Photo By Sgt. Calvin Shamoon | U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Brandon Dodson, number 5, prepares to spike the ball...... read more read more
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WEST POINT, N.Y. – Inside Arvin Gym at the United States Military Academy at West Point, U.S. Marines, Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen slide across the polished floor during the first competition of the 2016 Department of Defense Warrior Games June 15, 2016.
Cheers ring out as the Service members bump, set and spike the ball during sitting volleyball.
The Games is a Paralympic-style event for wounded, ill and injured Service members which contains individual sports such as cycling, track, field, shooting, swimming and archery, as well as team sports such as wheelchair basketball and sitting volleyball.
For some members of Team Marine Corps who suffer both physical and emotional injuries, the teamwork and camaraderie that adaptive sports provide has been an essential part of their rehabilitation.
“Before I found out about the adaptive sports…I really didn’t push myself to do anything because a lot of times I’d have pain,” said Gunnery Sgt. Andrew Cordova, a Clovis, N.M., native and member of Team Marine Corps. “Playing as a team, you can’t just quit,” he said.
Other injuries aren’t as apparent as those on the surface.
Lance Cpl. Reid Arendall, a Fort Worth, Texas, native, said that if it were not for participating in adaptive sports at the Wounded Warrior Battalion East at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and the teamwork and companionship that it provides, he would have likely isolated himself in his barracks.
“I have a really big problem with crowds and groups,” he said. “It helps me get back to where I feel I should be; back to where I was before I got injured.”
| Date Taken: | 06.15.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 06.16.2016 14:33 |
| Story ID: | 201389 |
| Location: | WEST POINT, NEW YORK, US |
| Hometown: | CLOVIS, NEW MEXICO, US |
| Hometown: | FORT WORTH, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 53 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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