Sarah Adam is heading to Paris to play a little murderball.
Actually, the former Naperville resident is heading to Paris to play on the U.S. Paralympic wheelchair rugby team — the only woman playing in the full-contact wheelchair sport.
The players like to refer to it as murderball.
“Murderball breaks down stereotypes,” Adam said. “People see us in wheelchairs and think we’re going to take it easy. No. We’re going to be elite athletes and we will be playing hard.
“The sponsors weren’t too happy with calling it murderball but the players love it. It captures very well the sport that we play and the mentality that we play with so often. It’s a good representation of what we do.”
The Paralympics take place Aug. 28-Sept. 8 and Adam is looking forward to trying to help her country win a gold medal.
Adam, who played softball for Naperville North High School and as a graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2016. She lives in St. Louis now and is a professor of occupational therapy art at St. Louis University.
She tried rugby/murderball in 2019 and found her athletic calling. She not only made history by being the first woman on the U.S. team, she is also one of the top offensive players on the squad.
Adam said she is glad she can serve as a dual role model.
“It’s certainly an honor,” she said. “Right now, there are a lot of highlights on female sports and growing women’s sports. I’m just a small piece of that puzzle and it’s really exciting.
“It’s important not only to have female athletes for kids to look up to but for females with disabilities to look up to. People who look like them are playing a sport.”
There may not be a ton of females in wheelchairs who want to mix it up in a physical sport with a nickname of murderball, but for those who do, Adam is there for them.
“It’s a niche area, but it’s just as important to have those role models out there,” Adam said. “I hope I can be a role model for a little girl who want to play sports and wants show that you can play whatever sport you want to play.”
Because Adam has been a force on the team in other international competitions, it seemed like a foregone conclusion she was going to make it to the Paralympics for the United States.
But until that 12-athlete team was announced, she didn’t want to take anything for granted.
“There are a lot of great athletes who were vying for a spot,” Adam said. “I felt good. I was on a couple of the main lines that are out there on the court.
“But there is always that little anxious feeling when the team is being announced.”
The Zoom call announcing the 12 team members came in late April and when everyone is finally able to get together in July, they will celebrate.
Adam said she played in Paris last year and the arena was sold out and loud. She is expecting more of the same this year.
With six players on the team with Paralympic experience and six, including Adam, without, it will be interesting to see how soon the team can mesh, she said.
Adam likes the United States’ chances for success. Some teams choose to go with two offensive players, she said, but the U.S. will have three.
“We have three ball carriers on the court flying around and moving the ball up court,” Adam said. “We have a fantastic lineup and can rival any team out there.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
