Home »

[bana2166]

Wheelchair no obstacle for these athletes

WHEN SOUTH CAROLINA ETV producer Jim McMahan met fellow tennis player Bob Masella six years ago, McMahan couldn't help but marvel at the determination exhibited by Masella.

The two eventually teamed to play occasional doubles matches, and they recently won the city championship in their division.

That doesn't sound like anything out of the ordinary, except for the fact that Masella plays in a wheelchair and McMahan does not.

"What you realize when you're playing with him or against him," McMahan said, "is that Bob is a tremendous athlete."

That is one of the things McMahan set out to show in the documentary "Spokes and Strings," premiering at 9 p.m. Thursday on South Carolina ETV (WRLK-35, cable channels 35 and 801 in Columbia). The production focuses on six people who have found an exhilarating outlet in wheelchair tennis.

Anyone who has played tennis will appreciate the agility with which these players move around the court.

"Something I think it also shows is that we're not doing this as some kind of therapy," Masella said. "We're just athletes out there competing and enjoying the socializing that comes with it."

Masella, a Columbia attorney, was an outstanding soccer player at Winthrop before a 1982 car crash forced him to use a wheelchair. His competitive spirit wouldn't allow him to feel sorry for himself.

"That wouldn't have done me any good, would it?," Masella said. "While I was recovering, a guy came around and showed us some stuff about wheelchair tennis. I thought that was pretty cool."

Cool, indeed. Masella recently won singles and doubles titles during an International Tennis Federation-sponsored wheelchair championship in Hilton Head. He is team captain for the United States Tennis Association's Southern section.

Among the others featured in "Spokes and Strings" are Sarah Casteel and Israel Shulz. Casteel, who lives in Greenville, is a University of Texas collegiate wheelchair champion and competed as a member of the U.S. World Cup team during competition in Amsterdam.

Shulz, originally from Haiti and now a resident of Charleston, was born with no legs and is a relative newcomer to wheelchair tennis. Still, he has tasted success by winning two of the four competitions he has entered. And wait until you see him do pushups.

Though McMahan has been close to the wheelchair participants for some time, he continues to be amazed at their abilities. He chuckled when he recalled the times Masella has taken on non-wheelchair opponents.

"You could see it on their faces when they were down to Masella," McMahan said, "and you knew they were thinking 'Hey, I'm about to lose to a guy in a wheelchair'."

"Spokes and Strings" will be repeated at 9 p.m. Thursday, June 29.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

ETV?s ?Carolina Stories? Spotlights Wheelchair Tennis in South Carolina

Spokes and Strings, Carolina Stories.Columbia, SC?Everything about the game is the same. The rules and the scoring are identical, but these players depend on their wheels, not their legs. In June, as part of the weekly series Carolina Stories, ETV presents Spokes and Strings, which takes a look at the sport of wheelchair tennis and the lives of the people who play it. The documentary airs Thursday, June 1 at 9 p.m., with an encore presentation on Thursday, June 29 at 9 p.m.

Begun in 1976, wheelchair tennis is one of the fastest growing and most challenging of all wheelchair sports. Spokes and Strings profiles several extraordinary athletes who compete extensively throughout the year, including Bob Masella, a Columbia resident and team captain for the United States Tennis Association?s (USTA) Southern Section.

Masella recently won singles and doubles competitions in an International Tennis Federation-sponsored wheelchair championship on Hilton Head Island. Last year, he also placed third in the U.S. in the Eastern National Finals of the USTA..

Sarah Casteel, another skilled player, is a Greenville resident and University of Texas Collegiate Wheelchair Champion who has traveled to Amsterdam as a member of the World Cup Team. Casteel also played in the U.S. Open in San Diego in October 2005.

And then there is relative newcomer Israel Shulz. This Charleston resident has already won two of the four competitions he has entered.

Says ETV Producer Jim McMahan, who occasionally partners with Masella on the court, ?We wanted to spotlight these athletes and raise awareness of the capabilities of wheelchair tennis athletes in South Carolina.?

Carolina Stories is a weekly series created by ETV producers that spotlights the lives and interests of South Carolinians. The series airs Thursdays at 9 p.m.

ETV is South Carolina?s statewide network with 11 television stations, eight radio stations and a closed-circuit educational telecommunications system in more than 2000 schools, colleges, businesses, and government agencies.