By Sara Page, Midlothian Exchange
spage@midlothianexchange.com

Ooos and aahhs were audible in the James River High School gymnasium last Thursday as a group of students carried a large, purple contraption onto the basketball court.

It stood on a pyramid shaped base and extended about 10 feet in the air. The arm terminated at a round end.

The contraption is called the ‘Flame Thrower’ in honor of James River’s Medford League basketball team ‘Rapid Fire.’ It was designed by students in the school’s First organization and Robotics Club and was inspired by a catapult. With the arm extended straight out and flat, athletes load a basketball into the round end. The athlete then holds the attached rope and tugs. The amount of force applied to the rope determines how far the basketball flies when the arm moves into the standing position.

“This is a first generation design,” club president Katy Waters said. “We’re currently working on a new, more accurate design that would be more flexible to the needs and abilities of the individual athlete.”

The Flame Thrower has been in use for two seasons. During regular season games, the Flame Thrower is brought onto the court at halftime.

“We do what we call comp shots,” explained Randy Early, teacher of students with moderate intellectual disabilities at James River High School and coach of Rapid Fire. “At halftime, the students, who don’t normally get in the game, shoot free throws using the Flame Thrower. For each shot they make, both teams get one point so that the students feel like they’re contributing but we don’t change the scoring margin.”

The Flame Thrower is used at all Rapid Fire home games. Thursday’s demonstration was part of the Medford League finals, which featured six teams in three shortened exhibition games and culminated in the championship game between James River and Meadowbrook.

James River pulled out a thrilling victory in front of a packed house and showed off their basketball talent. The event also showcased the support that the Medford League has received in the area.
James River students packed the gymnasium all morning, cheering on the athletes. The pep band kept the event rocking and the student government association lined the sidelines and provided a tunnel for the athletes to run through. According to Early, the atmosphere was indicative of all regular season games for Rapid Fire.

“We have had amazing support from the James River community and the SGA,” Early said.

The cheering turned to a roar when Rapid Fire was introduced prior to the championship game. As the final athlete ran through the tunnel, the stands erupted into the now famous “Go Rapids” cheer.

The Rapids used a bit of a height advantage to pull out a two-point victory then posed with their trophies as an impromptu dance party broke out on the gym floor.

“Every team went home with a trophy and T-shirts,” Early said. “We had a couple of students in the Leadership program use their senior projects as fundraisers for this event so that we could purchase the trophies and shirts.”

The league is designed for students with intellectual disabilities and features two divisions; one each for the areas south and north of the James River. It was developed in the mid 1980s by Z.T. Medford with the goal of giving anyone who wants to play basketball, the chance to play. The southern division added three new teams this year and now features eight teams from Monacan, Matoaca, L.C. Bird, James River, Clover Hill, Meadowbrook and Prince Edward high schools. Athletes typically play they’re games during their lunch periods on Thursdays.