Today is World Parkinson’s Day! This day aims to get people talking about Parkinson’s – to give them the understanding of how Parkinson’s affects people, in hopes that understanding will lead them to lend their support and help get one step closer to a cure.
With 1 in 37 people being diagnosed with Parkinson’s within their life, there are plenty of people who find their motivation to play sport devastated. Andy Wright, an avid tennis player from the age of 17/18, was found to have early-onset Parkinson’s disease at 33.
He quickly noticed it affected his play and chose to give up on tennis. “My reaction was to stop playing, if I couldn’t progress and improve, I didn’t want to play and see my game deteriorate so I walked away.”
Later, while volunteering at Flo Skate Park in Nottingham, he met someone who just by talking about tennis reignited Andy’s spark. He quickly got involved in his local Tennis League and, to his surprise, found ways to manage his condition in a game leading him to find joy in tennis once more despite not being competitive.
Sport does not have to be given up on, all it needs is some adaption. Maddie, one of our employees, recently had some training hosted by the LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) about involving players with Parkinson’s and had this to say, “the training was all about adapting things to meet players new needs so that they can still participate. This is the ethos we have at Defiant Sports, so it was great to discuss and learn from likeminded individuals!”
As always, stay Defiant!
#TeamDefiant