FAST BREAKIN LAKERS VISIT CAMPERS AT THE PAINTED TURTLE
On August 3, campers at The Painted Turtle received a special visit from the Fast Breakin' Lakers wheelchair basketball team. The Painted Turtle is associated with the Paul Newman Hole in the Wall Camps for seriously ill children and is the only multi-disease camp and family care center of its kind on the West Coast.
The Fast Breakin' Lakers arrived early to enjoy lunch with the campers and tour the campground. Dedicated in May of 2004, The Painted Turtle features fun summer camp activities such as archery, arts and craft, wood shop, horseback riding, swimming, a rope course, and a gymnasium with a basketball court complete with the official Lakers logo at center court. The Lakers Youth Foundation made a donation to fund the recreation center's flooring.
The Fast Breakin' Lakers put on an exciting exhibition game in front of a full house of campers and counselors. Fans cheered loudly as the purple and gold teams scrimmaged against each other in a fun yet competitive game. Watching wheelchair basketball was an eye opening experience for the fans, many of whom were surprised by the aggressive style of play. Players were using their wheelchairs to set picks and their hustle and tenacious defense often resulted in players getting knocked over, but they immediately popped back up in their chairs!
After a forty-five minute scrimmage, the members of the Fast Breakin' Lakers took time to meet all of the campers, signing autographs and posing for photos with them. They also stayed to conduct a clinic for a small group of kids who were interested in giving the sport a try!
Fast Breakin' Lakers Team Director Michael Garafola took some time out to talk about the team's recent visit to The Painted Turtle.
Q. Why did the Fast Breakin' Lakers team visit The Painted Turtle?
A. The Fast Breakin' Lakers are trying to give something back to their community and we felt The Painted Turtle camp was a great opportunity to do that. We are looking to expose youngsters with disabilities to the game of wheelchair basketball, but at the same time, let them know that there are many other sports and activities in which they can participate.
Q. What do you hope the campers took away from watching the team play?
A. We hope the children that watched the Fast Breakin' Lakers exhibition game learned that no matter what your disability, you can still be active and compete, you can still be a part of something special, and you can still have fun and enjoy your life.
Q. What did you teach the children at the clinic afterwards?
A. We let the campers get into our basketball wheelchairs and experience what we experience on the court. We showed them some basic skills such as pushing, turning and stopping, dribbling, shooting, and passing. We also showed them how to use their wheelchair to play defense.
Q. What did the Fast Breakin' Lakers take away from the visit?
A. This was an amazing experience for the Fast Breakin' Lakers. What the Lakers organization and the game of wheelchair basketball have done for us is what The Painted Turtle is trying to do for these children; make them stronger, happier, healthier, more self-confident and self-reliant individuals. The Fast Breakin' Lakers hope to continue to attend more camps like this.
Members of the Fast Breakin' Lakers who visited The Painted Turtle were William Arriaga, Team Director Michael Garafola, Christopher Gonzalez, Alvin Malave, Eddie McGee, Olivia Reyes, Alma Rodriguez, and Fransisco Soria.
Each summer, The Painted Turtle welcomes children ages 7 to 16 for 5-7 day sessions. Each session focuses on serving children with one of the medical conditions found most in need of camp opportunities in California. The Painted Turtle's medical specialty sessions have empowered children to reach beyond the limits of their medical conditions to create lasting and positive impacts on their lives. To learn more about The Painted Turtle, please visit www.thepaintedturtle.org.
