Back on My Feet After a Decade: Erion Moore II
Former Southern Oregon University basketball star and WAS scholarship recipient Erion Moore II recounts his experience shredding The Bird.
“…for the first time in nearly a decade I was able to participate in an activity on my feet and feel safe, balanced, and in control (while learning on top of it all).”
After my first time back on skis last April, I didn’t think a trip to Snowbird to ski with Wasatch Adaptive Sports could get any better, but it did. Although I have contractions at all my joints and hunched over due to Scleroderma, the team at Wasatch Adaptive Sports and I decided that standing up to ski was a possibility. Thanks to a thorough assessment and great instruction, I gradually improved over the next few days. The best part about this experience was being able to say that in the first time in nearly a decade I was able to participate in an activity on my feet and feel safe, balanced, and in control (while learning on top of it all).
After a couple years being active through adaptive sports and rehab, I am now able to gain some mobility and strength making it easier to progress in a sport. This second time around with Wasatch Adaptive Sports has allowed for aggressive lessons during which I made great improvement. I feel that through the coaching and examples with the instructors, each day we made a lot of progress. There was the first day altitude sickness which I never knew about, but everyone took care of me. After that, each day we gained distance and a new skill set. The first day, we took breaks three times on Chickadee (the beginner slope) on each run. As time went on until the last day of lessons, we made it straight through each run with no stops. This was a HUGE improvement for me and very fulfilling and satisfying. Four years ago after a stem cell transplant procedure, my rehab was to get out of the bed, to the door, and back which took all of 45 minutes. I feel like in years to come that if someone says they are going skiing, I would be able to join and actually get on the snow instead of hanging in the lodge. Through Wasatch Adaptive Sports ski lessons, I have far exceeded expectations of goals, achievements and accomplishments. I hope that everyone who comes through this program feels the same way.
After my second week at Snowbird, I have repeatedly told family and friends as well as new people I meet that adaptive skiing is my new favorite sport and that one day in the future I would love to compete at least one time. Win or lose, it would be the thought of saying I was there and that Wasatch Adaptive Sports helped me achieve that dream. The scholarship I received encouraged me to continue training in hopes of one day reaching my goal. Not only in skiing but physical gains and improvements. Thanks to being granted a full scholarship, Wasatch Adaptive Sports helped relieve my financial burdens allowing me to fly to Utah and learn and enjoy skiing. The generosity of this program has inspired me to tell more people about adaptive skiing, Wasatch Adaptive Sports, and other disabled sports that I am learning more about. I hope one day in the future I am able to help and inspire other disabled athletes financially or by motivation, just as WAS has helped me. Thank you again for your help and support. It is always fun, and it would be a great honor to come out and continue to ski with you guys in the future.
Sincerely,
Erion Moore II