Resources Directory
Search below to find a hospital, doctor, therapy, and more
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital- Adaptive Sports & Recreation
"Vision: People with all abilities participate and/or compete in as varied activities as the rest of the community. Participants feel comfortable trying new sports and recreation opportunities and exploring new ways of doing previous activities. Madonna's Adaptive Sports & Recreation Program is a leader and resource for other communities.
Benefits: Children and adults with acquired physical disabilities as a result of traumatic injury or illness often are not aware of the availability and benefits of recreation and adaptive sports activities. Just as with able-bodied individuals, participation in recreational activities promotes physical health and wellness by increasing heart and respiration rates, facilitating muscle tone, maintaining optimal weight, and honing agility skills. These activities can also impact social and emotional wellbeing by providing interaction with peers, offering distraction from the stress of daily life, and providing individuals with a sense of personal accomplishment and satisfaction.
Therapeutic: Integration of adaptive sports and recreation activities into rehabilitation provides a unique and fun context for working on specific therapeutic activities and skills such as balance, coordination, advanced gait training, fine motor control, and even cognition (thinking skills) and communication. Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital is one of the only hospitals in the region that offers a structured Adaptive Sports & Recreation Program with multiple opportunities for inpatients, outpatients, and community members to participate in various sports.
Madonna's Adaptive Sports & Recreation Program has three basic areas of focus: Open Recreation, Workshops and Competition.
Open Recreation: Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital offers scheduled opportunities to learn or enhance skills specific to a certain sport. Each open time allows a person interested in a sport to work in a non-intimidating environment with hands-on instruction. Whether you are a person who has enjoyed a sport in the past or are interested in acquiring a new hobby, open recreation is a perfect opportunity to try a sport with instruction. Open recreation times also provide Madonna inpatients and outpatients with the opportunity to work on skilled therapy from standing or wheelchair-level positions while engaged in activities. The following sports are offered on a regular schedule, monthly:
Bowling- Offered the fourth Monday of each month from 10:30-11:30 a.m., at Parkway Lanes, 2555 S. 48th Street in Lincoln. Participants will learn or relearn basic skills for bowling. Participants will have the opportunity to bowl standing or at wheelchair level. Adaptive bowling equipment provided.
Tennis- Offered the second Monday of each month from 10:30-11:30 a.m. at the Woods Tennis Center, 33rd & J streets in Lincoln. Participants will learn basic skills and adaptations with a professional instructor provided by Woods Tennis Center. Standing or wheelchair-level participants work on ball/racquet forehand, backhand and volley drills.
Golf – Offered the third Monday of each month at 10:30-11:30 a.m., from April-October at Ager Golf Course, 3761 Normal Blvd. in Lincoln. Participants will be able to utilize the driving range as well as the pitch and putt green. Participants will learn basic skills such as grip, swing and the use of adaptive clubs if needed for those using a wheelchair or adaptive golf cart. Instruction will presented by a golf pro or Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital personnel.
Billiards – Offered the first Monday of each month at 10:30-11:30 a.m., from November-May at Calvert Recreation Center, 4500 Stockwell Street in Lincoln. Participants will learn or relearn basic skills for billiards, from a standing or wheelchair level. In addition to billiards, participants play shuffleboard, ping pong or foosball. Adaptive techniques and equipment provided.
Adaptive Fishing – Held on the first Monday of each month from June-October. You can experience fishing with Madonna’s Adaptive Sports and Recreation team at Holmes Lake, 70th Street and Normal Blvd. They will help participants learn or relearn to cast, reel and release from standing or wheelchair levels. Adaptive fishing poles are available.
Basketball – Held the third Monday during November-March from 10:30–11:30 a.m., at Madonna ProActive, 7111 Stephanie Lane, in Lincoln. Learn or relearn basic basketball skills, such as passing, dribbling and shooting from either a standing or wheelchair position. Adaptive sport wheelchairs available during open rec time.
Workshops: Madonna offers affordable workshops to the community on various adaptive sports. To find out dates and times of the workshops and to register on line, go to the Event Calendar.
Adaptive Sports Fair- As part of the celebration of Rehabilitation Week, Madonna offers an Adaptive Sports and Recreation Fair at Madonna ProActive. It is free and open to the public. The fair gives participants an opportunity to receive information on a variety of sports through demonstrations, hands-on experiences and interactions with actively involved athletes with disabilities. Examples of activities include: quad rugby, wheelchair basketball, handcycling, adaptive Wii, fencing and sit volleyball.
First Swing Learn to Golf Workshop- The Madonna Adaptive Sports and Recreation Program collaborates with the National Amputee Golf Association and the Highlands Golf Course to hold a ""First Swing Learn to Golf Workshop."" The workshop is conducted by instructors from the National Amputee Golf Association and is designed to provide clinicians training of the golf swing in order to use golf as a tool to work on rehabilitation skills and to assist individuals with physical limitations to learn or relearn the game of golf. The first part of the workshop is set up to train the clinicians and the second half is for individuals with physical limitations to attend and receive golf instruction and information from the newly trained therapists.
Other Workshops- Workshops on specific wheelchair sports such as fencing, hand cycling, wheelchair football and sled ice hockey are offered throughout the year. Visit our event calendar or contact Rick Haith at (402-483-9474) or email rhaith@madonna.org for more information.
Competition: Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital’s Adaptive Sports and
Recreation Program enhances one’s life through participation in sports and recreation by leveling the playing field.
Madonna offers a wide range of adaptive sports opportunities which allow adults and youth of all abilities to participate and/or compete in as varied activities as the rest of the community. Participants feel comfortable trying new sports and recreation opportunities and exploring new ways of doing previous activities. Madonna’s Adaptive Sports and Recreation Program is a leader and resource to other communities.
The Madonna Magic Wheelchair Basketball Team- For more than a decade, the Madonna Magic have impressed crowds and earned victories. A competitive wheelchair basketball team, the Magic is a member of the Mid-West Conference and is associated with the National Wheelchair Basketball Association. The current team is made up of players from eastern Nebraska but is open to all. The team practices regularly at Madonna ProActive and travels throughout the region competing in tournaments and exhibitions.
Capital City Wheelchair Tennis Tournament- The annual Capital City Wheelchair Tennis Tournament (CCWTT) is a USTA-sanctioned event, sponsored by Madonna in conjunction with The Racquet Corner and Woods Tennis Center. Athletes from throughout the region converge on the Woods Tennis Center for this exciting event. The tournament is open to any member of the USTA. A Stand-up/Sit-down tennis tournament takes place the same weekend as the CCWTT and is a great sports option for persons brand new to the sport or with limited tennis experience. A post-tournament social is included in the weekend, adding to the camaraderie.
Golf ""Fore"" All Abilities- The Golf “Fore” All Abilities tournament is held annually. The tournament is typically held at the Highlands Golf Course in Lincoln. The format for the tournament is done in
a scotch doubles format pairing up a person with an activity limitation to one without. During this tournament, participants with and without disabilities alternate shots.
Madonna Invitational Basketball Tournament- The Madonna Invitational Basketball Tournament is an annual event. Teams from throughout the region are invited to compete in a round-robin formatted tournament. The action is fast-paced and the competition fierce.
Athletic Sponsorships- Madonna’s Adaptive Sports & Recreation Program offers financial assistance to athletes with disabilities who are interested in furthering their goals and need some help. Scholarship or sponsorships may be given to help offset equipment costs, travel costs or team sponsorship. Individuals must have a disability and meet other criteria. For more information or to apply, contact Rick Haith at (402) 483-9474 or email rhaith@madonna.org."
