S1: It's time for Midday Edition on KPBS. I'm Andrew Bowen , filling in for Jade Hindman. On today's show , we're talking about the Paralympic Games. Here's to conversations that keep you informed and inspired and make you think. We'll speak with Dana mathewson , the number one ranked wheelchair tennis player on team USA.
S2: I think there's more interest in athletes like myself , and with the Paralympics coming up , that's always a great time to showcase who we are and what we can do.
S1: Plus , California's first and only collegiate adaptive sports program is right here at San Diego State. That's ahead on midday Edition. Of. The Olympics may be in our rear view , but the competition is far from over. In fact , the Paralympic Games are just around the corner. The Paralympics are the biggest international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities , and starting August 28th , those athletes will be competing for gold. One of the events is wheelchair tennis. Dana mathewson is the number one ranked wheelchair tennis player on team USA. She's the first American woman to win a Grand Slam title in the sport. Paris marks her third Paralympic Games. She was also born and raised in San Diego. Dana , welcome to the show.
S2: Thanks so much for having me.
S1: So glad to have you.
S2: It's weird that it's only been three years because normally it's the four. But with Tokyo getting postponed , this has come up faster than usual. But no , I'm really excited. I think people have asked me recently like , oh , it's your third games. Does the excitement level wear off or does it just kind of feel like old hat to you now ? And absolutely not. You know , it's different venues , different experiences. And I think any chance that you have to represent your country or wear a flag on your chest or , you know , USA on your back , it means a lot. So I'm definitely very excited.
S1: For someone who has never seen wheelchair tennis before.
S2: So that's a great question. I think that wheelchair tennis is very similar to able bodied tennis , which is , um , what makes it unique in the adaptive or para athletic type of world. So wheelchair tennis , the only difference is that we can have a second bounce , as long as the first bounce is within the regulation court. And a lot of times in the recreational level , you might see people using that second bounce a lot , but at the professional level of the pros , they really don't use the second bounce at all. Um , unless someone hits a fantastic shot that we might take a second to get to. But , um , in terms of the court size , the net height , the racquets that we use , the balls that we use , the way that things are scored , um , we , us having like ball kids or officials that sit in the umpire chair , all of that is exactly the same. And I think that's what makes wheelchair tennis so cool , and that it's very easy to really seamlessly integrate it with its able bodied counterpart , because at the end of the day , if you take away the fact that we're moving in a wheelchair versus moving on our feet , the tennis is almost identical. Um , we might not have quite as much power on a serve or in some of our ground strokes , just because we're not using our legs the same way that an able bodied person would. But in terms of how I hit a forehand , um , how I hit a to serve the volley. All of that. The strategy is , is tennis ? Is tennis at the end of the day really the only difference is that I'm moving around the court using a wheelchair. That's it.
S1:
S2: So I like to explain this in terms of shoes. So bear with me. Um , the the chair that I use every day we call those day chairs that would be similar to what you would think of as like a flip flop shoe. Right ? Like it's really good for going to the grocery store. It's good for going to your friend's house , but you're not going to go and meet up a friend for hiking in them. Right ? Um , it's the same for us. Like a day chair is designed for getting through doors. It's designed to letting you get up and over curbs , but it's not designed for speed. Sports chairs , however , are different. The same way that you have different shoes for soccer , basketball , tennis. We have different chairs for that too. And that's not to say that everyone has like a huge shed of chairs because they're very expensive. Um , but depending on whatever sport you play , you have a specialized chair for that. And my tennis chair is designed for tennis in that it has a fifth wheel in the back. Um , so that I can I won't tip over. Basically , when I lean back to hit a serve and the wheels , like the larger wheels that people usually see on wheelchairs , they're angled inwards and we call that camber. And that is so that the chair can really spin on a dime. And that's what gives you speed and agility. And the chairs are also made out of really light metals like aluminum , some of them titanium. Some people have bits of carbon fiber in their chairs as well. And a really cool aspect about para sports and even just de chairs that a lot of people don't realize is that a lot of these are designed per person. So the same way that you might go to a place and get a bespoke Tuxedo. We go to warehouses or specific manufacturers and get fitted for wheelchairs so my chair wouldn't fit you in. Your chair wouldn't fit me. Um , and that's what makes us at the professional level. So elite is that our chair is part of our body , if that makes sense. So we're not just using our arms to motor the chair. We're actually using our hips. Um , a lot of us actually have some leg function , so we're using that to turn the chair to , to get more momentum. And yeah , that's probably the best way I can describe the chair is if that analogy made sense.
S1: It absolutely did.
S2: Um , through my mom , actually , when I was around the age of 13 , when I was ten , I got a really rare autoimmune disease called transverse myelitis. And if you've never heard of that before , I would not be shocked because I had never heard of it before. Um , it's a really fancy sounding term to say that my immune system thought that something was wrong in my spine , and it just attacked it. Um , no rhyme or reason. And I was like I said , ten years old. I was an avid soccer player. And it happened at soccer practice. And I remember going from running sprints to having really horrible back pain. And then in a matter of 2 or 3 hours , I was completely paralyzed. And , um , yeah. So obviously my life changed. I was in the hospital for about a month , and my mom was like , do you know what ? You're really active kid already. I don't want that to change. There must be something out there for kids like you or adults that also have disabilities. And I heard that and I was like , yeah , right. Like I've never I had never. And I'm wasn't a sheltered kid in my opinion , but I had never seen anyone with a disability that wasn't extremely old. And so I just couldn't picture , like , what wheelchair sports would be. It just sounded not for me. And , um , my mom. I'm so thankful. But at the time , I hated it. She was like , no , I'm gonna contact as many different people like recreational therapists , etc. , etc. in San Diego actually has a huge wealth of adaptive sports opportunities that I had no idea about. And tennis happened to be one of the things that she signed me up for. And I went to a camp out in Coronado and met a bunch of other kids that looked just like me , had different experiences , but we were all , you know , sitting in wheelchairs playing sports , and it just clicked. For some reason. Tennis was was the one that stuck with me.
S1: Sounds like a really great mom. Wow.
S2: She's okay. Yeah.
S1: Yeah.
S2: And maybe scrutiny is a bit harsh of a word , but I think that , um , most people that hear about sports that involve Involved disability can't quite comprehend it the same way that I couldn't comprehend it when I was ten , and I can't blame anyone for that. There's a lack of exposure to it , I think , especially in our country , is because it's so big. And so I think a big hurdle that a lot of athletes like myself have to overcome is just trying to be taken seriously by the public eye. A lot of people wouldn't realize that all the Paralympians going to the Paralympics are professional athletes. Like it's not a hobby. It's not something that like is a there's no participation medals in the Paralympic Games. Um , I train alongside a bunch of other professional tennis players that you would know the names of that that are on your TV screen all the time. And I , I'm on court the same amount of time as them. I'm in the gym the same amount of time as them. And I think that's something that I wish that the general population would recognize and , and ultimately respect. And I think we're on our way in terms of , you know , the fact that I'm speaking with you right now is huge. I think there's more interest in athletes like myself. And with the Paralympics coming up , that's always a great time to showcase who we are and what we can do. But but I would say just the general understanding and recognition from the public would be our biggest hurdle.
S1: Do you encounter very much ableism within the world of professional athletics ? Absolutely.
S2: Um , I think it comes not ever in a malicious way , but there's always little comments. Um , like , what is it like doing this versus normal tennis or what did normal tennis players do ? You know , just little comments like that which are to the person saying it usually meaningless. But you're like , how is that normal tennis ? Like what I'm doing is also normal tennis. Um , I think there's also things where people , you know , we don't get paid as much. We were often not given the same amount of court time. We're not given the same amount of , you know , types of sponsorship deals. Little things like that can all come. And I'm not sure if all of those are related to purely ableism itself , but I would say more often than not , it's just the comments and the way that people speak to athletes like myself. I could bore you with stories all day long about how people speak to me on a daily basis , but I think it's it's generally just to sum it up , just people's mindset. There hasn't been enough exposure to athletes like myself for people to know that we're just as serious as able bodied , are able bodied counterparts. And until that exposure and understanding happens , I think ableism will continue to prevail for quite some time to.
S1: Take us into a match.
S2: Nobody's ever asked me that , um , I think that there's a lot of nerves involved. One thing that that people have asked me about is like , well , well , what do you think about in between points ? Because all of us have these little in-between point routines , like , I don't know how familiar you are with the player Rafael Nadal , and everyone makes fun of him for like how he picks a wedgie and then he does this , like , insane thing where he picks his wedgie. Then he touches his eyebrows on both sides and he has to wipe sweat , put his hair behind his ears. And it happens every single time in between a point. And I think that that's something that I , we've all kind of been trained to do , where in between points you have a routine and that's to calm your nerves , and it's to force you to have every point feel the same as the last one , whether it's the championship point or the first point of a match. Um , so I try to make things almost as like mundane and as routine as possible , but there's a lot of nerves. I think you're constantly having to psych yourself up when you do something well and you're constantly having to try to again psych yourself up when you're not doing something so well because you're out there by yourself. It's very I think Roger Federer said it. Or it might have been Agassi. I read a quote recently that said tennis is one of the loneliest sports in the world because you're literally out there by yourself. And that means that if I'm winning and I'm doing great , that's awesome. But if I'm losing and I'm playing terribly , I just have to be out there on an island by myself doing that for hours. And so matches in terms of how it feels or what you think about , can be very emotionally draining. And I think that's why a lot of us have to put so much work into working with mental skills coaches or sports psychologists so that we can think of the right things at the right times , and to keep our focus there for the majority of the match and matches. With tennis , there's no time limit. So you can be out there for three , three plus hours by yourself , and you have to keep your brain occupied and working correctly. And that's tough.
S1: Given that tennis is or can be a lonely sport , as you mentioned , tell me about your support system.
S2: I think that my , you know , my family has always been super supportive. My husband is great. He's always he's probably one of the first people that I'm that I'm there to like , you know , dump my frustrations on or my worries on. I get very stressed before tournaments happen. And he's he's heard me have the same stressors , like persevering on the same things all the time. But he always listens to me and makes me feel validated. And so he's a big supporter , of course. Um , you heard me talk about my mom earlier. She's always someone that I talk to. But , you know , I would be remiss if I didn't talk about my coaching team. You know , I I've they put in so many hours of work with me , whether that be in the gym or on the court or like I just mentioned , like mental skills. And so I think just having them to bounce ideas off of , to bounce worries and fears off of every day. And then also on the flip side of that , get confidence from the work that I've put in from them. I think that bolsters , you know , my sense of self going into big event. So between my family , my friends , my coaching team , I have , I have a really good support system. I'm pretty lucky.
S1: Let's talk about the upcoming games in Paris. What are your goals heading into the 2024 Paralympics ? Well , the.
S2: Obvious goal would be to medal , right ? So I think that that that is definitely up there on my my list of hopeful to dos. Um , it's definitely difficult. I think I joke sometimes that I think I picked , I picked a sport that makes medaling way too difficult because to even get a medal. I have to win , I think at least 4 or 5 matches. So , um , getting to the medal podium or even playing for a medal would be a huge accomplishment. In Tokyo , I was one match away from playing for a medal , so I'd like to to do just as well or better than that this time. But I think with tennis it's so hard , and with any sport it's so hard to go and saying like , I'm going to get a gold medal just because everyone competing at the Paralympics is the best. And , um , maybe , you know , I sometimes my support system tells me that I give my competitors too much credit. Um , but I think that you do have to have some level of humility and respect for the people you're competing against , and it's not a given that you're going to win. So I think what I like to tell myself is that I just want to go out there and compete really well , and I know that if I compete well , usually good things happen. So , um , that's what I'm trying to tell myself. Keep it kind of sweet and simple and compete well and let the results come.
S1: The Olympics are a really big cultural phenomenon. They receive a lot of media attention. It's not the same with the Paralympics , unfortunately.
S2: And I think that that's a message that I like to , to help educate others about. I think that a lot of people don't really know that the Paralympics exist , especially in our country , which is so sad. Um , like in the UK , they have like a whole TV channel for the Paralympics. Everybody knows what the Paralympics is over there. I've lived over there for a few years when I was studying , and any time I had my tennis stuff , people would come up to me and be like , do you play at Wimbledon ? Are you in the Paralympics ? Like everyone knew about it. And um , in the States , for some reason that's not the case. And so I think I like to try to educate , like what the Paralympics is , the fact that the para in Paralympics actually stands for parallel instead of paraplegic. A lot of people think that's what it means , but it stands for parallel because we run parallel to the Olympic Games. You know , it means a lot to me. It's it's been an event that has allowed me to represent my country , which is something that not many people can say that they've done. And so I think although the Paralympics is not yet as widely recognised as the Olympics , I think that it's on its way. I think I've seen a lot of growth in terms of recognition when a country hosts the games , like I just spoke about the United Kingdom , and that really changed when they hosted London 2012. So I'm really intrigued to see what happens with LA 2028 and what happens , because the US is going to want as many Paralympians getting gold medals as possible , the same way they want Olympians getting gold medals , and that's going to mean funding. It's going to mean exposure. It's going to mean they're going to want crowds to come out in support. And so that's going to mean a lot more commercials. You know , it's going to be a roll on effect. And I think that could have a really massive spread to what we were talking about earlier about people embracing para sport and athletes like myself. And yeah , I'm excited to see what will come in the next four years.
S1:
S2: You want to go to the Paralympics. I love that , and I think that you should try as many sports as you can. I know that for me , I know that I stuck with tennis eventually , but I had tried wheelchair rugby. I tried wheelchair basketball. There's all sorts of Paralympic sports out there. There's archery , there's swimming , there's , you know , sailing. There's so much stuff. So I think try as much as many different sports as you can. And then once you find something that works , stick with it. Like nothing great was that , you know , what was that phrase ? Rome wasn't built in a day. No one is going to qualify for a Paralympics or an Olympic Games overnight. And if that's what you want , you're going to have to make a lot of sacrifices , but they're going to be worth it in the end. And you have to ultimately have fun , too. I see so many young people burning out these days , whether that be able bodied kids or kids with disabilities , because they place these lofty goals on themselves and then they they go all into it and then they burn out. And I think that it I would love if I could see more kids just playing sports and having fun and letting them see where that takes them. So I guess my ultimate advice would be to try as many sports as you can , have fun doing that and whatever brings you the most joy. Follow that passion and work hard at it. And maybe I'll see you at a Paralympics in the future.
S1: I've been speaking with Dana mathewson. She's a Paralympian and professional wheelchair tennis player. Dana , thank you so much for joining us , and good luck at the games.
S2: Thank you.
S1: The opening ceremonies of the Paralympics are on August 28th. You can watch the games on NBC or streaming on YouTube and Peacock. Coming up next , we hear from San Diego State's adapted athletics program and how it's fostering the next generation of Paralympians.
S3: The vision behind it is , again , to provide these opportunities for athletes to find excellence when they have physical disabilities.
S1: Hear more when KPBS Midday Edition returns. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Andrew Bowen , filling in for Jade Hindman. One program at San Diego State is looking to cultivate the next generation of Paralympians and para athletes. Sdsu Adapted Athletics is an elite collegiate sports program under Associated Students for athletes with Physical disabilities. Here to talk more about the program is AJ Munoz. He's the director of the adapted athletics program at Sdsu. AJ , welcome.
S3: Thank you so much for having me , Andrew.
S1: Also with us is Alicia Guerrero. She is an adaptive student athlete here at Sdsu in track and field. And Alicia , welcome to you too.
S4: Thank you Andrew.
S1:
S3: Thank you so much for the opportunity. Our program here at the Adapted athletics program for San Diego State University started in 2018 by the vision of my predecessor , Akeel Whitehead , who was the former Paralympian who sprinted with cerebral palsy in the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. He was a student here at Sdsu at the time , and he found that there was a phenomenal opportunity for athletes similar to him with physical disabilities that was unlike anything else that was available not only at the time on the West Coast , but specifically in California. So we're very proud to say that we are still the first and only program at our level , competitive collegiate adaptive sports program in California. Definitely in Southern California. And really , the vision behind it is , again , to provide these opportunities for athletes to find excellence when they have physical disabilities and when society tells them there are so many reasons why you can't be excellent , can't be your best self. We are one of the voices that are finding opportunities to explain to them and help them figure out what it really means to be excellent and just how strong they really are , so that we really try to emphasize the person before a professional and before the athlete. So although we are an adapted athletics program , we use athletics as the vehicle to help these athletes realize their true potential and become leaders in their future industry.
S1: So you're the first and only collegiate adaptive athletics program in California.
S3: But what it really means is that there's not as much opportunities for people with disabilities. So part of what we do is we try to promote what we have been able to do in the vision that we've been able to realize , to try to help other institutions. As close as UCLA has been trying to start a program as well , but to help them realize the power that they hold , to be able to help this population and create more competition for our athletes.
S1: Alicia , you're relatively new to San Diego , I gather. I want to talk about your story. So tell me about your disability and what you use to get around , both in your regular daily life and when you're in sports.
S4: So I'm a boloney amputee , which means I still have my knee. I'm missing my ankle. Majority of my calf. I actually lost in a lawnmower when I was two. So nothing crazy to adapt to. I kind of just really exploded into being able to use a prosthetic. And in my daily life , I use a prosthetic leg. And then if I don't want to walk very far , I use a wheelchair.
S1:
S4: The Paralympics is very competitive , but it is difficult to bring awareness just because some people like for example , with the Olympics , there's a big uproar. Everyone was excited watching and there's a little bit of a pause right now. We're still trying to market and keep that energy up , but I can tell it's still a little bit different. So we're still really pushing hard to keep that awareness for our group.
S1:
S4: And so she reached out to it was was it ? I believe it was AJ , but she reached out to the program and she was like , okay , I still want my daughter to do a track. It didn't work out that year for 2021 , went to school in a different place for two years , and then finally I was like , I'm not satisfied with what I'm doing right now. I want to go back to track and to do something that I love. And I reached out to Coach Jasmine of the program and she got me connected.
S1:
S3: We're not governed by NCAA , so we don't actually need to follow a lot of the same rules as of right now , which has its pros and cons. But we are very fortunate to have a throws coach like Alicia's coach , Coach Jasmine in our program , who was recruited as a D1 athlete , actually here at Sdsu as a thrower. So we've been able to utilize her experience in the recruitment process to kind of model our own. So we're reaching out to athletes at pretty much any age when we see potential. I'm talking like as early as middle school. If we're seeing potential in somebody and they have the drive to be great at their sport , we're letting them know about what is really available for them. At the collegiate level , many people with disabilities could never imagine to be able to not only compete for their college and have that pride associated with it , but also be able to possibly get a scholarship to go to school because of their athletic ability. Right ? That's something that still , we spend a lot of time educating the population on the fact that these opportunities not only here at Sdsu but around the country , there's universities that are doing it , and it's becoming a more competitive and competitive landscape for recruitment. So we're starting early on , really. It really picks up end of junior year into senior year , when we can actually get them all the information that's applicable to them over that summer before their senior year. And then they come. We do a big recruitment day in the fall that is coincides with the application period for Sdsu. Show them all the bells and whistles , the pretty lights and everything , all the cool stuff that we're able to do , and then we work to find a way to make sure that they are as competitive as possible in their application to get into Sdsu , because it is a very difficult university that people , I think , have a different perspective of Sdsu in the old way. Maybe that it was a little bit easier to get into as a state school. But these days , Sdsu is difficult , man. It's a tough GPA , tough requirements , and so we do everything in our power to help make them as competitive as possible on that , so we can find a new home here.
S1:
S3: But Alicia is main contact for our program has been through Coach Jasmine , and they really just have a special connection. And when a coach of the caliber of Coach Jasmine in my program has a connection to like like that with an athlete , I need to respect that. I need to understand that there is a bond between athlete and coach that is sacred in a lot of ways , and I know Coach Jasmine's level of her standards and her expectations in an athlete , and for her to have coached Alicia in a couple of international opportunities. Para pans in Santiago , Chile , uh , was a main one and she came back with an understanding of not only who Alicia was as a person , but also who she was as a competitor. And knowing that those two versions of Alicia would be a great fit for our program , that was really , really important for me to hear. And that's why I pushed so hard to make sure that she could make it over here.
S1: Alicia , you compete in the Shotput and discus events , right ? So talk to me about the physics of these events.
S4: There's two styles of throwing. There's rotation and gliding. An example of a rotational thrower would be riding Krauser. Mine is more just like a linear movement out the back. It's a little tricky for me just because my plant leg for shotput is my left leg , so I got to really make sure that it's nice and solid so I can get that last flick at the end to get the all my power going. And for discus , there's only one way to really throw discus. Mostly it's going to be the rotational throw. And with that , for me it's a little tricky because the front when you're first starting your throw , I have to rotate on the prosthetic. So it takes a lot of discipline and focus to make sure that I'm rotating and hitting the positions I need in order to be successful in that.
S1: AJ said the bond between it's a sacred bond between the athlete and the coach.
S4: It is a sacred bond because I put I put my whole heart into a sport I love. So when I have a coach that I can fully trust in , like if they tell me something , I want to be able to fully commit to that. And when Coach Jasmine tells me we need to hit this position , we need to do this , we need to do that. I have full trust in her that this is what's going to get me to be successful and where I want to be at.
S1: You've played a lot of different sports right ? In your lifetime.
S4: I have , yes.
S1:
S4: I don't know if I named that in a couple other ones , but I eventually settled on track because , um , so my brothers , I have four older brothers. Two of them are closer in age to me. They used to drag me around to every practice , every track , practice , wrestling , football. I had to go with them because they were my only ride home. I ended up trying out , throwing with with them. I was like , okay , why not ? I have nothing else to do. And it just started to click for me. That's when I really started to like track. And then in high school I did basketball , volleyball and throwing and that's where I kind of learned that like , hey , I have opportunities with track that like I won't have in these other sports. This is what I want to keep going with. R.J..
S1: R.J..
S3: We've been lucky enough to have the same throws coach in Jasmine Burrell since the start of our program , but since moving into Associated Students , which is our new home since 2021 , and they do a lot of work to support us , we had a change in our head sprint coach from a current Paralympian , Isaac Jean-Paul , phenomenal sprinter and jumper. He had an opportunity to move on and explore different opportunities. And then funny enough , our program assistant at the time , Roland Slade , I mean , this guy is the real deal. Phenomenal. He he's actually been a guide runner. So on the other side of the visually impaired athletics , he's been a guide runner for over ten years now. And he'll never tell you this , but I'm going to say it over the air , if possible , that he was the first guide runner to ever receive an international medal for team USA because previously to when that happened , only the blind athlete would get the the medal for winning or podium. And so he actually was the first one to get that around his neck. So he's been coaching it in the space for a long time. He actually guide runs one of our visually impaired sprinters , Hamadeh Smith. And so , I mean , you're running at full speed with an athlete who can't see a thing and talk about trust. That's that's real trust. So our track and field program , we're in good hands with those two coaches. And we have quite a number of athletes. We're getting into the double digits in our athletes. Between the sprints program and the throws program , a mixture of students and community members , we have a big emphasis in focus on making sure that we're focusing on student progress , but we do have a small number of community members that are at an elite level , either already having been on team USA or very , very close to it , and we have a space for them as well , because they really bring another added level for our student athletes to be able to see what the hard work and consistency can really bring them and what that looks like.
S1: Tell me more about this training regimen. What that what is that consistency ? That intensity.
S3: Yeah , I mean , again , similar to the conversation about the recruitment model. We like to do everything we can to model it after what we believe a Division one program would expect from their athletes. We don't hold back. Some people say , oh well , if they have disabilities , you must dial back on some things , but we really go full on and make sure that they feel respected in that. What we expect of them is what we would expect out of anybody. And of course , then we adapt from there , right , to , to whatever we need to. So our athletes , especially this fall , this is a big off season training time. So it's going to be a butt kicker for sure. They're going to be on the track or in the ring 3 to 4 times a week. They're going to be in the weight room with our strength and conditioning coach 3 to 4 days a week , seeing sports psych , seeing sports nutrition , seeing physical therapy. We're lucky enough to have a really strong relationship with the physical therapy department at Sdsu. They do a clinic once a week with our athletes to do corrective exercise recovery so athletes can spend as much as 20 hours a week outside of their classwork just focusing on what it takes to be an elite athlete. And beyond that , we're also having them do a whole array of development work as well , outside of off the track , out of the classroom for our program to help them develop them as a member of the adaptive community , the disabled community , and be a leader in that way. So there's a lot that we ask of them. It's not easy , that's for sure.
S1: Still ahead , we continue the conversation about adaptive sports at the collegiate level.
S4: I really take time to really enjoy that. I have the opportunity to be able to train at this level and still be able to be an example for other athletes in my situation or other athletes of my background.
S1: KPBS Midday Edition returns after the break. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Andrew Bowen , filling in for Jade Hindman. We're talking about San Diego State's adapted athletics program with A.J. Munoz , director of the program , and Alicia Guerrero , an adaptive student athlete in track and field.
S4: But this experience was really eye opening to me because prior to that , I was still like I was eight , freshly 18 , and I was unsure , like , am I going to be able to proceed as far as I would like to be in the this sport , but this most recent trials for to go to Paris , I didn't hit the marks I necessarily wanted , but it made me hungry for more because I know I can really get that disc out there. I can get that shot put out there , and I just feel so ready after trials.
S1: I want to talk a bit about your identity. So you're indigenous. You're a member of the Talwar denomination , which , uh , the homeland is in northwestern California.
S4: There's not a lot of people to represent that part of our community. So I kind of use that as like fuel to be an example for what our community can stand for and what we can do , because we don't necessarily have a lot of resources towards athletics. And like on reservations , there's more of a push of just kind of survival , maintaining just life versus being able to fully enjoy what you're able to do. So with athletics , I really take time to really enjoy that. I have the opportunity to be able to train at this level and still be able to be an example for other athletes in my situation , or other athletes of my background age.
S1: The Paralympics are , of course just around the corner. We've spoken about this already , but there are both past and present Paralympians involved with adapted athletics. Talk to me more about that. Who were they and what did they do ? Yeah , you.
S3: Know , we've been very , very fortunate to have a wide variety of individuals come through our program at different skill levels , some that are more developmental , some that are already very , very elite. Um , again , I mentioned that my predecessor , the founding director of our program , was a Paralympian , Akeel Whitehead , and he , uh , he really had that mindset that shifted everybody into what it really took to to be elite. Um , our sprints coach , Isaac Jean-Paul , Paralympian , our current sprints coach , Roland Slade. Paralympian. And we've actually had a number of athletes , international Paralympians. So we've had a team Brazil thrower , seeded thrower , Marco Borges , phenomenal individual. He kind of comes in and out of the program right now. Team. Team Brazil definitely needs a lot of his time over in Brazil. So he's flying a lot. And then we actually one of my , um , one of my all time favorite stories is that we had an Italian para powerlifter named Donato Talisca come into our program for he was , um , he was doing an exchange program for just one semester for his master's in business. And , uh , he came for that semester , which was a really pivotal time for him. He had a huge competition kind of towards the end of that semester. And I was the strength and conditioning coach at the time. So I was fortunate enough to be able to get to work with him daily. And , I mean , this guy was an absolute titan. I want you to think about. Alicia mentioned being a below the knee , single leg amp. He was double amputee above the knee. So the knee was gone most of the way up the femur , and he weighed about £180 , which is important for the sport of para powerlifting. They only do bench press. So in in powerlifting , in the Olympics you'll do the main power lifting move , squat , bench , deadlift. But in para powerlifting it's only the bench press. And it's a very special sport because instead of like most sports , they will divide athletes up based on their disability. In para powerlifting , they're only divided up based on their weight class. So you'll have multiple disabilities going against each other within that same weight class. So going back to he's about £180 double above the knee amputee. So no leg drive there. The strap you down to the bench. It's all upper body and you have to press the most weight that you can one time right. And while he was training with us , he was able to break the European record for his weight class.
S1: No , I'm sure it's more than I can a lot.
S3: And it was one of those moments where everybody in the gyms jaw dropped because he he he broke it in the arc in the the gym here on campus and he pushed £465. Wow. Which a lot of our , a lot of our big guys in the gym are not even deadlifting that amount. So to see them look over and watch that weight go up , it was a real connecting moment. And those are the moments that I cherish between our able bodied students and our adaptive athletes , when they can really have that moment to say , go from , I don't really understand the sport , but I know you guys are working hard to wow , I understand that that was something incredible and I can feel that right there in the moment.
S1: Alicia , you are majoring in elementary education. You mentioned , and you want to teach first grade. Tell me about how athletics , how you see athletics fitting into your future.
S4: She she's on summer break right now , but she'll be back and she's going to come back and show us a medal. That's going to be really cool experience for a first grader. But I would say I would like to be able to do both. But obviously long term wise career goals going to be like being able to teach. And I'm like , Coach Jasmine , I eventually want to be coaching like she is too. Yeah.
S1: Yeah.
S3: I think there's so many different ways that we can think about that. But I think that the number one thing that I go back to every time is opportunity and choice. When we think about the world that we live in , able bodied individuals know disabilities. We have choices everywhere we go , right ? Everything from where we're going to shop , where we're going to go to school. Anything you can think of , we have those choices and opportunities available to us , whether we choose to see all of them or not. When it comes to the disability population , the adaptive sports population , there's almost never enough choice. You really only have the one local club if you're lucky. Maybe there's a university in your region. There's a local nonprofit that might help you with with certain opportunities for everyday living , but you're going to be tied to that specific opportunity and only one choice. And so I think that the the real power that organizations like mine and like others around the nation have is that we're providing not only that choice , but also the opportunity to be able to progress in a way that so many individuals just don't understand that those opportunities are available to them yet , because they can only see them through a certain lens. And our job is to really kind of clear off that lens , get all the gunk off so they can see the bright , shining world in front of them. Right. And I think that that's the that's the real power that we hold is that we have the heart to show them what's possible , and that is what's going to allow them to thrive and really start to break down a lot of those not so great perceptions of people with individual with with disabilities that just really aren't true. Right. And when individuals can graduate with a degree which is super uncommon in the disability space , much less common , and get a job and be a leader in an industry , right , those barriers start to drop down just by virtue of the progress that you're making. And that's what's so , so important.
S1:
S4: I myself had to drive four hours away to be on a team in Spokane , which that was pretty. It was a strain on not only myself having to constantly travel , and on top of that , for my parents to take me back and forth , especially being at like a teenage age , I would say having that , it's going to be showing more people what level we can continue to rise to.
S1: I've been speaking with A.J. Munoz. He's the director of San Diego State's adapted athletics program , and Alicia Guerrero , who's an adaptive student athlete in track and field. Alicia. AJ , thanks to both of you.
S4: Thanks , Andrew. Thank you Andrew.
S1: And that's our show for today. If you missed anything , you can download the KPBS Midday Edition podcast on all podcast apps. Don't forget to watch KPBS Evening Edition tonight on KPBS television for in-depth reporting on San Diego issues. I'm Andrew Bowen in for Jade Hindman. Thanks for listening.
