The Roving Reporter
'Over a billion people get exposed to athletes with disabilities'
Posted by: Amy Reiter
Wednesday, September 10, 2008 3:58 PM
Mike Frogley, the University of Illinois men's wheelchair basketball coach, is briefly changing teams for a stint as Canadian men's wheelchair basketball coach at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He e-mailed The News-Gazette during a break in the playing to talk UI talent, what makes a great player and raising the profiles of athletes with disabilities.
News-Gazette: When did you find out you would coach at the Paralympics?
Mike Frogley: I've been in the Canadian men's national program coaching staff for about 13 years, nine of the last eleven as head coach. I took a break from 2005-2007 to focus on my family. Last fall they asked if I would come back and lead the team to Beijing. I talked it over with my wife and we decided to give it another run.
NG: Have you been to the Paralympics before?
MF: This is my fifth Paralympics. I was a player in 1992, an assistant coach with the Canadian women's wheelchair basketball team in 1996, and head coach of the Canadian men's team in 2000 and 2004.
NG: How did you train your athletes?
MF: We have had several of our key players come through U of I so I got to train them at school. The others played on club teams or other college teams during the year. Every mont or so we would get together for training camps. Once the regular season was over in the U.S.A., we would get together every two weeks for about two weeks in preparation for the Games.
NG: Did you work with the UI researchers working to improve technology for Paralympic athletes? How did you help with the research, and how did the research help with your performance?
MF: We are very fortunate to be at a research university lke U of I. As a result, we get to take part in cutting edge research. We have given some researchers ideas and they have come to us with ideas, wanting to try them out. It is a great situation because, no matter what, our student-athletes get access to the latest knowledge to help them maximize their potential.
NG: How does it feel to have so many University of Illinois-affiliated people at the Games? Will it be competitive since the athletes represent several countries, or more fun because of that?
MF: I think we really develop a close bond among all the student-athletes in our program. They all want to do their best, but they aso want to see each of their teammates do well. For me, I want the best for each of them. I will be extremely happy for those that succeed and very sad for those that do not.
NG: When did you arrive? What has struck you about Beijing or the Chinese culture?
MF: I got here the 24th of August so I have been here for a while. The Chinese have done an incredible job putting all of this together. The Paralympic village and the compettion venues are outstanding. As an example, the various practice facilities for wheelchar basketball are just slightly smaller than Assembly Hall. The venue where we will play wheelchair basketball, the National Indoor Stadium, (seats) around 22,000 people, and almost all the games are sold out.
The second thing I have been impressed with is the level of accessibility. Every aspect of the Games is accessible with all of it built. In Athens, it was accessible, but you could tell that the ramps and other things would be gone after the games. Here it will stay so it will help people with disabilities
here.
Next, the coverage of the games. The week prior to the games starting, the national TV started with various stories about the games and the athletes. It has been nonstop since them. Think of the awareness that creates when over a billion people get exposed to athletes with disabilities. Lastly, the Chinese people have been incredible hosts. You can see tremendous pride in their country in their actions.
NG: Besides winning, do you have any personal goals for the Games?
MF: I would like to coach to the best of my ability, but I also want to be there for our student-athletes. Lastly, I want to take it all in. There is so much more to the Paralympics than just the competition. I learned at my first games in 1992, not to miss that part of the Games as it is the most important.
NG: When does your team and your UI athletes play?
MF: If people want to watch, they can go to paralympicsport.tv and catch any event live or taped. You can get a schedle from there.
NG: What are the skills it takes to be a champion wheelchair basketball player -- or team?
MF: There are two aspects to being a champion. Generally, you need to have the character of a succesful person. You need to execute the fundamental skills perfectly. You need to be intelligent, making good decisions. You need to play as a team always having your teammates back and you need to know how to compete. That means understanding that sometimes you will fail,but that failure is an opportunity to learn and get better. Failure is a challenge to be overcome.
In the Paralympics you add a couple of things. First,you have to try and improve over the whole competition. It is a long event and you have to continue to improve or you waste time and lose motivation and focus,looking ahead too much. Second, the Games are a huge distraction both posiively and negatively. You have to sort through those distractions and only do things that move you towards your goal.
For updates on Frogley's progress, check his blog at http://blog.chicago2016.org/index.php/author/mfrogley/
Watch for another interview with a University of Illinois Paralympian on Thursday.
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