When Traveling is Not a Foul

Ryan Martin rolled into the Memorial Middle School gymnasium on June 16^th to talk with the seventh grade students about what he faces as a wheelchair-bound professional athlete. 

Ryan Martin was born with Spina Bifida and, as a result, had both legs amputated before he was old enough to read. Today, Ryan is a wheelchair basketball player who plays professionally in Spain. 

During the off-season, Martin runs the Ryan Martin Wheelchair Basketball Camp where he met Memorial Middle School (MMS) seventh grader, David Desmarais. Last summer, David was enrolled there as a camper. 

Ryan spoke candidly with the MMS seventh grade class about his disability, what challenges he faced growing up, and how he helps others through his camp. 

“Ryan has become a great mentor for David,” said Mrs. Patti Waterbury, MMS School Counselor. “By inviting Ryan to Memorial Middle School, we wanted to create awareness and to give the students an opportunity to learn from such a genuine leader. The students seem to have really enjoyed the presentation, were engaged and Ryan Martin made them feel very comfortable so that weren't intimated asking questions.” 

The mission of the Ryan Martin Foundation is to assist student athletes with disabilities with their life on and off the basketball court, and specifically focuses on assisting students with disabilities in obtaining a college education. In addition to establishing his foundation, Ryan is a program coordinator for the Hospital for Special Care mentorship program. He has also been a counselor at the Ivan Lendl Sports Camp.