Note: On June 8, 2019, The Oklahoman published an article about Zion and his good friend Jay Denning.
EDMOND — Zion Redington zipped across the court in his glossy red chair as he carefully dribbled the basketball.
He swiftly passed the ball to his teammates and intently tracked its movement to prepare himself for grabbing rebounds. As a defender, he tenaciously boxed out opponents.
Redington’s experience showed when he played 3-on-3 wheelchair basketball Friday in the 20th UCO Endeavor Games, but when he competed there for the first time, he had little familiarity with the sport.
“At first, I was just in a chair trying to push and get to the other side of the court,” said Redington, a 13-year-old who travels with his family to Edmond each year from Franklin, Tennessee. “And now I’m moving quickly around the court, all over.”
Heather Redington-Whitlock, his mother, adopted him from China when he was 2. Redington has ectrodactyly, which meant some of his digits were missing. In Redington’s case, he had only one finger on each hand and a pinkie toe on each foot. At 6, he underwent amputation of both feet.
Redington-Whitlock said her son attended his first Endeavor Games about five months after the procedure. When he sat in an adaptive chair and tried basketball, he was quickly hooked on the sport.
“He just liked the aspect of being part of a team,” Redington-Whitlock said.
Redington’s newfound love for basketball led him to join ABLEYouth, which stands for “Adapt, Believe, Love, Enjoy.” Through the organization, he bonded with a teammate.
Jay Denning, 15, has lumbosacral agenesis. He is missing three bones in his lower back. Denning travels with Redington and his family for sports events and camps across the nation, but a different hobby sparked the athletes’ friendship.
“I’m pretty sure you talked about anime,” Redington said to Denning, remembering when they met.
Denning is an artist who draws anime cartoons. Redington, who enjoys watching anime shows, said they collaborate to brainstorm ideas for Denning’s creations, and their cooperation translates to the court. Redington said he is primarily a defender, but his friend focuses on defending and shooting. Mark Whitlock, Redington’s stepfather, described Denning as a natural leader.
“I like (how) every time I come here, I get a new challenge when I come because I get more competition with people who are in my (event) classifications and everything,” Denning said. “And it’s another way for me to push myself harder than the past year.”
Denning and Redington are competing in multiple Endeavor Games events. Outside the games, Redington plays rugby. As a teenager on a team with adult men, Redington said conversations are sometimes boring in the absence of peers his age, but he enjoys the thrill of athletes slamming their chairs into each other.
“In basketball, you can’t do that,” Redington said.
Despite their range of athletic interests, Redington and Denning decisively said basketball is their favorite. When the dynamic duo joined forces with two new teammates Friday, Redington and Denning worked with them as if they had all played basketball together for years.
“My favorite thing about coming to the Endeavor Games each year is that I get to make a lot of new friends,” Redington said. “And I get to be around people who are more like me than other people outside sports and athletic sports like these.”