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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

Jemison native Garrett Guthrie has found a new passion on the basketball court that is truly proving that the only disability in life is a bad attitude. The sophomore recently started playing wheelchair basketball and landed on one of the best National Wheelchair Basketball Association teams in the Lakeshore Lakers out of the Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham. A few months into it, Guthrie is having the time of his life.

“I have enjoyed it more than anything,” Guthrie said. “It has been a really different experience.”

Guthrie was born with cerebral palsy and got his first wheelchair in elementary school and used it for long distances. Eventually, his condition got better and he outgrew the wheelchair. However, as Guthrie got older and started to get taller and weigh more, his condition got worse. He has also turned his attention more to wheelchair basketball than walking and physical therapy.

“If I had to pick between walking and doing physical therapy every day or playing basketball in a wheelchair, I would definitely pick basketball,” Guthrie said.

Guthrie is currently a sophomore at Bibb County High School, and as you can imagine, the opportunities for those with physical disabilities are limited in high school sports. He always thought it was cool to see other people in wheelchairs being able to play sports. One day at one of Guthrie’s routine doctor’s appointment, one of his doctors mentioned the wheelchair basketball program at the Lakeshore Foundation.

“I thought ‘That would be cool,’” Guthrie said. “That same day we rode over there, they put me in a chair that day and I have not looked back.”

The Lakeshore Foundation has a deeply rooted history in Birmingham in providing opportunities for those with physical disabilities that dates back before The Great Depression. What is known today as the Lakeshore Foundation was started in the 1920s during the tuberculosis epidemic that was sweeping across the United States. The Jefferson Tuberculosis Sanatorium was established in response to the rising cases in Birmingham and it officially opened in December 1925.

The Sanatorium then transitioned to the Lakeshore Rehabilitation Hospital in 1973 and student intern Michael Stephens went from Master’s student to Administrator for the hospital. Stephens noticed patients would leave the hospital but return a few months later with complications from a lack of physical activity.  Stephens was able to expand the hospital from a 100-bed rehabilitation hospital to a multi-facility system that added services at each stage of rehab and recovery for patients.

In 1984, the Birmingham Chariots were the first wheelchair basketball team established in Birmingham and it was developed out of the Lakeshore Rehabilitation Hospital. Soon, basketball was joined by adapted sports like tennis, swimming, track and more, and in 1984 the move to put those programs under what is now known as the Lakeshore Foundation was made.

The NWBA teams are comprised of high school aged kids, but the teams represent the cities they are based in — Atlanta, Birmingham, Houston, New Orleans, etc. The Lakeshore Lakers is the varsity wheelchair basketball team based out of the Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham that Guthrie is currently playing on in his first season of the sport, and they compete against other NWBA teams from across the country.

On March 1-2, the Lakers competed amongst 20 of the top prep and varsity division wheelchair basketball teams in the country at the 2025 NWBA Southeastern Junior Division Conference Championship in Birmingham. Guthrie and the Lakers won the varsity division of the tournament, and established themselves at No. 3 in the NWBA Junior Division Varsity Rankings.

“My whole life I have loved basketball, and it has been a part of my life,” Guthrie said. “When I got (to the Lakeshore Foundation), I was like ‘There are other people living their life that are just regular people who just happen to not get around as well.’ It was pretty cool.”

When it comes to training and practicing for wheelchair basketball, Guthrie mixes wheelchair specific training with traditional drills you see in stand-up basketball. Cardio is a big point of emphasis like pushing objects and doing miles around the track in their chairs, but layups lines and other traditional basketball drills are added in to help the players get better at their craft.

Guthrie said he has enjoyed playing wheelchair basketball so much that he is aspiring to take his new passion to the college level, which is very possible with two high caliber programs at both The University of Alabama and Auburn University. Guthrie grew up a massive Auburn fan, and if he had a choice between the two programs, it would not be too hard for him to choose.

“That is the goal for everybody that plays,” Guthrie said. “Maybe not at Alabama, but somewhere.”

While opportunities in sports are limited for those with physical disabilities, finding a passion and outlet like Guthrie has given him the opportunity to not only play the sport he has always loved, but also meet other people with similar situations as his own. Before getting to the Lakeshore Foundation, Guthrie did not know many other people with physical disabilities. Now, he has a whole community around him that sees the world and everyday life the same as he does — and those same supporters will be cheering for him on the basketball court as well.

“Getting to play a sport I have always loved … That is really what I have always wanted.”