Harris County – Houston Sports Authority Insider
Gateway to Gold - an event that helps create new Paralympic athletes - is coming to Houston
Sep 28, 2018, 3:24 pm
Karin Korb has both been a participant and coach. Flickr.com
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Now that the Astros have clinched the AL West and the Rockets are about to kick off the preseason, visions of another World Series and another run at the NBA Finals are the talk of this championship city.
But before you get too deep into dreaming about those championship runs, we want to remind you of two other Houston national champions you may not know about - Houston’s TIRR Memorial Hermann Junior Hotwheels basketball team and TIRR’s Junior Hotwheels softball team.
Yes, Houston produces national champions in adaptive sports too. You’ve likely seen video clips of the teams wheeling around the court and the diamond. They’re young, they’re fast and, in some cases, good enough to get college scholarships in their respective sports.
But have you wondered how amputees and the disabled found their way into adaptive sports and the Paralympic pipeline?
The first step, for many of them, is Gateway To Gold, a free program that changes lives.
Houston will host Gateway to Gold next Friday and Saturday at Turner Stadium. Launched in 2013, Gateway to Gold is a nationwide athlete identification and development strategy that exposes Americans with Paralympic-eligible impairments to Paralympic sport. And, to those who become elite athletes, the program leads them into the athlete pipeline for the U.S. Paralympic Team.
The annual Houston event is among the best in the country. It’s free to all children and adults with physical disabilities or visual impairments and allows participants to try out sports like wheelchair tennis, track and field and power lifting and learn about them on a beginner or intermediate level. They can also talk to coaches and athletes, test their skills and learn more about adaptive programs such as those at TIRR Memorial Hermann.
“What’s happening at Gateway to Gold is where it all starts,’’ said Peggy Turner, TIRR adapted sports coordinator.
Participants will have the chance to meet and be coached by some of the country’s top Paralympians, including three-time Paralympian Scot Severn, two-time Paralympian Karin Korb and Paralympic coach Wendy Gumbert and her husband Saul Mendoza, a six-time Paralympian from Mexico. In addition, Paralympian John Register, the USOC’s Paralympics Associate Director, Community and Veterans Programs, will be on hand.
Gumbert, who is not disabled, coached the U.S. Paralympic Rugby team to the first gold medal given in the sport in 2000. She also coaches track and field.
Severn was struck by lightning while serving with the US Army Reserve and was thrown more than 10 feet. The 50-year-old is one of the USA’s top shot put and discus throwers.
Korb was injured in a vault accident at the age of 17 and was introduced to wheelchair tennis 10 years later. At 50, she’s no longer competing, but does coach and said it was important for attendees to interact with disabled coaches.
“That’s one of the things that makes it so powerful and impactful,’’ Turner said
And, athletes do not have to know anything about the sports or sports they want to test out.
As Korb said, “My job is to elevate and empower whatever that person shows up with.’’
Turner said TIRR’s programs are all about inclusion and independence and Gateway To Gold teaches both of those. And they’ll be able to spread the news about an added incentive – equal pay for Paralympians.
The USOC just announced earlier this week at payouts for U.S. medalists at the Paralympic Games will be equal to those of Olympic medalists. Paralympic medalists will now earn $37,500 for each gold medal, $22,500 for each silver medal and $15,000 for each bronze. The raise will be retroactive to the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, where US athletes led the medal count with 36.
“Paralympians are an integral part of our athlete community and we need to ensure we’re appropriately rewarding their accomplishments,” USOC CEO Sarah Hirshland said.
“Our financial investment in U.S. Paralympics and the athletes we serve is at an all-time high, but this was one area where a discrepancy existed in our funding model that we felt needed to change.
“I’m thrilled that we’ve brought parity and equality to our Operation Gold program and we're eager to continue to build on Team USA’s success in PyeongChang.”
Turner expects more than a few lives will change next weekend by just interacting with the coaches and understanding that disabilities don’t mean an end to competition, rather a chance to find an outlet through adaptive sports.
Or at the very least, they’ll open a door to an array of amazing possibilities.
For more information on Gateway to Gold, go to www.houstonsports.org
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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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