Junior Hawks wheelchair basketball team prepares for new season in Atlanta

Wheelchair basketball is giving young athletes with physical disabilities a place to compete and find community.

The BlazeSports Junior Hawks wheelchair basketball program in Atlanta allows athletes to compete in the fast-paced adaptive sport.

Braxton Munkel, 17, has played for the Junior Hawks since he was 9.

"I've been disabled from birth," Munkel said. "I was born with leptomeningeal, a type of tumor that's on my back. I have the ability to walk, but it's not anywhere near the capacity that I would need to be fully functional. So I rely on a wheelchair for 99% of my day."

Munkel said the program provides both a social and competitive outlet.

"It gives you the community that you really need," Munkel said. "I'm the only person with a disability at my school. So having this environment where everybody is in the same boat, it really gives you something to look forward to on a weekly basis."

The Junior Hawks program gives young athletes with physical disabilities an opportunity to play competitive basketball. The team competes against programs from across the country.

Coach Jason Joines became involved with the program through his son, Joshua, who played for the Junior Hawks before joining the Division I wheelchair basketball program at the University of Illinois.

"My son was born with spina bifida and started playing for BlazeSports when he was 13," Joines said. "At first, I was just a parent watching."

Joines said he continued coaching because of the program's effect on its athletes.

"The thing that keeps bringing me back is how important this organization is to helping these kids become fully independent members of society," he said.

For 13-year-old Titus Steere, the sport also provides a social and competitive outlet.

"I have a mitochondrial disorder," Stere said. "It really affects my energy. I'll get seizures, migraines, cramps, aches, nausea, vomiting and headaches. It's rough."

Stere described joining the team as life-changing.

"It has really helped me become a better version of myself," he said. "I think the friendships I've made along the way help me. It helps me get some energy out."

The Junior Hawks' season begins in October.

BlazeSports America was founded as a legacy organization of the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta.