Baron to Represent Team USA in Paralympic Games

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.  — Shelby Baron was helping unload cars during freshman move-in day at The University of Alabama when she got a call from Team USA wheelchair tennis coach Dan James.

It was Aug. 12, her 22^nd birthday, so Baron thought James was calling to wish her happy birthday.

“He said ‘you want the good news or bad news?’” Baron said. “I was confused, but I took the bad news first. He said, ‘we didn’t order you any clothes … the good news is you’re going to Rio.’”

Lack of pre-ordered team gear aside, Baron, a communicative disorders major and wheelchair tennis player at UA, learned that day that she’d compete in her first Paralympic Games. They begin Sept. 7 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The timing of the news made for a perfect birthday present, but it was also a fitting reward for a summer’s worth of hard work. Baron, of Honolulu, Hawaii, opted to spend her summer on campus, where she took classes and received extra instruction from UA wheelchair tennis coach Evan Enquist.

Though the cut-offs for the national team were in May, Baron was keen to improve her game ahead of her senior season at UA. And there was always a chance a withdrawal of another athlete could open a spot for her, so training throughout the summer could have potentially benefitted her on both fronts.

“My ranking wasn’t where I wanted it to be, so I stayed because I wanted to devote a solid few months to practice every day and work on my game,” Baron said. “The summer is a good time to do it – there’s not as much homework, and there’s more time in the weight room. I’d always wanted to stay and train.”

Baron is one of seven current UA players or coaches who will compete in Rio. Fifteen former UA student-athletes and coaches will also compete. More than 20 current and former players and coaches competed in the 2012 Games in London, including three who medaled.

“To have over 20 current and former students and coaches at the Paralympics in Rio is a source of pride for the University and our program,” said Brent Hardin, director of UA Adapted Athletics. “The University of Alabama has a large footprint in Rio, and our program is well-known worldwide because of all the success of our student athletes on an International level.”

Baron said that when she learned she’d made the U.S. National Team, she called her family in Hawaii, though, with the time difference, it was roughly 4 a.m. in her home state. Her mother answered the phone and was understandably groggy, but they shared a longer, more jubilant phone call later that day. Since then, the congratulatory messages have continued pouring in.

Normally, an athlete would receive a hometown send-off before heading to the world’s greatest athletic tournament, but Baron continued to train in Tuscaloosa before flying to Rio Sept. 1.

“I have a lot of Facebook messages, texts and phone calls,” Baron said. “There are still a lot of people out there that are supporting me, and my parents are relaying the messages. So I’m feeling the love a few thousand miles away. I’m missing my family a little bit more right now, but I’ll be able to see them eventually and tell them all about it.”