Jr. Rolling Timberwolves Look For Fourth Straight Title

Joe Dixon is already a champion. Like most of his teammates on the Jr. Rolling Timberwolves wheelchair basketball team, the Lakeville North senior has a national title regardless of what happens next month in Denver.

But Dixon and his teammates want another one. That’s the way the Jr. Rolling Timberwolves prepare during every workout, every practice and every game.

The feeling of being on top never gets old.

“It was amazing—you feel on top of the world,” Dixon said. “For years and years and years I put in the effort and the work. It was nice to finally have a championship. It was like my hard work finally paid off.”

The Jr. Rolling Timberwolves will travel to Denver on April 7-10 to compete in the 2011 National Wheelchair Basketball Association’s national tournament. They’re the three-time defending champions and bring a level of excellence and tradition of winning that is known nationwide.

Dixon joined the team as a junior last year, but the Wolves have been a national power long since he, his teammates or fourth-year coach Mike Bauler joined the organization.

Based out of Golden Valley’s Courage Center, the Jr. Rolling Timberwolves go about their business from September through April, patiently building team chemistry on and off the court that translates into championships.

The Wolves are 18-0 this season and have been ranked the nation’s top team since December 2007, Bauler said.

“The secret is the kids,” said Bauler, who has coached wheelchair basketball since 2004. “They want to work hard. The kids come to this program and know that even before I was here this team has been respectable. The standard of excellence has been set up for these kids.”

The Jr. Rolling Timberwovles’ roster has an eclectic group of athletes. They are co-ed with ages ranging from middle school to seniors in high school, but they share a desire to succeed.

Playing basketball with essentially the same rules as college basketball—two, 20-minute halves, same free-throw and 3-point distance, five fouls, etc.—the Wolves play the game with a skill and speed that awes Doug Dixon even though he’s been around wheelchair basketball for years.

Doug Dixon, Joe’s father and a Wolves assistant coach, said the level of competition he sees on the court is exceptional.

“Watching these kids grow up, they’re just great athletes,” Doug Dixon said. “You see what they can do. After a while you don’t even see the wheelchair anymore. You just see how they play. The wheelchair is just an extension of their body. You coach them like you coach anyone else.”

Rose Hollerman is currently in her fourth season with the team. A freshman at Waterville-Elysian-Morristown, Hollerman is the epitome of the Wolves’ athleticism. She is a leader by example facing co-ed opponents older than her, and Bauler said she is a standout that produces on the court.

For Hollerman, each season gets more and more fun because of who she’s playing with.

“It’s really fun to hang out with the team off the court,” she said. “We’re like a family.”

Mark Braun agreed. The Mounds View native and current junior at Irondale High School said the Jr. Rolling Timberwolves allow him to play with friends at an elite level nationwide.

“It’s pretty awesome to have this experience to be a top athlete from around the country and around the world,” he said. 

Win or lose come April, the Wolves know they are respected team with a long lineage of success that speaks for itself.

Still, simply getting to Denver isn’t enough. This team is motivated to take the championship home.

And they fully expect to do it.

“We’re looking to defend our title,” Braun said. “Hard work all the way until the end.”