Thank You from the Wheelin' Jazz!!

Greetings from the Wheelin' Jazz and Jr Wheelin' Jazz.

We wrapped up our Halloween Ugly Mug Contest and had a successful run. With your generous help, we were able to raise $900 for the Wheelin' Jazz and nearly $1,600 for the Juniors. All money collected goes directly to the teams.

The winners in the Juniors contest were Aimee Vargas who tallied $375 donated in her name while Eliza McIntosh received over 15,000 hits on her profile. Aimee wins a $100gift certificate and Eliza wins $50.

On the Wheelin' Jazz, Bret Remington garnered the most hits while Layne Mangum had $485 donated in his name. Bret wins the $50 gift certificate and the $100 for Layne will be donated back to the team.

This is very helpful to our programs. With your help, our teams can pay for training facilities, equipment, and travel expenses. Every dollar helps. When you consider that a sports wheelchair costs between $2,000 to $4,500, you can begin to understand that for our teams to take the floor, the costs can be prohibitive. Now also consider that some of our players drive over 1 hour each way to come to practice.

This doesn't even begin to place a value on the therapeutic aspect for the players. Having a sporting activity to participate in builds self esteem, confidence, and a way to compete and stay in shape. You can't put a price tag on that.

Now that you have donated, I ask you to take the next step in your support of the teams and/or your player. If you are on Facebook, go to http://www.facebook.com/wheelinjazz, click "Invite Friends" and share the story of the Wheelin' Jazz with your friend list. If you're not on Facebook, send an email to your friends and ask them to visit www.wheelinjazz.com and follow us there.

I ask you to continue following the Wheelin' Jazz as we will have some fun contests and give-a-ways that you can benefit from. We also have a book and DVD by Wheelin' Jazz founder and teammate, Mike Schlappi, for sale on the webpage. Half your purchase price is donated to the team in your name. These are highly motivational and inspiring. You can't go wrong having them in your house.

Again, thank you for supporting the Wheelin' Jazz and Jr. Wheelin' Jazz.

ksl.com - Spina bifida doesn't keep Utah athlete down

Ryan Nelson plays for the Jr Wheelin' Jazz and is a great tennis player.

ksl.com - Spina bifida doesn't keep Utah athlete down

APX Alarms Wheelchair Game

APX Alarms makes Donation
Feb 27, 2010 - APX Alarm Systems recently invited the Wheelin' Jazz to their facility in Provo, Utah to play a game against the management team. In addition, the APX Family Foundation made a $5,000 donation to Neuroworx to aid the Wheelin' Jazz in their upcoming travels.

First up, Shawn Brenchley wanted to put his managers to the test by having them play against one another. With a trip to Disneyland on the line, they went at it for 20 minutes. Competition was fierce and when the horn sounded, nothing had been decided. It took an extra five minute overtime period to decide the game.

Then the Wheelin' Jazz took the court. After spotting the APX managers a 10 point lead, they realized that these guys were just a bit too athletic and fell to the APX team. Wheelin' Jazz members in attendance included Mike Schlappi, Rod Niemann, Bret Reminton, and Layne Mangum as well as Junior members Sam Blakley, Aimee Vargas, Marshall Lindsay, Jason Hall, and Spencer Heslop.

After the game, Shawn Brenchley presented the donation to Mike Schlappi, member of the Neuroworx board of directors. Mike expressed his sincere appreciation for the gift and gave a short inspirational message to all that attended.

A big thank you to APX Alarms and the APX Family Foundation for the opportunity to share our talents with them, and the generous donation they offered. Please visit the APX website by clicking here.

1st Annual Turkey Shootout

1st Annual Turkey Shootout
Hosted by Salt Lake County Adaptive
Copperview Recreation Center, Midvale Utah
Jeff Burley, SL County Adaptive Director
Layne Mangum, Tournament Director

Championship Division
Friday November 20
Dallas Mavericks 70 vs. Wheelin' Jazz 57
Phoenix Suns 73 vs. Weber State Wildcats DIII 35
Rancho Renegades 67 vs. Wheelin' Jazz 73
Univ of Arizona 90 vs. Weber State Wildcats DIII 17
Saturday November 21
LA Lakers 53 vs. Dallas Maveric1ks 86
LA Clippers 68 vs. Weber State Wildcats DIII 26
Denver Nuggets 53 vs. Rancho Renegades 59
LA Lakers 53 vs. Phoenix Suns 62
Wheelin' Jazz 76 vs. Univ of Arizona 83
Dallas Mavericks 101 vs. LA Clippers 48
Rancho Renegades 61 vs. Weber State Wildcats 28
Denver Nuggets 78 vs. Pheonix Suns 67 OT
Rancho Renegades 54 vs. Univ of Arizona 70
LA Clippers 62 vs. Denver Nuggets 61
Wheelin' Jazz 75 vs. Phoenix Suns 46
Weber State Wildcats DIII 26 vs. LA Lakers 82
Dallas Mavericks 87 vs. Univ of Arizona 56
Wheelin' Jazz 63 vs. LA Lakers 55
Sunday November 22
Rancho Renegades 48 vs. Dallas Mavericks 73
Phoenix Suns 50 vs. LA Clippers 45
Denver Nuggets 61 vs. LA Lakers 64 OT

Weekly Update 11/17/09

Ok, the week of our tournament is here. Friday, teams begin to arrive early in the day all the way into the night. We're excited. It has been about 14 years ... (read more at blog.wheelinjazz.com)

A big shout out to Jeff Burley. Jeff is the Director of Adaptive Sports for Salt Lake County, host of our tournament. What a vision ... (read more at blog.wheelinjazz.com)

We finished up our T-Shirt fundraiser. We raised $3,200 of which, about $950 has to go back into producing the shirts. So we were able to add a net total of $2,250 to our budget. Unfortunately ... (read more at blog.wheelinjazz.com)

Thank you for your continued support. If you get a wild hair, take the donation button for a test drive. Remember we have money saving coupons that really help the team financially. You save big on services like oil changes, and 40% of your purchase goes directly to the team.

Go to www.wheelinjazz.com for a schedule of the upcoming tournament.

Weekly Update 11/07/09

We continue to prepare for our first tournament of the year. Practice sessions are lively. We are highly competitive and it helps everybody to play at a high level.

Our Juniors team is getting better each week. It will be fun to see them debut. It will be a tough weekend for them. They play one game Friday night then come back Saturday with four more games. Good thing they're young. They're going to need their youth.

Our T-Shirt fundraiser is wrapping up. You have maybe 3 more days to get your sponsorship. Go to tshirt.wheelinjazz.com and see the details.

If you would like to help the team and get a great deal, check our COUPONS we have for sale. Visit coupons.wheelinjazz.com for details.

If you're in the giving mood, you can also donate to the team online at wheelinjazz.com. All donations are welcome and you know that every dollar goes to our programs. We are always grateful for any donations that come our way.

Weekly Update 10/28/09

Always good things in Wheelin' Jazz Land. We are into our second week of practice and the team is coming together. We are adding to our numbers and have a few newcomers that will someday be impact players. Right now, it's a learning curve for them but they are learning and coming around.

The preseason poll is out and there's no surprises. The Wheelin' Jazz go into the 2009-10 season as the Number 3 team in the nation. We don't put much into the polls as the teams change from year to year. It does give us a starting point and lets the other teams know to come after us. That should help us stay on top of our game.

Our TSHIRT FUNDRAISER is in full gear. We need help. If you or your company is interested in helping the Wheelin' Jazz, and get a little advertising at the same time, visit tshirt.wheelinjazz.com and sign up. Or contact Layne Mangum at laynemangum@wheelinjazz.com. We'll get you going.

Remember we are hosting a tournament November 20-22. More details will follow but plan on some great hoops. Our new Juniors team will be competing as well as our mens team. We are excited to get the season started.

Also on our webpage, we have AWESOME coupons that will knock your socks off. Most of the coupons are auto services at great prices. There's a beauty salon coupon in the Orem area. Go to coupons.wheelinjazz.com and check out what we have. Remember, the team keeps 40% of each coupon sold.

Thanks for keeping up with the team. We're lucky to have the best fans on the PLANET! GO WHEELIN' JAZZ!

Newest Member of the Wheelin' Jazz Arrives

Congrats to Rodney and Sara. Landon Niemann born 8:03am. weighing 8 pounds 2 ounces 19 & 1/2" long. That was a long night. Everything is good.

Weekly Update

Well, we had our Jazz Halftime Exhibition on Thursday. We had a great time and were very happy that the Weber State Wheelin' Wildcats could come down and help us out. We were able to present Sam Blakely with his Gold Medal to a very enthusiastic crowd.

Friday night saw us at the National Recreation and Parks Association convention for their big 'end of show' party. We played a few scrimmages to show the large crowd what wheelchair basketball is all about. Then it was time for the participants to get in the chairs and give it a go. Everybody had a good time and the team was presented with a BRAND NEW SPORTS CHAIR from Invacare.

Our practices officially start Tuesday Oct 20. The Juniors and Beginning adults will start at 5:00pm while the Championship Division adults begin at 6:30pm. Practices are at Copperview Recreation Center in Midvale. The address is 8446 South Harrison Street (300 West). The public is welcome.

Our T-Shirt Fundraiser is in full swing. We are looking for sponsors, business or individual, that would like to help the team and get a little publicity as well. Here's how it works. There are three levels of sponsorship. For $100, you get your name on the back of the T-Shirt. For $250, you get your name and logo. For $500, you get your name and logo on one of the sleeves. All proceeds go to the Neuroworx Adaptive Sports programs and the Wheelin' Jazz. If you would like to learn more, respond to this message or email info@wheelinjazz.com. You can also begin your sponsorship online at tshirt.wheelinjazz.com.

If you'd like to help the Wheelin' Jazz, please visit www.wheelinjazz.com. You can donate or take a look at our amazing coupons. Thank you for your consideration.

Sam Blakely Brings Home the Gold

Sam Blakely, the newest member of the Wheelin' Jazz family, recently returned from Melbourne Australia where he competed in the Australian Junior Paralympic Wheelchair Basketball Tournament. Sam played a key role on the team.

Team USA played seven games winning them all and coming home with the Gold Medal. The Wheelin' Jazz are proud of Sam as he becomes the youngest member of the Wheelin' Jazz with a Basketball Gold Medal in International competition. Sam is 16 years old and a sophomore in high school.

For more information on Sam and the Wheelin' Jazz, please visit wheelinjazz.com