Catching Up with Brandon

Recently, I caught up with Brandon Culp to talk about some of the things he does to keep active.  Brandon plays quad rugby for the Eagles. He became interested in rugby after he saw the movie Murderball and was encouraged to join through a friend, trainer, and former team member Travis.  Prior to his spinal cord injury, Brandon was involved in wrestling, played football in high school, did Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido for 14 years, and ASK Karate for 2yrs. He also did scuba diving in college.

On the team he plays midpoint, but hasn’t been officially classified yet, however he thinks he will be a 1.5 or a 2.0. His current temporary classification is a 1.5. Brandon doesn’t handle the ball as much, but set blocks for those who do.  The Eagles have two practices a week; one for developmental players where strategies are reviewed and drills are run and one practice where they scrimmage. All other training is individual and for Brandon, this includes rowing and use of an arm bike at home.  He stays motivated by working his way up to be a midpoint ball handler. This means he has to be quicker than others on the team. It also motivates him to be in better shape for himself.

Brandon’s advice:  “You can pretty much do anything you want to after a SCI. You may have to do it differently or it may take you longer to be good at it, but it is possible.”

Brandon likes the competition and social aspect of being on the team. He meets new people all the time all up and down the east coast. He describes his best play when a block he sets creates a turnover or allows a fellow team member the time in order to score.

Check out the team website http://philadelphiaquadrugby.com