Seelenfreund, a guard on her wheelchair basketball team, also participates in track and swimming.
May 15, 2008
Emily Seelenfreund suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta, more familiarly known as “brittle bone” disease. It’s a collagen deficiency which makes her bones more susceptible to breakage.
You might think that this bright high school senior, who recently received a full academic scholarship to the University of Alabama, might exhibit a bit more caution in her choice of activities. But come the fall semester, Seelenfreund will take to the hardwood court as one of her school’s premier wheelchair basketball players.
“I’ve been pretty lucky so far,” said Seelenfreund in a telephone interview with NJ Jewish News. “I’ve only had one break [an arm] while playing…a few years ago. But I take it a little more carefully. You have to weight the risks versus the benefits.”
Alabama is one of only four schools in the country to offer a women’s and men’s collegiate wheelchair basketball program. The Crimson Tide women finished the 2007-08 season with a record of 32-4 and made it to the national championship game; they have finished in the “final four” in three of the last five years.
Seelenfreund has long been involved in athletics. During a visit to her doctor as a five-year-old, she met a patient who was involved in wheelchair track and field, which she took up and enjoyed for several years. A few of the kids on her team also played wheelchair basketball. She soon fell in love with and excelled at that sport, too.
She signed her letter of intent to attend UA at a small ceremony at her school, The Hudson School in Hoboken on May 1. In a press release, Margaret Stran, UA’s wheelchair basketball coach, said the incoming freshman would be a huge asset to the team.
Emily Seelenfreund signed her letter of intent to attend the University of Alabama in a ceremony at The Hudson School in Hoboken. Photos courtesy Rachelle Grossman
“Emily is an excellent player. She’s smart, very fast, and makes all of her teammates better. I think some people underestimate her because of her size but she really fits in with our team and I expect her to contribute right away…and we feel very fortunate that she has decided to study and compete in wheelchair basketball here at Alabama.”
Because of a dearth of opponents, the women’s team also plays against men. “The best male players are always going to be better than the best female players,” Seelenfreund said. “But because of the way the classification system works, men and women are more on an equal level, so some of the best women’s teams can beat the more medium men’s teams.”
Seelenfreund, 17, is considering a career in elementary education. For several years she has worked as a summer camp counselor at the United Synagogue of Hoboken, where her mother, Rachelle Grossman, is director of the preschool. Her father, Bob, is an appellate public defender in Newark. The family lives in West Orange and attends Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel in South Orange.
“[We] are very proud of Emily,” said Rachelle Grossman in an e-mail to NJJN. “Watching her play is always exciting because she is quick on the court and very competitive. We are thrilled that she is going to the University of Alabama. She is getting to continue playing basketball, which she loves. The coaches and other athletes are all very warm and welcoming. And the academic scholarship…is incredible news for us.”
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