Forsythe’s 6th-grade Wheelchair Basketball Intramural Team is the district’s first
When Kam rolls onto the basketball court at Forsythe Middle School, he isn’t thinking about making AAPS history.
He’s just ready to play basketball with his teammates.
Kam has been playing basketball since he was four years old, honing his skills from his wheelchair and improving year by year. Now, for the first time, he’s part of a team that isn’t adaptive or separate from his peers. He’s a member of the Forsythe sixth-grade intramural basketball team.
At practice, Kam runs drills alongside everyone else. When gameplay begins, five of his teammates eagerly grab wheelchairs and join him on the court for a three-on-three game.
“It means a lot because I can be with my friends,” Kam said during Tuesday’s after-school practice. “It’s cool to see people in wheelchairs like me play wheelchair basketball.”
Forsythe is now making district history with the launch of the first wheelchair basketball intramural team in Ann Arbor Public Schools. But the groundwork for this moment was laid years earlier.
Several years ago, the Adaptive Sports & Fitness program at the University of Michigan partnered with AAPS middle schools on a pilot program that brought adaptive sports directly into physical education classes. The program introduced wheelchair basketball and tennis, adapted volleyball, and fitness activities, along with support for equipment and curriculum. Since that pilot, AAPS middle school physical education teachers have continued to rotate the equipment and incorporate adaptive sports into their classes each year.
So when Kam wanted to play, the school was ready.
Students already knew how to maneuver the wheelchairs safely. They understood the rules and etiquette of wheelchair sports just as naturally as any other unit in gym class. The only real logistical hurdle was ensuring there were enough chairs available on game days.
Everything else, according to Forsythe Athletic Director Delia Powell, came naturally.
“I am so proud of the team for integrating wheelchair basketball into the game and practice routines without a second thought—like it was second nature,” Powell said. She added that the seamless transition reflects something deeper about Forsythe’s culture. The school is a Unified Champion School, where inclusion is embedded into everyday life.
Kam’s mother, Amanda Eedday-Nwankwo, admits she wasn’t sure what to expect at first.
“I was initially skeptical, considering that this is the first time Kam would be playing on a non-adaptive basketball team,” she said. “I was also worried about how he would blend in with the rest of the team.”
Those concerns quickly faded.
“From all indications, it appears he is adapting well and having fun,” Eedday-Nwankwo said. “As a family, we are ecstatic. We work hard every day to instill in him that he can achieve anything he puts his mind to, regardless of his disability. This experience also allows him to build social skills while gaining tools that will help him navigate life.”
Powell credits much of the program’s success to Coach Noah Trobe, who restructured practices and game formats to ensure every player could fully participate—without calling attention to the adjustments.
“It’s great having the opportunity to teach players who are used to stand-up basketball the rules of wheelchair basketball,” Trobe said. “Having Kam here is wonderful. The teammates love him, and he’s having a great time competing against classmates who are rotating in and learning the game themselves.”
Eedday-Nwankwo sees the impact reaching beyond her own son.
“I’m grateful to Delia and Coach Noah for creating this opportunity,” she said. “Not just for Kam, but for other kids too.”
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