We will roll you – Train the Trainer

On November 9 and 12, 2024, multipliers from educational and social institutions had the opportunity in Munich to participate in the workshop We will roll you – Train the Trainer. They explored wheelchair basketball as a method for inclusive interaction and received professional development.

The workshop was divided into two parts: a foundational and methodological session on November 9, 2024, followed by a practical session during a joint training on November 12, 2024. Participants came from various fields of education and social work, including primary and secondary school teachers, social educators from youth centers, and representatives from community organizations.

Participants were first introduced to the basics of wheelchair basketball, including the differences between everyday and sports wheelchairs and their adaptation to various disabilities. They also learned about the importance of point classification – ranging from 1 point for players with severe impairments to 4.5 points for individuals without disabilities.

Subsequently, participants had the chance to get hands-on experience. Using sports wheelchairs, they learned fundamental techniques such as accelerating, picking up the ball, dribbling, and shooting. The trainer team concluded by presenting an example of a training session and practicing various warm-up methods with the participants, always considering the individual needs of different levels of impairment.

The first part of the workshop ended with a joint game, where two mixed teams (trainers and participants) competed against each other.

During the second part of the workshop on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, the multipliers were invited to independently apply the methods they had learned. In a joint training session with the second and third teams of the Iguanas Munich, they could test their newly acquired skills and experience the inclusive potential of wheelchair basketball firsthand through interaction with players of varying abilities.

The participants rated the workshop very positively: “I definitely had a lot of fun – it’s a fascinating sport, and I can only recommend it,” one participant summarized. “It was amazing to switch perspectives, to slip into the wheelchair, into this sports device – I highly recommend it,” said another. “I found it enriching to literally engage on eye level,” added another participant.

The We will roll you project is a longstanding initiative by High Art Bureau. Since 2018, we have supported the sports club RBB München e.V. in this extraordinary project focused on inclusion. From fundraising to PR and project management consulting, we advocate for social issues and are proud to contribute to such an important project!

Since 2022, as part of this inclusive initiative, refugee children and young people have also been supported in adjusting to their new surroundings and building new friendships.

Wheelchair basketball is the only sport where people with and without disabilities can compete against each other on equal terms. A wheelchair is not a barrier but a unique sports device. However, this is not the only reason why this sport is an Olympic discipline. Another unique aspect of wheelchair basketball is that no language skills are required, as nearly everything is communicated through nonverbal interaction and intuition.

This project was funded by the Children and Youth Foundation of Stadtsparkasse München and resources from the Bavarian State Ministry for Family, Labor, and Social Affairs.