Cincinnati Dragons Wheelchair Basketball

The glory of youth wheelchair basketball was first brought to Greater Cincinnati in the Fall of 2014 and the Dragons have been straight ballin ever since! Our players get the opportunity to compete in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association’s Junior Division. During the season the Dragons travel throughout the midwest and beyond testing their skills against other junior wheelchair basketball teams. The Dragons field a fourteen and under team (also known affectionately as the ‘Preperonis’) in the NWBA’s Prep division and a highschool and under team in the NWBA’s Varsity division. Our players range from elementary to highschool ages and all experience some type of disability that prevents them from playing traditional basketball. The relatively young organization of the Dragons is on the rise, finishing in the top five in the nation the last two years, and furiously grinding to put themselves in a position to compete for, and ultimately win a national title in the 2020-21 season! The Upcoming 2021-2022 season is sure to be great one as the dragons defend their title!

The Greater Cincinnati Adapted Sports Club is a 501(c)3 organization powered 100% by volunteers. Our goal is to provide the Dragons with a top notch athletic experience that includes equipment that allow them to reach their potential and the ability to travel to tournaments in order to find the best competition the NWBA’s Junior Division has to offer. We’ll never let money become an obstacle for a player to participate and you can help!

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JACOB COUNTS HAS PLAYED BASKETBALL SINCE 1999 ON FIVE DIFFERENT CONTINENTS and FOUNDED THE GREATER CINCINNATI ADAPTED SPORTS CLUB IN THE FALL OF 2014.

“In 1993 I got injured in a train accident and lost my ability to play traditional sports. In 1999 I found wheelchair basketball and my life has been truly amazing ever since. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunities I’ve received and the folks who have helped me along the way. For me, coaching the Dragons isn’t only a ton of fun but also a way to pay it forward to the next generation of players.”

Jacob started playing wheelchair basketball for a local team called the Cincinnati Slammers and quickly excelled at the sport on a regional level. He was then recruited to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he was part of three consecutive NWBA Collegiate Division Titles. From there Jacob had a four-year stint with the US National Team from 2007-2010 and competed in the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games. In 2008, Jacob began a professional career in the Italian League, where he played for five years in the cities of Rome and Taranto.

When Jacob retired from professional wheelchair basketball, he moved back to his home city of Covington, KY and was looking for a new challenge off the court. Realizing there was a lack of competitive sport opportunities for children with similar disabilities and no junior wheelchair basketball team, Jacob created the Greater Cincinnati Adapted Sports Club and their flagship program the Cincinnati Dragons, a youth wheelchair basketball team.

“I feel I’ve led a pretty charmed life which can be hard for people to imagine when they see I use a wheelchair but I really have. I think in large part this is due to my participation in the sport of wheelchair basketball. This hasn't always been the case, in 1993 when I became disabled, there were no opportunities in our area for kids to play wheelchair sports. This left me as a young person without that touchstone of sports that many of us grow up with and use as a tool to develop who we will become as adults. I knew other kids were still experiencing this and in my mind that left me with no choice but to start the Dragons!”

Jacob’s luck has continued with the Dragons. They’ve been able to recruit players with great talents, both on and off the court. The Dragons have received a tremendous amount of coaching support from other Paralympians as well. This started with Jake Williams during the 2014-15 season, then Ian Lynch from 2015 to 2020 and most recently the addition of Jaime Mazzi in 2020. The Dragons have also benefited from an army of volunteers behind then, headed up by Mike Haake and MeMe Earnest; as Jacob Counts observed, “they’ve been instrumental in helping us ballers figure out all the things the GCASC needs to take care of off the court!”

“By far the most humbling part of this chapter of my life has been the financial support we’ve received from the community. As coaches, we always come back to our philosophy of striving to develop our players into great people and providing them with a top-notch athletic experience; if we focus on that, the winning will take care of itself. This has proven to be true, but it hasn’t been cheap: quality sports wheelchairs run about two and half grand a piece and we can’t play the team down the road- because there is no team down the road. We have to travel on weekends across the country to find the best competition for our squad. However, individuals and businesses in our community have always provided the funds we need to give our players a great athletic experience; I can honestly say that money has never prevented a Dragon from being part of our team and that is thanks to you! So go ahead, click that donate button! It’ll feel good and make you immediately cooler (not that you needed it but it never hurts) in our eyes- and you can rest assured that our all volunteer crew will get the most bang for your buck!”

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