Program director and coach Jacob Counts spoke with WOSU Columbus Public Radio about the new UC Adaptive Athletics program that gives the opportunity for athletes with disabilities to compete in collegiate sports.

Counts said the need for a college-level program became more apparent as the adaptive sports community has grown in Cincinnati. UC faculty members Victoria Heasley, MeMe Earnest-Stanley and Danny Meyer were among the cofounders of nonprofit The Bridge Adaptive Sports & Recreation along with Counts and connected with Heidi Pettyjohn, executive director of UC Accessibility Resources, to work toward launching the program.

"They saw the need of a collegiate adaptive sports program, because we were getting to a point in Cincinnati where we're producing a lot of really good high school athletes and then sending them off to other colleges like Arizona and Alabama and Michigan and Illinois,” Counts told WOSU. “So, we were basically exporting our talent."

The program has launched with adaptive track and field and adaptive tennis with four student athletes, and Counts said he is hoping to expand to around 30 student athletes and potentially other sports within the next five years.

"It's really important to give us disabled athletes the same opportunities that they're able-bodied peers have,” said Counts. “College is definitely a great place for a young person to grow academically and as a person, but it's also crucial for athletic success. Those are years where athletes really develop their skills and prepare to take the next step.”

Listen to or read the WOSU interview and story.

Read more about UC Adaptive Athletics.

Featured photo at top: Left to right: UC student-athletes Jaime Mazzi and Logan Cover, UC Adaptive Athletics Coach Jacob Counts and student-athlete Seth Miller. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand.