When Daniel Bufford lost his left leg in a motorcycle accident in September 2022, it took nearly five months before he received a prosthetic limb. Even with his new leg, Bufford waited through a lengthy process of physical therapy yearning to walk again.
Bufford said he was slipping into a deep depression and was struggling to stay healthy. That was until he started training with Josh Snyder, head coach and founder of the Adaptive Athletes in Motion program.
“I want people to understand that if they’re willing to stick with it, it will improve your life,” Bufford said. “I see the improvements and it’s life-altering.”
Daniel Bufford walks along a turf field during his work out Brave Enough CrossFit. Bufford is learning to walk again after losing his left leg in a motorcycle accident in September 2022. Zachary Linhares zlinhares@kcstar.com
The Adaptive Athletes in Motion program was started after founder and military veteran Josh Snyder wanted to create a program that would give service members with disabilities a high intensity training following the end of their service. The program quickly expanded to include athletes with disabilities regardless of their veteran status.
“We focused the ability for us to say yes to 100% of the world’s population, not just the 85% who don’t have a disability,” Snyder said.
Lainie Rodgers pulls on elastic bands during a work out on at Brave Enough CrossFit in Kansas City. In 1994, Rodgers suffered a near fatal car accident that left her paralyzed below the waist. Zachary Linhares zlinhares@kcstar.com
Adaptive Athletes in Motion creates an environment for athletes with disabilities to train in a community outside of the confines of physical therapy offices or with someone holding their hand every step of the way. The goal of the program is independence and confidence.
Funding for the program comes from donors and grants that comp the costs of classes and equipment for the athletes.
Josh Snyder, founder and head coach of Adaptive Athletes in Motion, speaks to a group of people during a fundraising event for the program at Brave Enough CrossFit in Kansas City. Snyder founded the Adaptive Athletes in Motion program because he wanted to train all athletes, not just athletes without disabilities, he said. Zachary Linhares zlinhares@kcstar.com
Lainie Rodgers lifts a medicine ball over a pull up bar at Brave Enough CrossFit in Kansas City. She says the Adaptive Athletes in Motion program has transformed her mobility and her confidence. Zachary Linhares zlinhares@kcstar.com
Rodgers grips her wheelchair while she stretches her back. Before her car accident in 1994, Rodgers played volleyball, soccer, aerobatics and tennis. Through the Adaptive Athletes in Motion program, Rodgers is able to exercise in a fitness community of other athletes with disabilities. Zachary Linhares zlinhares@kcstar.com
Lainie Rodgers transitions to her next exercise during an Adaptive Athletes in Motion training session. Zachary Linhares zlinhares@kcstar.com
Attendees of an Adaptive Athletes in Motion fundraising event listen to founder Josh Snyder, right, speak at Brave Enough CrossFit in Kansas City. The event was hosted so athletes without disabilities could experience the training regime for the athletes with disabilites. Zachary Linhares zlinhares@kcstar.com
Adaptive Athletes in Motion coach Samantha Walker, left, and her family listen to Daniel Bufford speak at Brave Enough CrossFit. Walker joined as a coach with the AAIM program after her sister, Jordyn Walker, second from right, had an angioedema episode that left her sightless. Walker said she quit her job and followed her passion to help people who have disabilities like her sister. Zachary Linhares zlinhares@kcstar.com
Daniel Bufford learns to walk with his prosthetic on Bufford’s workout routine consists of making laps around the Brave Enough CrossFit gym and participating in other strength training exercises. Zachary Linhares zlinhares@kcstar.com
Daniel Bufford rests in between his exercise routines. Bufford joined the Adaptive Athletes in Motion Program in April 2023 nearly six months after losing his leg. With extended delays in his physical therapy, Bufford says he connected with Josh Snyder and started learning how to walk again. Zachary Linhares zlinhares@kcstar.com
Daniel Bufford after finishing his exercise routine at Brave Enough CrossFit in Kansas City. Zachary Linhares zlinhares@kcstar.com
Lainie Rodgers wheels herself through a crowd of athletes during an Adaptive Athletes in Motion fundraising event on at Brave Enough CrossFit in Kansas City. Zachary Linhares zlinhares@kcstar.com
Medicine balls sit on the floor near an unused wheelchair after an Adaptive Athletes in Motion workout at Brave Enough CrossFit. Zachary Linhares zlinhares@kcstar.com
This story was originally published September 21, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
Zachary Linhares is a visual intern for the Kansas City Star. Before joining The Star in 2023, he covered firearm violence and homelessness in Missouri as a freelance photojournalist. He was part of a team that won first place for Multi-Media Reporting in the 2022 Missouri Press Foundation Better Newspaper Contest. Linhares was also part of a team that was recognized as a finalist for the Insight Award for Visual Journalism - Medium Division for three stories on homelessness in Columbia, Mo. Linhares is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he studied journalism.
