The High Fives Foundation has once again come up with a way to enrich the lives of their athletes. They’ve teamed up with Arcade belts to create a karate-style 5 step recovery program. Athletes are awarded an Arcade belt with a gold star when they achieve a milestone or goal, keeping them focused on specific tasks throughout their recovery.

High Fives athlete Lyndsay Slocumb shows just how the program has helped her and given her goals to work towards. High Fives caught up with Lyndsay to talk about her injury and how the program has helped her out.

For more information see the press release below or visit the High Fives Foundation website.

Check out these athlete pages to see their goals and accomplishments.
Tony Schmiesing
Jeff Andrews
Jim Harris
Megan Wemmer

Press Release:

The High Fives | Arcade Goal Belt Program is an initiative that helps guide athletes through the complex recovery process after a life altering injury. This goal oriented structure allows athletes to focus on progress, positivity and achieving goals that improve and enrich their lives.
The program, which is similar to a karate belt system, rewards High Fives athletes with an Arcade belt containing a new gold star for each milestone achieved. This framework is designed to provide clarity, support, competition and inspiration for others as these athletes work to rebuild their lives.

During a ski race at Boreal on March 11, 2007, Lyndsay Slocumb ventured into the terrain park with some fellow racers. At the first jump she went too fast, overshot the landing and fell from the height of about three stories onto her neck and back. The crash resulted in a traumatic brain injury that left Lyndsay in a coma for four weeks with internal damage to her kidney, pancreas, spleen, lungs and multiple vertebrae. When she awoke from the coma, she found herself paralyzed from the neck down from cervical spinal cord damage. Following her 2007 injury, Lyndsay had a tremendous recovery. She is currently attending school at UNR, is an adaptive yoga instructor and plays on the adaptive rugby team in Reno.

Her goal for her first Arcade belt was to sharpen her skills on rugby court, by building quickness and speed in her quadrugby chair to become a competitive threat during games. Her specialized quadrugby chair was purchased for her with a board-approved Empowerment Grant from the High Fives Foundation. She has accomplished that goal through practice with the Sierra Storm. She has really developed her chair handling skills, and she has grown comfortable with the ball on offense and defense. As for Lyndsay’s next goals, by November 11, 2015, she hopes to translate her improved skills on the rugby court into increased playing time in competition with the Sierra Storm. Her third goal should follow suit – Lyndsay plans to score a goal during a rugby game by April 9, 2016.

Check out the High Fives Foundation for more information.