Nathan McCabe has two-time Paralympic medallist Mum as a role model, but the Wheelchair Basketball player is becoming one in his own right.
The Athlete Award recipient, funded by the National Lottery, has been part of the GB Wheelchair Basketball Under 23 and Under 30 teams and is hoping to compete for Northern Ireland at his second Commonwealth Games later this year.
It is of no surprise that Nathan took to sport as early as the age of six with Mum, Mary McCabe (née Rice), being a two-time Paralympian who won 200m bronze at Atlanta 1996 and 400m silver in Sydney four years later. He said: “My mother was a two time Paralympian. Four world records, two medals. She is a pretty cool woman to live up to standards with and I decided to follow.
“So, I started playing basketball when I was six. We were playing for Knights Wheelchair Basketball Club at Antrim Forum at the time. I’ve tried a whole load of different sports and the only thing about basketball is you go into a hall with people who are similar categories to yourself as a wheelchair user.
“When you are playing with your teammates, you’re not disabled. That’s the only way to put it, you’re free. You’re doing a sport you love with people you like, it’s an amazing feeling.”
Away from the court, the 22-year-old keeps up a physical lifestyle by working full time on a farm doing groundwork whilst also being a mechanic. A situation that arose through a team mate at basketball.
Keeping fit and competing in sport is clearly a passion which doesn’t just help on the court, but off it, he explains: “Sport gives me achievements in life that I can look back on when I’m older and be like ‘wow I’ve done that’. It’s also prolonged my life with fitness, it’s social interaction, there’s no negative to playing a sport.
“The only hurdle in sport is not doing it and that’s the end of the story there. If you’re curious about a sport there’s plenty of research you can do and if you want to get involved just reach out to a local club and they’ll always be open with open arms because sport is there for everybody.
“But when I started sport, I was always the quiet kid, when I started out, I wouldn’t speak to anybody, I would sit in the corner and wait till everyone went in and I’d go in head down, wouldn’t speak. Then I got my confidence back and it started flowing with everybody and the craic was good. For young people getting into sport, I’d say just go ahead, try it. You can’t get better if you’re sitting at home.”
The Sport NI Sports Institute athlete scored the winning basket to send the 3×3 Northern Ireland Wheelchair Basketball team to the 2022 Commonwealth Games and is now hoping for lighting to strike twice to reach the 2026 event. The team travel to the qualifiers in Nottingham with just one place available from Europe to make it to Glasgow this summer.
It will be a tough ask as he explained: “We’re playing against England which is going to be one of our hardest battles yet. The standard they play at is incredible. Then we’re playing Cyprus and Wales. Wales is seen as an underdog but then you play against them and we’re like ‘woah, this team’s got talent.’
“If we qualify, we have a big summer ahead of us, so our preparation for the past three years has all led up to this one moment for this one weekend. It’ll be my second Commonwealth Games so if I get there and we do well, that’s something that I can always look back on.”
Sport NI’s Athlete Award funding is made possible thanks to National Lottery players, who raise around £33 million every week for National Lottery-funded projects.