ABLE Youth

A “Marathon” Weekend

Rick — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 02:02:40 +0000

What an absolutely incredible weekend! The older kids in ABLE Youth participated in the ING Kids marathon Friday evening, pushing up and down the Woodland Street Bridge with thousands of people cheering them on. The kids built another life experience, pushing their first race! Sure, the traffic was awful, there were a gazillion kids running all over the place, we barely escaped a huge storm, but in the end the kids all had huge smiles on their faces and medals around their necks. A great night! Thanks to all who helped raise funds for ABLE Youth through this event; your support is greatly appreciated.

This morning it was time for the Country Music Marathon, where our good friends Zac, Carrie, and Molly pushed some of the smaller ABLE kids in strollers through the course. Carrie pushed JayRod 13 miles, Molly pushed Fiona 13 miles and then pushed Dovie 13 miles, while Zac pushed Braden 13 miles and ended the full marathon pushing Dovie the last 13 miles. It was a sight to see: all of us in our red racing shirts. We were definitely the talk of the race. To see so many people cheering for our kids put a smile on my face. We could not have made this happen without FleetOne, Starbucks, Jeep, Innerstrength, the parents and kids, Amy, Chase, Sarah, Kevin, and the entire RUN WALK WHEEL ROLL running team. A HUGE THANK YOU to ZAC Koffler, Founder and Director of RWWR. Zac has a huge heart for our kids and we will forever be grateful to him and his team for their generous support.

God bless,

Rick Slaughter

RWWR Team with ABLE Kids

Country Music Marathon

A marathon weekend! Kids pushed the ING Kids last mile Friday night then Zac and RWWR pushed younger kids Saturday in the CMM. A GREAT weekend! Thanks to Zac and Run Walk Wheel Roll for for an incredible fundraising effort!!

32 Photos

Year End Basketball & Cheerleader Party

Rick — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 03:41:29 +0000

What an awesome day. We celebrated a great season but we also celebrated three of our seniors moving on to another chapter of life. As usual Byron had everything planned out down to the last detail, including our pre-ordered meal typed on a card so our servers would have an easier time. The Spaghetti Factory were gracious hosts and we were grateful for their hospitality.
Nathaniel, Will, and Morgan were the guests of honor as our seniors graduating from high school and continuing their education at the collegiate level. We are very proud of them for working hard, putting in the effort, and believing in their dreams. They will all be missed but we hope they will return as time allows to share their experiences out in the “real world.”

Along with the senior celebration we also celebrated the prep and varsity teams and cheerleading squad having a fun and eventful year. A huge thank you to all the parents and coaches who made the year a success. The new season will be here before you know it, so enjoy the summer, stay strong, and help someone else along the way.

God bless you all. …………Rick

Our Three Seniors

National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament

Rick — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:34:37 +0000

The Music City Thunder Varsity wheelchair basketball team ended a long yet successful season in Colorado Springs last weekend. Although the team lost their first few games and did not rank as high as they had hoped, they ended the year on a winning note by beating the Denver team 42-17. There are four Thunder players who have competed at this level for the last time: Will, Nathaniel, Jordan, and Morgan. They are all seniors in high school who will graduate this May. I am more proud of this than any ball game they have ever played. The game of life is the most important, a game these guys know all too well.

Morgan was named to the Women’s All Tournament National Team, and AJ was awarded the National First Team All-Academic. Way to go guys! You guys deserved these awards! Hard work and dedication pays off, on the court and in the classroom!

A huge thanks to all the coaches and parents who made the trip a success. Most folks do not understand what it takes to pull off a trip like this. All the chairs at the airport, all the luggage, transferring chairs in/out of trucks numerous times throughout the week, checking in at the hotel, etc etc. A special thanks to Byron and Bryan for all their loading and unloading, and a high five to mark Singer for taking the helm this year and coaching our kids.

GO THUNDER!

Rick

Thunder Varsity Wins Conference Championship!

Rick — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 01:40:09 +0000

Our varsity and prep teams had a great tournament this weekend. The Prep team played better than at any time during the season. Madison led them to a second place finish as they dropped the final game to Georgia in a hard fought battle. Jayrod and Madison earned all tournament honors.
The Varsity team defeated a stubborn and skilled Georgia team, coming from behind to win the game and be crowned Southern Conference Champs. Morgan and Jordan were named to the All Tournament Team and Nathaniel was awarded the Tournament MVP.
Our Thunder cheerleaders made the trip with Coach Jennifer and did a great job rooting on the teams. Even though they were missing a few members due to health issues they did an outstanding job cheering our teams to victory.
I want to thank all the parents, players, family members, coaches, and volunteers who made the weekend a huge success. I am very proud of ALL the players and cheerleaders, but I am MOST proud of all our seniors. This was the last time I will see them play in a Thunder uniform. You guys are what ABLE Youth is all about, and I love each of you as if you were my own. If you EVER need ANYthing, I am here for you.

Rick
Thunder Varsity in their Championship T-shirts!! (Thanks Byron)

Southern Conference Tourney in GA

Varsity and Prep teams competed for SEC Championship. Prep came in second, varsity won first place!

27 Photos

SEC Women’s Finals Basketball Exhibition

Rick — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 02:40:33 +0000

Many thanks to the SEC and Nashville Sports Council for inviting us to perform a wheelchair basketball exhibition at half time of the the women’s final game tonight. Members of Music City Thunder and Prep watched the game from the floor and were treated like royalty. Thanks to all the parents who brought their children, along with coaches Byron, Mark, Paul, and Ashley. The kids played great and the crowd was thrilled.
The teams (AND CHEERLEADERS) head to Atlanta for the Conference Championship this Friday. GO THUNDER!
Nathaniel nails 3 pointer……

Music City Madness Jr. Wheelchair Basketball Tourney a HUGE HIT!

Rick — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 03:03:29 +0000

The last two days have been non-stop food, fun, fellowship, and BASKETBALL. Once again we hosted the Music City Madness Jr. Wheelchair Basketball Tournament, and once again tournament director Byron Personett, our parents, coaches, and lots of volunteers made this event one of the best of the year. Twenty teams (from as far away as UTAH!) from 12 states, not a bad turnout whatsoever. We even had to turn teams away!

Although our prep and varsity teams did not win the championship, all the players gave 110%, played their hardest, and had fun. Some of my favorite moments from the event: watching Hunter’s father when Hunter scored a basket was priceless / Jayrod stealing the ball from an opponent 3 times bigger / Morgan tipping over in her chair, losing her shoe, and grinning from ear to ear.

This was a bittersweet event, as our Thunder Varsity high school seniors have played the final “home” game of their junior basketball careers. But no time for tears (yet) as we have the Atlanta tourney in two weeks and the Nationals in Denver in a month.
GO THUNDER!!!

Wheelchair Basketball Tournament

2012 Jr. Wheelchair Basketball Regional Tournament

16 Photos

Fleet One Chooses A.B.L.E. Youth for Seventh Year!

Rick — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:42:28 +0000

It was just announced that Fleet One has chosen ABLE Youth as their “primary charity of choice” for 2012. I was shocked and brought to tears when I heard this news as I thought for sure Fleet One would choose someone else. We are blessed beyond words to have the support of such a kind, considerate company. The employees truly care about our precious children and for that I will be eternally grateful. Fleet One, thank you from the bottom of my heart……..Rick Slaughter

Scavenger Hunt!

Rick — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 03:22:09 +0000

Today we had a scavenger hunt at Cool Springs Mall. Amy Saffell led the event and did a great job, along with occupational therapists from Belmont University who volunteered to help. The children had to locate different stores, try on various types of clothing, get their pictures taken in certain locations, and order lunch, pay for it, and take it to the table all by themselves. I think this was a great way to teach the children how to read and follow directions, solve problems, adapt to situations, and build another life experience. Thanks again to Amy, Evan, Josh, Belmont, and all the parents who brought their children to the event. It was a great day and I was VERY PROUD of all the kids!

Winning team members Stephen, Josh, Erica, and JayRod

Scavenger Hunt

Kids learned how to find stores, solve problems, and adapt to various situations at the Cool Springs Mall.

4 Photos

Thunder Wins Indy Tourney – Remains Undefeated

Rick — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:12:54 +0000

Congratulations to the Music City Thunder Varsity wheelchair basketball team as they won the Indianapolis, IN tournament this weekend. Thunder beat the Indy Racers, Turnstone Flyers, and Rollin” Hoosiers to win the championship and remain undefeated. The highlight of the weekend occurred when WILL BELL from Thunder scored his first official basket in a live game. Our coaches called time out to allow all the players to high five and congratulate Will on his accomplishment. WE ARE PROUD OF YOU WILL!!!! Way to go big man!

Our next competition will be here at home when we host the Music City Madness Regional Qualifying Tournament. The event will be all day February 24 and 25 at the AGame Sports Complex in Franklin. Please come out to support our Thunder prep and varsity teams along with our famous Thunder Cheerleading squad.

GO THUNDER!!!

Cheering & Basketball at Lipscomb Tonight

Rick — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 02:58:25 +0000

A huge thank you to all who made the night so successful. I know it was not easy to transfer the sports chairs back and forth after practice, but you guys made it happen. The ball team played great, offense and defense. I could not have been more proud of our cheerleaders. Your regular practice sessions are paying off. But I must say I was most impressed with Nathaniel. Before the exhibition I reminded him this would probably be his last exhibition as a member of Music City Thunder, and I asked him to hit a 3 pointer for me. With seconds left to play Nathaniel rolled behind the line, set up for the shot, launched the ball towards the net with perfect form, and hit NOTHING BUT NET. I loved it and so did the crowd.
Jenny, Mark, Byron, Evan, all the parents and kids, and Lipscomb University, thank you for making it a great night.
God bless you all.

Rick