From the sidelines of Sportable’s youth wheelchair basketball camp, Amy Smith watches her 24-year-old daughter, Hannah, glide across the court, expertly dribbling a basketball while coaching campers as young as 10. Hannah’s fiancé and fellow Sportable athlete, Christian, is also taking in the action of the camp from the sidelines.
For Amy, these moments are reminders of just how much can change in nearly 15 years. “When Hannah was 9, we had no idea how much adaptive sports would transform her life — and our entire family’s,” Amy says.
Today, Hannah is an accomplished athlete, coach, and mentor. Amy is Sportable’s director of donor experience and coaches adaptive pickleball alongside her husband, Brian. What started as one child’s introduction to wheelchair basketball became a family commitment to ensure the same opportunities are possible for others.
Since 2005, Sportable has provided year-round adaptive sports, recreation, health, and wellness programs to individuals with physical disabilities, visual impairments, and those who require physical accommodations. Through more than 20 programs, the organization helps athletes build confidence, improve their health, and most importantly, find community.
For Hannah, that community changed everything. Born with spina bifida, she discovered wheelchair basketball at age 11. While she was drawn to the competition, it was the camaraderie on and off the court that she loved most. As her confidence grew, Sportable became the catalyst for her ambitions. Hannah went on to play wheelchair basketball at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and is a nationally recognized advocate for adaptive sports and an award-winning coach of young athletes.
“Sportable has allowed me to learn many sports, be truly competitive, and develop strong, lasting relationships with my peers across the country,” says Hannah. “I have a true feeling of success and know that it wasn’t just handed to me because of my physical disability.”
“Hannah’s journey is exactly why Sportable exists,” says CEO Hunter Leemon. “Long before loneliness was recognized as a public health crisis, we were creating spaces where people with disabilities could build connections, have a sense of belonging, and challenge themselves through sport. When athletes find that community, it changes far more than what happens on the court.”
Today, Sportable serves athletes ages 3 to 89, proving that adaptive sports are about more than being competitive. Adaptive sports create opportunities for people of all abilities to stay active, build friendships, and discover what’s possible when barriers to participation are removed.
How to Support Sportable
Fall is one of Sportable’s busiest seasons, and volunteers are critical in making programs possible. Help fulfill Sportable’s mission of making sports accessible and inclusive by donating your time to programs such as tennis, basketball, cycling, rugby, power soccer, archery, golf, and more. No previous experience necessary, just enthusiasm and support to help athletes do their best.
If you’d like to see adaptive sports in action, save the date for February 6, 2027, for the Virginia Adaptive Sports Festival at Henrico Sports & Events Center. To volunteer, register as an athlete, or learn more about Sportable’s programs, visit Sportable.org.
