Father's Day: Matt and his son Lewis on being active together
This weekend it's Father’s Day, when we are all encouraged to take the time to stop and appreciate the hard work of the nation’s dads.
The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) knows just how vital the role of supporters, such as parents, play in helping disabled people to be more active.
Our own research, 'Supporting me to be active', shows the impact supporters can have on disabled people’s participation. Key to their influence is the relationship the supporter has with the disabled person.
And who is a better example of a supporter than a father?
Below, Matt Brewster from Devon. discusses adapting to life in a wheelchair and remaining fit and active with the help of his family and, in particular, 10-year-old son Lewis.
From all of us at EFDS, Happy Father’s Day!
Matt’s story:
It's fair to say that having been a disabled dad for eight years (since my condition was diagnosed) has been a challenge… but a positive one!
As a father of four, with my first three children I was able to do everything your average everyday non-disabled dad can.
However, with my fourth child, son Lewis, I was finding things difficult from when he reached the age of three. I was fit enough to play football with him and so on, but my body wasn't letting me participate fully.
As my condition progressed it became a case of adapting activities, and as I introduced myself to disability sport it was nice to get my kids involved too – they’ve all been there to support me in one way or another during all of my pursuits.
From the days when I used to enjoy taking part in wheelchair road races along the streets of Devon and Cornwall, to my becoming a strength athlete, I’ve continued to remain an active adult.
My career highlight to date is still my para rowing world record over 100km on Red Nose Day 2014 at Coombe Dean School in Plymouth. My daughter, who was 13 at the time, acted as a coach and mentor for the whole 10 hours. She kept me going in the many moments when I hit the wall, especially when I reached 47km and felt like I was going nowhere.
I've always tried to make things a family “team” effort as much as possible. Even today Lewis acts as a timekeeper and motivator and calls himself my "manager" when I enter competitions like the 2017 Britain’s Disabled Strongman Competition.
Day-to-day Lewis and I always find some way of amusing ourselves when it comes to sport and physical activity, from swimming to taking my wheelchair to skate parks, and from playing basketball with him in the wheelchair to wheelchair tennis or even a spot of beach football on crutches - I can do a mean chip of the football with my crutch!
Sport is a very major part of mine and my family’s life. In many ways, disability has given back more than it's taken away.
Lewis’ story:
Me and my dad have lots of fun together playing sports, such as basketball, football (often penalty shoot-outs) and going to the skate park.
We normally play together on Wembury Park in Plymouth, which is very fun.
We've also done fun-runs together and Dad took part in a rowing competition where I was the coach. It took a while to get there, but we had each other to keep company. I've also been in competitions where my dad was supporting me.
We always make each other laugh when playing sports at Wembury. I always ask to play sports with him on the weekends so we both get to go down to the park together. Sometimes it's packed, but we always get space.
We love playing sports together!
