Matt Scott came to Ride Designs recently, looking for a more optimal connection with his basketball wheelchair, as he prepared for the Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
An elite competitor, Matt has played wheelchair basketball on nearly every stage, from pick up ball with friends, to junior league, collegiate, US National team, then professionally abroad in a number of countries, plus at the Paralympic level. A chair that is not working at 100% efficiency means Matt isn’t able to achieve what he knows he can on the court.
Matt’s old seating set up was big and bulky with lots of straps. He felt limited. The straps meant that he couldn’t carry the basketball in his lap and push with both hands. There was also extra give and flex in the bucket seating on his basketball chair — it no longer felt like an extension of himself on the court and didn’t respond to his movements the way he wanted.
Ride Designs listened to the challenges Matt was having with his chair and worked with him to figure out the best way to remedy each limitation. New, smaller straps were added that tightened the bucket closer to his body so that he could carry the ball more easily and keep it protected. The tighter-fitting solution also kept the bucket from flexing into the wheels on extreme turns, making the chair much more responsive. Seeking a second gold medal at your fifth Paralympic games, means that both the equipment and the athlete must be functioning at the highest level.
Matt is currently using a Ride Custom 2 Cushion for his daily seating and is feeling more protected and comfortable than ever. The choice to switch his seating to Ride Designs was a reaction to a serious health scare. Matt hopes to encourage others to be more proactive about their seating and skin health so that they never have an experience similar to his.
Learn more about Matt…
Join us in cheering on Matt and Team USA at the Tokyo 2020 (2021) Paralympic Games!
Stay tuned to the Games:
- Official Paralympic Games website, constantly being updated.
- A detailed schedule of which event is happening when, here.
- How/where to watch, even if you don’t have cable, here.
- NBC’s Paralympic coverage schedule.
Follow Matt on instagram: @mattscott_fly
“The United States may be the birthplace of basketball, but to make a career out of playing wheelchair hoops, athletes have had to move overseas.” — Gwen Knapp, New York Times, writes about professional wheelchair basketball teams abroad here.