|
 Katie
Looby, The Township Times - Saginaw, March 17, 2008
The “Thunder in the Valley” North Heartland Sectional Wheelchair
Rugby Tournament drew many fans last weekend.
Crowds filled the stands while walkers watched from a track
above the gymnasium floor at Center Courts in Saginaw Township.
“They would literally stop at times and just watch,” said Jeff
Coupie, a Michigan Storm Quad Rugby defensive player and vice
president of Michigan Sports Unlimited.
“They were really surprised at how fast-paced the game was and
how hard-hitting it was,” he said.
Lake Shore Demolition from Birmingham, Ala. beat Michigan Storm
in the final match March 9 by 13 points, 57-44.
Lake Shore won five of the last 10 national competitions. Their
coach is a former Paralympic rugby coach. It also includes three
current and one former Paralympic athlete. The team trains at
the Paralympic Training Center in Birmingham.
“We knew that we were going to have a tough time beating Lake
Shore,” Coupie said. “They’re the tops dogs.”
Last February, Midwest teams competed in the “Valley of Victors”
North Heartland Regional Wheelchair Rugby Tournament. The best
regional teams participate at the sectional tournament and the
best four teams advance to nationals. The country’s top 16 quad
rugby teams will battle for the national title, Coupie said.
 The
tournament brought in least 110 athletes, along with their
families, support staff and referees.
“The competition was a lot more fierce than last year because
the competition was at a higher level. These are teams we don’t
face on a regular basis,” he said. “We had to work hard for our
games.”
The games are a fundraiser for Michigan Storm. Coupie estimates
that about $10,000 was raised through donation and T-shirt
sales. Admission to the games at the field house were free.
“We love playing at Center Courts,” he said. “They’re always
really good to us. They’re one of the only facilities in Saginaw
that will let us play there. They allow us to come in and do
what we do.”
Michigan Storm participated in the Heartland North Regionals in
Dayton, Ohio at Wright State University Feb. 8-10. “We were
crowned the North Heartland Regional Champs,” Coupie said.
Michigan Storm may also participate in a rugby tournament
against Saginaw Valley State University players. They were
originally going to compete against Nouvel Catholic Central High
School’s football players but their coach didn’t want them to
get hurt, Coupie said. The fundraiser will be held at the end of
April. A date is not set yet, he said.
The teams play with volleyballs on two full-sized basketball
courts which feature two keys that are 26-feet-wide by
6-feet-deep. Two cones sit at each key, and players score points
when two of their wheels cross the plain while they’re in
possession of the ball. Four players from each team are on the
floor at a time.
The average game scores 55 to 60 points, one point at a time,
Coupie said.
Some of the Paralympic athletes are missing an arm or leg, and
were either born disabled or became that way as a result of an
injury.
 Each
season from October to April, Michigan Storm participates in at
least one weekend tournament a month. The teammates live all
over Michigan, and practice twice a week at the University of
Michigan in Flint.
Michigan Storm is ranked number 11 in the United States. Two
years ago the team finished fourth place at the National
Wheelchair Rugby competition in Louisville. The Athletes with
Disabilities Hall of Fame honored them as the 2006 Athletes of
the Year.
Photos: Michigan Storm Quad Rugby’s Erika Schmutz, left,
tries to get around Lake Shore Demolition’s Delvin McMillan in a
race to the goal at the March 9 “Thunder in the Valley” North
Heartland Sectional Wheelchair Rugby Tournament. With the ball
in possession, the Storm’s Brian Sheridan looks up court for the
pass. Both teams congratulated each another as Lake Shore, left,
outlasted Storm in a hard-hitting match at Center Courts in
Saginaw Township. (Photos by Rodney Wakeman)
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