Moving forward

I am 17 years old and am in year 12 at Prairiewood High School. I have cerebral palsy and am in a wheelchair. My favourite sport is wheelchair basketball but I also like touch footy which I play every Saturday with Pushpower sports.

I am looking forward to playing wheelchair basketball at the Australian Youth Paralympic Games in Melbourne in October. I was selected when I was part of the NSW under 18s team playing at the State Championships in Brisbane. I had really bad food poisoning just before the tournament, but played anyway and ended up having a cracker of a game. I played really well and got selected in the Australian team.

But getting selected for representative teams isn’t the main reason I play wheelchair basketball. My goal is just to enjoy it. I do it to keep fit and meet people.

Away from sport, music is my calling. It releases me from the tension of the world. Michael Jackson is a big inspiration to me. I also love listening to James Brown, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder.

When I finish school at the end of this year I want to enrol at TAFE at Granville and do a Youth and Community Course. I really want to do something that involves helping other people. I am at the stage where I want to put other people first rather than myself.

I already volunteer at my old primary school where I help out with reading and maths groups. I want to make this my career and I think I have a lot to offer other children.