WINDHAM, N.Y. – The Adaptive Sports Foundation’s Warriors in Motion® (WIM) program will host its golf event next week from September 13-15.
The Warriors in Motion program provides participating injured United States servicemen and women with a basic knowledge and practice of wellness and the importance of lifelong healthy living. All Warriors in Motion programs are goal oriented and empower the warrior to take charge of their own fitness and wellness.
This won’t be the first WIM event that United States Navy veteran Robert Goo will attend, as he has been a part of this program for a few years now. “Golf is something that really keeps me grounded with some of my anxiety and stress and other things that have been bothering me,” Goo said about the sport. “I think I’m a well-rounded golfer in every aspect of the game. I’ve been teaching my five-year old granddaughter and now she’s got the rhythm down to slow her backswing and go through the ball. Now she’s been making some putts that excited her and excited me.”
The WIM golf program is a little different than the other WIM events the ASF has had this summer. Instead of the typical eight participants, the ASF is expecting 16 warriors and several volunteers to arrive at Windham Country Club at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday. When everyone arrives, the group will have lunch at the course before the club pro Jesse Muller and his team will teach the warriors some golf techniques and tricks all afternoon. The warriors will then leave the course at 4:30 p.m. to check into their hotel before dinner, which will be served at the Gwen Allard Adaptive Sports Center at 6 p.m.
Wednesday will be a full day of golf, as the ASF shuttle bus will pick the veterans up from their hotels at 9 a.m. and head right to the course. The golfers will be swinging their clubs all day from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. with a lunch in the middle. There will be more instruction and pointers taught throughout the session before it’s time for them to head back to their rooms and unwind. Dinner will again be served at 6 p.m. back at the ASF lodge.
The final day of the event will begin at 9 a.m. when participants meet at the country club. After everyone arrives and they’re ready, they’ll be heading out onto the links again for some course play before lunch at 11:30 a.m. After they’re done eating, the WIM team will then say goodbyes and depart the country club.
“I haven’t done any programs at all this summer, so I’m looking forward to next week,” Goo said, looking ahead to the event. “I’m looking forward to seeing some of the guys and girls that I haven’t seen in quite a while. There are times where you feel like you’re by yourself, but meeting other veterans in these adaptive sports programs, I’ve made some pretty good friends. It’s a certain kind of bond that military people have that civilians may not get.”
Thanks to a generous private donation, the ASF will be able to provide all meals, hotel rooms, snacks, water, sports drinks, sunscreen, bug spray and ponchos (if necessary). If you’d like to donate to the Adaptive Sports Foundation’s Warriors in Motion program, or any of the other programs the ASF has to offer, click here.