Finding her path

Aimee Bruder’s wheelchair might give some people the impression that she’s “fragile.” But that notion won’t last long for anyone who watches her play wheelchair rugby.

Bruder has spastic diplegia cerebral palsy and has lived in Birmingham since 2002, including the last five years in Five Points South. Despite the condition that causes depth perception problems and muscle tightness throughout her body, especially her legs, Bruder describes herself as a “pretty active person” and has tried everything from cooking and sewing to shooting and Paralympic swimming.

“I think it’s how you look at life,” she said. “Nobody in this world’s perfect. Therefore, everybody has to adapt to something. My adaptations just happen to be physical barriers.”

She also has a knack for foretelling the weather based on how her body feels.

“I can beat James Spann any day,” Bruder said.

An Indiana native, Bruder came to Birmingham looking for jobs in a city where she could be independent — without worrying about snow getting in the way of her wheelchair. A local friend took her to the Lakeshore Foundation, which had only been open a month or so, while she was in town in late 2001. That’s where Bruder would eventually get a job in the membership department, where she still works 15 years later.

In that time, Bruder said, she has seen the Lakeshore Foundation in Homewood grow from a brand-new facility with about 500 members to more than 5,000 members today. 

“The word has gotten out, to say the least,” Bruder said.

Her Five Points apartment is laid out so that things she frequently needs are close by, since Bruder is only 4-foot-9 even when standing, and she does ride the bus due to her depth perception problems.

“Everything that I use on a daily basis is pretty much from my chin down, or a tiny bit above my head, so I can reach up and grab it,” Bruder said.

But she believes firmly that while she may move differently through the world and require an occasional helping hand with high shelves, her life and goals are the same as anyone else’s.

“Really, we’re just humans trying to survive. I just happen to use wheels as my primary mode,” Bruder said.

Her introduction to sports began, not with rugby, but with a family love of swimming. She continued to swim in high school and college, eventually excelling enough to make the U.S. Paralympic swimming team from 1992 to 2012. Bruder said she loved the chance to represent her country in Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, Athens, Beijing and London.

The 1996 Paralympic Games were the most meaningful, Bruder said, because her family and college coach had the chance to watch her compete. She brought home three bronze medals that year, followed by a silver medal in 2000 and another bronze in 2008.

Wheelchair rugby — also called quad rugby — is the first team sport Bruder has participated in. Instead of swimming, a solo sport where she competed at the highest level, Bruder entered rugby about 10 years ago without a bit of experience.

“It is a challenge to me. It’s something different. I swam for so long; I needed something to replace it,” Bruder said. “I’m very grateful for this team because they accept any person who wants to come into practice and work.”

Wheelchair rugby is played with opposing teams of four on a basketball court with a volleyball instead of a traditional rugby ball. Bruder primarily plays as a blocker, keeping the opposing team out of the way so her teammates can get possession of the ball and score. Bruder said she loves that it’s a high-contact, strategic game that relies on a good team bond.

Playing rugby is not only a fun stress release — Bruder said the chance to bump and block other players can turn around a bad day — but it also helps her balance, strength and coordination.

“For me, having a disability, I have to keep moving. If I stop moving, my muscles get tighter and tighter,” Bruder said.

Due to her lack of experience, Bruder said most of her first several years on the Lakeshore Foundation team were spent on the bench, with only brief chances to play in competition. In the past few seasons, which typically run from September to April, she’s seen a little more time on the court. Being one of the less skilled rugby players has also given her a drive to keep improving.

“I rode the bench for a long time, but I had to earn my way onto the court,” Bruder said. “I know I am not the best player on my team. I’m still going to be on the bench probably 10 years from now.”

Bruder is the only female rugby player at Lakeshore and, as far as she’s aware, one of only about 25 female players in the U.S. Sometimes that puts her in a unique position. She recalled an early practice where she was paired off with a younger and more experienced male player.

“I heard him say, ‘Mom told me not to ever hit a girl!’” Bruder said.

Though she’s hoping to recruit at least one other woman to the team next season, Bruder said being a woman on the team is rarely a problem. Entering a male-dominated sport is like “trying to crack a hard shell,” Bruder said, but her Lakeshore teammates are willing to play alongside anyone who puts in the work.

The Lakeshore Foundation held its annual Demolition Derby tournament in early February, where Bruder and her team had the chance to play against some of the top teams in the nation. She said they have a lot of preparation to do before their U.S. Quad Rugby Association sectional tournament March 17-19 in Ohio. Their hope is to secure a spot in the National Championships in Phoenix on April 20-23.

Bruder said her friend’s decision to take her to the Lakeshore Foundation 15 years ago not only altered her career path, but also is the only reason Bruder ever heard of wheelchair rugby. Being on the team has added “a whole new dimension that I never knew was available” in life.

“I’m not afraid to participate in life, and I think sports in general has brought that out of me,” Bruder said.