Wooster wheelchair basketball team wins fifth straight state title
The state champion Wooster wheelchair basketball team consisted of Nathan Pasteur, front left, Ella Wirth, Makayla Maxwell, Austin Wilcox; back row, Zack Gerrick, Ryan Hannan, assistant coach Greg Johnson, head coach Brett Followay, Madyson Followay and Colin Harig.
Wooster senior Colin Harig sat back in his wheelchair and wrestled with a thought. After helping the Generals wheelchair basketball team to a fifth straight state championship, Harig contemplated what it meant to be a part of the program for that entire run.
“The Followays actually changed my life, honestly,” said Harig, who scored four points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds in an 18-9 win over Austintown-Fitch in the state title game at Kent State’s MAC Center on Feb. 25. “If I never had played wheelchair basketball at all, I would just probably be home not getting out of the house at all. Since I can’t walk, I might as well go in the chair and go fast, right?”
Fellow senior Ryan Hannan said representing Wooster on the basketball court has been a blessing.
“It’s been everything for me,” said Hannan, who led the Generals (13-0) with eight points and six steals in the final. “Over the past eight years playing, I had a chance to represent my school that I didn’t know I would be able to have going into my time at Wooster. It’s been really exciting. It gave me something to do every day, something to look forward to.”
Lisa Followay founded Adaptive Sports Ohio in 2009 with the idea everyone deserves a chance to play. Lisa and Brett Followay were inspired by their son Casey, who was born with spina bifida and went on to become an OHSAA state champion track athlete.
Hannan and Harig also have spina bifida, which is a condition that affects the spine.
Brett Followay is director of equipment operations for ASO and coaches the wheelchair basketball team. The Followays’ daughter Madyson was the third senior on the 2023 team and led the Generals to another perfect season.
“It’s bittersweet obviously because I have my three seniors graduating, so it’s the end of the era,” coach Followay said. “We do have a lot of younger players, though, who have that good foundation.”
Adaptive Sports Ohio’s community-based sports are open to all ages including disabled veterans and multiple disability types but vary by location. There are program managers available to help find the best fit for each individual.
For Ohio high school teams, students grades 1-12 are permitted to play wheelchair basketball. Each team is permitted three able-bodied players who can each score a maximum six points per game. Only two ABs can play at a time. They help make sure teams have enough players to compete and also bring together students with disabilities with able-bodied peers.
“Not just students, but basically anybody with a physical disability is often pushed to the corner, pushed to the side,” coach Followay said. “They’re not really included in everyday life for the most part.
“For them to have their able-bodied peers come join them on this team, it shows them, ‘Hey, you’re not alone. There’s people out there that care about you, that think about you and just want to be there to help.’”
Wooster prides itself on having the best chair skills in the state, Followay said. It certainly paid dividends in the state final.
The Generals and Falcons (13-2) entered the title game both averaging 30 points a game, but Followay implemented a suffocating full-court press that forced 26 turnovers. They limited Ohio Player of the Year Franklin Nicola to six points, half his average.
Hannan, Harig and Madyson Followay were named All-Ohio while Brett Followay was honored as Coach of the Year.
Also contributing to the team were freshman Zack Gerrick, eighth-grader Makayla Maxwell, sixth-graders Ella Wirth and Nathan Pasteur, and fourth-grader Austin Wilcox. Greg Johnson was the assistant coach. Gerrick and Pasteur joined Madyson as the teams ABs.
Coach Followay had the luxury of starting the string of state titles with Evan Heller, who’s now playing at Auburn. Brett said he actually had to start coaching after Heller, the program’s all-time leading scorer, graduated in 2020.
The 2023 seniors will be extremely tough to replace, though. Hannan and Madyson Followay had been with the squad since its inception in 2015 while Harig joined in 2017.
“Ryan is cool as a cucumber,” Followay said. “He never gets rattled, whether it’s here in basketball or in sled hockey, where he plays a tough position as the goalie.
“We could always count on him on offense or defense. He’s a super great kid. Hustle is the word that best describes Colin. He’s the fastest player in the league, a good overall player. Madyson was kind of our facilitator. We started part-way through last year letting her bring the ball down because she can make those right decisions and she opened everything up.”
Madyson Followay said it’s been rewarding to see her teammates gain confidence over the years.
“It’s a legacy,” she said. “We’ve won five championships and only lost one game, and all these kids have been here so long. I liked that I could help kids build their confidence. Seeing them on the court smiling and giving them the ball so they can shoot over and over again is a great feeling. People are gonna look back and know that Wooster set an example.”
Wooster won its previous titles in 2022, 2020, 2019 and 2018. The 2020-21 season was canceled due to the COVID pandemic.
Ohio’s graduation rate for students with disabilities is 51.4% compared to 82.1% overall. Adaptive Sports Ohio said access to interscholastic sports can help students with disabilities socially, physically, emotionally and academically.
That’s certainly been proven out year after year in the ASO program at Wooster, where the students with disabilities and ABs have thrived working together.
Hannan, who carries a 3.9 GPA, plans to attend Akron and will keep playing basketball for fun.
Harig hadn’t thought much about going to college but was recently contacted by a school in Pennsylvania about playing wheelchair basketball. He’s giving the offer strong consideration.
Madyson Followay has a 3.75 GPA and plans to study criminal justice at Stark State.
Each of the three seniors will take the lessons learned at Wooster — in the classroom and on the court — wherever they go in life.
“The Followays have been amazing,” Hannan said, “super helpful. I’m not sure where I’d be without them.”