Jack Kosterman doesn鈥檛 want to be anyone鈥檚 inspiration or even a trailblazer 鈥� changing people鈥檚 perceptions about wheelchair athletes.
鈥淚 am not inspirational,鈥� Kosterman said, sitting in the living room of his family鈥檚 Fort 91原创 home.
Summarizing the thoughts of Pat Anderson, one of the top wheelchair basketball players in the world, and one of Kosterman鈥檚 role models, Kosterman said: 鈥淚nspiration is a double-edged sword.
鈥淥n one hand, it is, 鈥極h wow, you are a great wheelchair basketball player.鈥�
鈥淏ut on the other hand, it is, 鈥榊ou are good, for someone like you.鈥欌��
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Watching Kosterman move around, you wouldn鈥檛 believe he requires a wheelchair and is one of Canada鈥檚 top wheelchair basketball players.
Kosterman, who turned 15 earlier this summer, is able to walk without the aid of a cane, crutches or wheelchair.
He can walk short distances with no problems, but the longer he walks, the more he starts to feel a lingering pain.
鈥淚t gets inflamed really quickly,鈥� he explained.
With a family history of knee problems, and having been overweight as a child, when Kosterman experienced knee pain he didn鈥檛 put much thought into it.
But when he was 10, he slipped on the bottoms of his pyjamas, and the resulting fall broke his growth plate and dislocated his femur, which connects the leg to the hip.
It was the worst pain he ever felt.
Kosterman learned he has avascular necrosis, or AVN, a disease where there is cellular death of bone components, due to the interruption of the blood supply. Without blood, the bone tissue dies and the bone collapses.
He has a pin in each hip and while a semi-experimental drug, Pamidronate, has slowed down the deterioration, Kosterman expects he will need 鈥渁 few鈥� hip replacements in his lifetime.
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Kosterman has always loved sports and one day dreamed about playing professionally.
He began playing basketball, among other sports, when he was five, and was just starting to get into rugby prior to the deterioration of his hip.
Being in a wheelchair is not very conducive to playing sports.
Kosterman admits he went through the 鈥榳hy me鈥� phase.
鈥淢ore than I would have liked to,鈥� he said.
But a school occupational therapist, Kari Oleson, put him in touch with B.C. Wheelchair Basketball. He attended one of their events and was hooked.
鈥淩ugby was my favourite sport and basketball was probably my second favourite,鈥� he said.
鈥淲heelchair basketball is a more physical game than stand-up basketball, so it combines the two perfectly for me.鈥�
Growing up, Kosterman was bigger than average and not overly adept at running.
鈥淚t worked out well for me because I had a lot of upper body strength but wasn鈥檛 a very fast runner,鈥� he explained.
鈥淪o I kind of took what I was good at from basketball 鈥� dribbling, shooting, seeing the court well 鈥� but all of a sudden I was fast (in the wheelchair) because I had some upper body strength.鈥�
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But while he loved being back on the court, it was still a struggle.
鈥淚f you really want to be good, you have to train a lot.鈥�
Kosterman spends about 25 hours a week, working on his game, or working out at Fitness Unlimited.
The problem is that there are not too many other wheelchair basketball players around.
鈥淚 am usually alone, I have a couple of players I train with occasionally, but they are not always there.鈥�
By the end of a long week, motivation can be an issue.
鈥淭hat was a crappy thing (working out by myself),鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was tough, at the end of the week, you don鈥檛 really want to be at the gym.鈥�
Watching his son struggle did prompt his father, Mitch, to establish the 91原创 Gold Rush, a local program for wheelchair basketball players.
The program, which is for able-bodied athletes as well, has about two dozen players and runs out of the gym at Trinity Western University.
All of this has helped Kosterman develop his game.
He began attending regional junior practices and soon progressed to the provincial level, representing B.C. at the Canada Games in 2011.
Now comes the cherry on top: playing for Canada at the world U23 wheelchair basketball championships. They are being held Sept. 7 to 14 in Adana, Turkey.
Kosterman is one of two 15-year-olds on the 12-player roster. The rest of the team is made up of players between the ages of 18 and 22.
鈥淗e is a really exciting, dynamic basketball player and an outstanding young man,鈥� said Canadian coach Steve Bialowas.
鈥淎t this age group, you are looking at maturity and can they play and compete against the bigger, stronger players, and Jack can compete.鈥�
Kosterman鈥檚 game has risen dramatically in the past year: he wasn鈥檛 even invited to the team鈥檚 first evaluation camp back in December, but by the time they had their next tryout in June, he was on the radar.
鈥淚n six months, he made tremendous progress and worked very hard in practice,鈥� Bialowas said.
鈥淭hat is an important factor too, when athletes that age can really invest their time and energy into training and motivate themselves to get to that level. Then you know you have something special there to work with as a coach.鈥�
The team left for England on Friday (Aug. 30) for their final preparations before the championships.
And while it may be his first time wearing the red and white for Canada, Kosterman does not expect it to be his last as he aims to make the national team for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
It may seem like a lofty goal for someone who will have just turned 18 when the Games take place, but Kosterman likes the challenge.
鈥淚t will be tough, we have a really good team in Canada,鈥� he said. 鈥�(But) I like to aim pretty high.
鈥淚 aimed for the Canada Games and they told me I wouldn鈥檛 make it, and I made it.
鈥淎nd I aimed for making Team Canada (U23 team) and they told me I was too young and I made it on my first try. I love proving people wrong.鈥�
Another goal is to play at the NCAA level when he finishes high school. He is just entering Grade 10 at 91原创 Fine Arts School.
He also has aspirations to play professionally down the road as there are leagues in Australia and Europe.
鈥淚 see nothing but great things in the future for Jack,鈥� Bialowas said.
鈥淗e can make it as high as he wants to. Those decisions are usually not up to coaches, but it is the players that make the coaches鈥� minds up for them.
鈥淚f he keeps putting the work in, there will be a lot of opportunities.鈥�
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Kosterman sometimes wonders what might have happened had he not broken his hip and found wheelchair basketball.
For one thing, the sport changed his lifestyle. When he was 12, he dropped 60 pounds, going from 155 to 95. He is now 5-foot-10 and weighs 160 pounds.
鈥淩eally, in my life, I lucked out,鈥� he said.
鈥淏eing in a wheelchair is the only challenge I have really had.
鈥淭hose couple of years I spent in a wheelchair really shaped who I am, gave me a new outlook on life.鈥�
鈥淚 have a good family, I have good genetics, I am healthy.鈥�
Kosterman has an older sister, Cassie, 29, and brother, Stuart, 18. He also credits his parents, Mitch and Karen, for all their support.
鈥淭he only reason I want to be inspirational is work ethic, because I know tons of people who have overcome bigger challenges than I have,鈥� Kosterman said.
鈥淧eople should look at the athlete and not the story,鈥� Kosterman said.
鈥淚 want people to stop thinking 鈥榠t is so great these athletes are back out there鈥� to start looking at it as a respectable sport.
鈥淭he athletes in the sport don鈥檛 look at it as disabled people so no one else should either.鈥�
What is wheelchair basketball?
鈥� Wheelchair basketball is played five aside on a regulation-sized court with the baskets 10 feet off the
ground.
鈥� The player with the ball is allowed to take two pushes and then they must either dribble, pass or
shoot the ball or they will be called for a traveling violation.
鈥� Each player is given a classification between 1.0 and 4.5 and under international rules, teams can
have up to 14 combined points on the court at one time.
鈥� The more severe the disability, the lower the score.
鈥� Officials grade each person for their classification and Kosterman is being submitted as a 4.0.
鈥� Up to the international level, able-bodied athletes can play wheelchair basketball.
