Columbus Pioneers wheelchair softball team trying to get sport into Paralympic program

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The 2024 Paris Paralympic Games are just one day away, and while thousands of athletes are set to take the stage in Paris, NBC4 is highlighting adaptive sports and their impact here locally.

Though not everyone can compete in the Paralympics, one Ohio team has been competing at the top of their sport for decades. "A guy ran me down at a mall in Zanesville and asked me if I'd be interested in playing," recalls Dave Anders. "I said, 'absolutely.' Baseball was my love."

That was back in 1992 and the team's nickname was a fitting one. The Columbus Pioneers formed what would be one of the first competitive wheelchair softball teams not just in Ohio, but in the entire country.

"We've evolved over the last 32 years and we're one of the premier teams in the U.S.," Anders adds. Anders began with the Pioneers as both a player and the team's coach. After multiple injuries, he now serves solely as the team's coach, and says the Pioneers are one of about 30 teams like theirs in the United States.

Just a couple of weeks ago, they finished third in the nation's top tournament, featuring competition from across the country. "It brings me a lot of joy," Anders admits. Especially watching new players come up and learn the game and playing with some of these veterans that I've been playing with for 20+ years."

One of those veterans, is Terry Boyd. Boyd, who also plays for the Cap City Cardinals -- Columbus' wheelchair basketball team -- says adaptive sports have become a source of therapy for him and others like him.

"I tell people it helped save my life," Boyd confesses. "I was in a bad place coming from being a cancer survivor, to a new injury amputee, and trying to learn how to live with a new body, in a world that wasn't necessarily set up for us."

But Columbus Rec and Parks are trying to help make that transition easier. Through their adaptive sports program, the city offers 10 sports to residents in the community, seven of which are Paralympic sports.

"Therapeutic Recreation is a holistic idea of what health and recreation is, and adaptive sports bring so much to our community," says Andrea Norris, the Therapeutic Recreation manager for Columbus Rec and Parks. "It's really exciting for us to be a part of people's stories. It's really important to have outlets to be strong and to be successful, and that's definitely something our team does."

And though baseball and softball have been added to the Olympics for the 2028 Los Angeles games, but both Anders and Boyd say there still hasn't been enough global interest to add wheelchair softball to the Paralympic games.

"We have to get a least 10 or more teams or countries involved, in order to make it a true Paralympic sport, in order to get the exposure we need." Both Anders and Boyd say the relationships and camaraderie are the best part about the past three decades.

And while he won't compete in Paris, Boyd has been called to represent Team USA internationally, calling it the pinnacle of his time playing. "Representing Team USA was an honor," Boyd reflects. "Everybody wants to do something spectacular for their country, especially if you're an athlete."

The Pioneers are always welcoming new athletes. For more information on how you might be able to join the team, or for more information on Columbus Rec and Parks Therapeutic Recreation, including their Adaptive Sports Club, click here.

Sign-ups for fall sports -- including wheelchair rugby, wheelchair basketball, and wheelchair tennis -- begin on September 10. All of the city's adaptive sports opportunities are free to join.