Font Size:
Adaptive Recreation Why learn to pop a wheelie in your wheelchair during a therapy session when you can learn it while taking martial arts? In recreational martial arts, DASA athletes learn about the discipline and movement in the sport. This program will accommodate wheelchairs and ambulatory individuals alike. Rock Climbing Rock climbing is an amazing sport for our athletes. This sport is so therapeutic because it encourages stretching and reaching in a fun way. At DASA, we make sure that every kid can make it to the top! We have professional rock climbers making sure this activity is completely safe for our athletes and volunteers. Stand Up Soccer Stand-Up Soccer - is just that: soccer for our ambulatory athletes. Coaches work on drills and ball control. The goal is to let the DASA kids just be kids in a safe environment. Wheelchair Tennis The game of wheelchair tennis follows the same rules as able-bodied tennis as endorsed by the International Tennis Federation except the wheelchair tennis player is allowed two bounces of the ball. The player must return the ball before it hits the ground a third time. The wheelchair is part of the body, and all applicable ITF Rules which apply to a players body shall apply to the wheelchair. Adaptive Sports Track and Field DASA track and field consists of stand up runners and racing chair racers. Athletes with little to no use of their legs will typically use a racing chair to run. Racing Chair is more efficient if you also have functional use of both arms. Athletes with CP, Developmental Delay, and Visual Impairments will run. The DASA Dynamite Track and Field team has been competing since 1998. Track and field events consist of those that are also sanctioned by USA Track and Field. Athletes compete against other athletes of the same age and functional ability. Power Soccer The most popular sport in the world, Soccer, is now quickly becoming the most popular sport for people who recently never had the chance to play sports. Power soccer does not limit itself to athletes with just paraplegia or amputees like most wheelchair sports. Power soccer is a sport in which even those with very limited physical abilities can still participate and be successful. The DASA team consists of children and adults 5 to 60. Some might walk between games others use power chairs as their primary means of mobility. On the Power Soccer field, every athlete is equal! Power Soccer is played on a basketball court 4 on 4. The power chair is equipped with a guard on the front of the chair, which is used to dribble the 13-inch soccer ball. The game takes a lot of strategic planning and control of the chair. Swimming DASA swimming lessons are taught with the idea of water safety first then technique. Children are taught to put full face in the water; they are then taught to roll from belly to back to recover in the water. Typically, the DASA swimmers do not use flotation devices. This lends to a better self-awareness of their body and their abilities in the water. The DASA Swim Team has been competing since 2003. The team has grown from two athletes to 15 athletes that competed this year at Nationals in Tampa Florida. The athletes must be able to complete a 50-meter course to make the swim team independently. The swim team competes in all swim strokes including free style, butterfly, breast, and backstroke. The swimmers compete against other swimmers their age and functional ability level. Sled Hockey Sled hockey is an exciting alternative sport that uses the rules of hockey. However, instead of skating, the players sit on a specially designed sled and use two short ice picks to propel themselves across the ice. Standard hockey rules apply. Legal body contact and raised puck shooting are as much a part of sled hockey as they are in traditional hockey equipment. Equipment for the sport consists of a tubular framed sled, about 1.5 meters (4-5 feet) long and approximately 7 cm (3 inches of the ice, with two hockey skate blades mounted beneath the seat. A portion of the front frame rests on the ice and provides lateral stability. Straps around the ankles, knees, and waist securely hold the player on the sled. Two half meter (1.5 foot) sticks are used. The sticks are modified hockey sticks with 4 cm teeth attached to the bottom of the non-blade end. Leaning left or right while digging the stick into the ice, turns the sled. Players slide to a stop on one or both blades like a skater. All players wear regulation protective hockey equipment. Who Can Play? The wonderful thing about sled hockey is that anyone can play. Both males and females play this sport. It is a sport that integrates players with mobility limitations, amputees, and people with knee, leg or hip injuries that limit their participation in standard hockey. There are two divisions of play: Juniors (beginning players 17 years of age and under as of December 31st, of the current year) and Adults (18 years of age and over as of January 1st, of the current year). Juniors can play up. Lacrosse Wheelchair lacrosse is our new team sport for athletes with and without disabilities who want to try something that is fast, physical, and fun! Played on a roller hockey rink, wheelchair lacrosse is played with teams of eight players and consists of four, fifteen minute long quarters. All players use all-court sports wheelchairs along with a lacrosse stick, helmet, and all the pads typically seen in a lacrosse game during play. Wheelchair lacrosse honors the rules and traditions of its able-bodied counterpart meaning; full contact is allowed to stop a player from scoring the ball past the goalie into the net. Wheelchair lacrosse is a very exciting new sport to watch, but even more, fun to participate in! Lax gear is available to use! The St. Louis Junior Rolling Rams is a coed; competitive wheelchair basketball team made up of children ages 6 to 18. The St. Louis Panthers is our coed adult wheelchair basketball team. Our athletes do not have to use a wheelchair in everyday life to play wheelchair basketball. However, our athletes must have a physical disability or mobility impairment. Players do not need experience, or a wheelchair to get started. We provide coaching, as well as wheelchairs for initial practice and play. Quad Rugby The St. Louis Spartans are a HARD HITTING, FAST MOVING, HIGH SCORING, QUICK PASSING and ADRENALINE RUSHING wheelchair rugby team. Wheelchair Rugby (aka Quad Rugby or Murderball) is a simple game with complex strategies for playing both offense and defense. It is played with a ball similar to a volleyball on a basketball-size court with goal lines marked by cones and a lined-off “key” area. The object of the game is to score a goal (1 point) by crossing the goal line with possession of the ball while the opposing team is defending that goal. The team with the most points when time runs out wins. Quad Rugby is a full contact sport, but no personal contact is allowed: Slapping, hitting, punching, gouging out eyes, biting off ears, etc. is not allowed, and penalties are enforced, usually requiring time in the penalty box.
