as some physical health conditions that wouldn't classify them as an adaptive athlete participating in the Olympics, they're really cheering on their brothers, brothers and sisters that are participating in the Paralympics. So I think that's part of it, is that sense of community within the disability community, and seeing the, the greatness that we have with the Paralympic Games as well. Phill Rosen 00:18:31 Right. And, you know, I don't know if you were following any of this during the Olympics, but I remember there being some reports about Katie Ledecky having POTS, and I think that might have been a big push, as well as part of it all, for sure. Matt Berwick 00:18:48 Absolutely, you know, it's these high-level mainstream athletes that are, I'm going to say, finally, identifying as people with disabilities and talking about it that has really put the focus on disability as a mainstream topic. And really it's kind of just moving along with the Paralympic movement that these Paralympic athletes are able to say, you know, hey, hey, Katie Ledecky, hey, Simone Biles, like, you know, we are your brothers and sisters in this. We're all fighting the same fight. And I think it's becoming that sense of community, as I mentioned. Phill Rosen 00:19:24 Yeah. So is there anything else that you could tell us about the Paralympic movement, like anything else that would be a broader scope, I guess? Matt Berwick 00:19:33 Yeah. And I think we're seeing it with the the advertisements and the switchover. And I can't remember how many years ago it was, but the it became the the USOPC, the the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee. So it was, it used to be the United States Olympic Committee, and then it was the United States Paralympic Committee. Two separate committees, and now they've come together, and the advertisements and the sponsorship are equally distributed from a naming perspective, I'm not sure if the funding is equally distributed anymore. We're still working through that. But you know, when Delta comes on and they say, you know, 'We're the Proud Flight Sponsor of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee.' Where, I think prior years before it was the USOPC, Delta would say, 'We are the Proud Flight Partner for the United States Olympic Committee.' And then two weeks later, we would see, 'We're the Proud Sponsor of the United States Paralympic Committee.' And now it's really bringing that mainstream and even the advertisements that we're seeing from Delta and McDonald's and name another big sponsor for, you know, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, they're highlighting both Olympic and Paralympic athletes in their advertisements, even during the Olympics. Phill Rosen 00:20:49 That's really interesting. You know, do you have any like insights as to why this is becoming a little bit differently thought about, generally, is it maybe like a change in, you know, the generational...? Matt Berwick 00:21:10 So I can't say for sure why it is, but I think so. My background, as you mentioned in my bio, was education, working in youths as a Youth Specialist, and working with kids with disabilities, and looking at transition and all of those other things. And really there's been a dynamic shift, shift in education as well, where we're seeing kids with disabilities in the mainstream classroom, and disabilities that are participating equally with their peers, and moving away from that segregation in the schools. Ray Horton 00:21:45 Right. Matt Berwick 00:21:46 We still have segregation. Still have a long way to go, but I think the able-bodied individual, or quote, unquote, able-bodied individuals, I know you all can't see me, we're air quoting over here, but the individuals without disabilities are really seeing that, that aspect of inclusion... Ray Horton 00:22:07 Right. Matt Berwick 00:22:07 ...and they're growing up with their peers with disabilities, so as they're going through in sports, and as they're going through every other aspect of life, career, work, you know, community, they're looking around and they're saying, 'You know, I went to school with kids with disabilities. You know, I graduate. They don't just disappear.' It's not this phenomenon that people with disabilities just disappear at the age of 18 or 21 so I think it has a lot to do with that community looking around and saying, 'You know, where is my brothers and sisters with disabilities?' But I think it also has to do with things like podcasts and YouTube and TikTok and name a social media platform that really has given the voice to people with disabilities and brought disability to the mainstream as well, Phill Rosen 00:22:54 Right. Yeah. And, you know, I know this is a little bit off topic here, but you know, we're also seeing it a little bit more in Hollywood. Kind of this, you know, push to make sure that, you know, the, the characters who are disabled are played by disabled actors, right? I mean, you know, R.J. Mitte, of course, and Breaking Bad. Or, you know, in Doctor Who, I actually forget her name right now, but the woman who was in the last season of Doctor Who, who's a wheelchair user. I can't remember her name. I'm really sorry about that, but... Matt Berwick 00:23:30 If she's listening, let us know, right? Phill Rosen 00:23:32 Yeah, yeah! Ray Horton 00:23:33 Like I was telling you the other day, she's even in the Loki show. Phill Rosen 00:23:36 Right. Ray Horton 00:23:37 Yeah, she's all over the place, man. Matt Berwick 00:23:40 And since we're getting so off topic, I'm just going to keep going and say that... Ray Horton 00:23:43 Yeah! Matt Berwick 00:23:45 ...as a big Disney fan myself, like there's a lot of problems with Disney right now, please don't write me any hate mail. But even the, in the animation you're seeing the inclusion of people with disabilities, and even the individuals that are voicing the animated characters with disabilities are also people with disabilities. So if you've seen Wish, great example there, Dahlia is a person with a disability in the movie, also voiced by a person with a disability. I'm waiting for an animated Disney movie about adaptive sports to bring us back to today's topic. Yeah, you're welcome Phill, you're welcome. Ray. Ray Horton 00:24:22 Yes, yes, yes, Phill Rosen 00:24:28 Yeah, oh, man, I am losing my train of thought here. Matt Berwick 00:24:33 You're just so excited about adaptive sports. I get it! Phill Rosen 00:24:36 It really is! Matt Berwick 00:24:41 So I will say, you know, while we're struggling for our thoughts and questions, you can't stop me from talking. So I know what you're wanting to ask is it being both from Philadelphia, Phill, I know you have your your roots and your ties here to Pittsburgh, but I understand that you are not a Steeler fan, but I won't hate you for that on today's podcast, but the rivalry is real. You know, we have the Pittsburgh Steelwheelers has a rugby team, as I mentioned, the Philadelphia Eagles, which is out in Philadelphia, their rugby team, we go to toe to toe. So there is a lovely relationship in adaptive sports as well. So that that Black and Gold runs deep here in Pittsburgh, you know. And I will say that when our basketball team plays Cleveland, we know that Cleveland is a great team for basketball. They have this little team called the Cavaliers. I think that's the name of their basketball team in the NBA, but I will tell you that we don't like Cleveland even when we're playing basketball. So... Ray Horton 00:25:49 Oh man! Matt Berwick 00:25:49 ...it's the rivalry is real among amongst adaptive sports, and I will say that in wheelchair rugby, when the US plays Canada, again, love my brother and sister-in-law up in the the neighbors to our north, but there is no way that we will cheer for Canada when we're playing them in wheelchair rugby. So that's the story. Ray Horton 00:26:12 Oh, Lord, okay! Alright, well... I guess that's about it. I mean, is there? Was there anything else that we had on our list of questions that we wanted to ask? Phill Rosen 00:26:24 Yeah, I don't think there. There was so I think I'm gonna just go to the towards the end of this, Matt, is there anything else you wanted to talk about, or anything you wanted to plug for yourself? Matt Berwick 00:26:38 Honestly, all I can say is check out your local adaptive sports organizations. If you all are listening, from the great city of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Steelwheelers is a great opportunity for individuals with physical disabilities that are looking to get involved in wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby or hand cycling. There are other great adaptive sports organizations in the Pittsburgh area. If you're interested in curling, the Pittsburgh Curling Club has a beautiful facility that was just built in 2020 and it is fully wheelchair-accessible. We would love to have you out. Please come try curling, wheelchair rugby. If you're in the other parts of the states, there's also opportunities. I will give one plug for Philadelphia. You're welcome out there in Philly, but the, the Magee Adaptive Sports Organization does a wonderful job with all things adaptive sports Ray Horton 00:27:28 Okay. Matt Berwick 00:27:29 So if you're interested in wheelchair rugby, wheelchair basketball, you know, I'm sure they have a lot of other sports out in the Philadelphia area as well, but Magee does a wonderful job with their adaptive sports organizations. We need to work on the middle of the state. I am tired of driving five-and-a-half hours to play rugby when there's a wonderful city right there in the middle that we could pause in, and all meet in the middle to play some rugby, but that is up and coming, so stay tuned. adaptive sports are ever changing. But again, Pittsburgh Steelwheelers and Pittsburgh curling club here in Pittsburgh, and then out in the Philadelphia area. I do come out every once in a while to curl, the Bucks County Curling Club is a great place there just I believe it's north of Philadelphia. Ray Horton 00:28:12 Yeah. Phill Rosen 00:28:12 Yup. Matt Berwick 00:28:12 My Philly geography isn't great so, but Bucks County Curling Club is a great club out there in the other side of the state as well. Phill Rosen 00:28:20 Oh, well, that's great. So Well, thanks everyone for listening in. I want to take a quick second to just thank Highmark Wholecare for sponsoring our podcast again, and thanks for listening and have a great day! Ray Horton 00:28:40 Good night. Phill Rosen 00:28:42 Thanks, Matt! Matt Berwick 00:28:43 Absolutely! Phill Rosen Voice Over 00:28:44 Please visit our accessible website at www.disabilitypridepa.org, you can find us on social media @DisabilityPridePA, on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.