ARLINGTON -- After a rocket-propelled grenade exploded close to him, Army Sgt. Jeremy Deramus returned from Afghanistan in December suffering from a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress.
On Wednesday, the Midland native joined about 135 other injured service members at the University of Texas at Arlington to learn how adaptive sports and recreation can help them not only recover but also transition back into civilian life.The sports muster -- hosted by the UT Arlington Movin' Mavs wheelchair basketball team, U.S. Paralympics, Paralympic Sport Arlington and the Wounded Warrior Project -- drew soldiers and their families from Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. Participants tried their hand at wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball and archery.Deramus, who lives in Arlington with his wife and three children and plans to earn a geology degree at UT Arlington, said the day's events opened his eyes."I didn't know about these opportunities before," he said. "I plan on looking into them, that's for sure."He could hardly have chosen a better place. Movin' Mavs coach Doug Garner is also coach of the Army's wheelchair basketball team, which has won the gold medal in the Warrior Games for two straight years.The weeklong muster covers other topics, such as pursuing further education and preparing for job interviews. Sports can helpful in physical rehabilitation and ongoing fitness, among other things."It gets them out doing something and gives them a way to socialize," Garner said. "It gives them a reason to get up in the morning."James Stuck of Oklahoma is a testament to that. He lost part of a leg while serving in Iraq in 2005.Having played four sports in high school and gone to college for soccer, he knew that athletics would remain part of his identity.They did far more: Stuck made the U.S. Paralympic men's sitting volleyball team. Though the team won't compete in the 2012 London Games beginning Aug. 29, he was part of the silver-winning U.S. team at the 2007 Parapan American Games in Rio de Janeiro."I am a firm believer in the value of sports not just in rehab but in life," said Stuck, who was in town to help out. "If you're an athlete before you get hurt, athletics are going to be important to you in regaining your confidence and gaining acceptance from others afterward."Patrick M. Walker, 817-390-7423Twitter: @patrickmwalker1Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
