ARLINGTON, Va. - At one point or another, we've all heard the saying "no pain, no gain."
It's the physical conduct code Spc. Katherine Morrin lives by. After suffering a head and back injury, she would come to lean on this code as she healed at the Warrior Transition Battalion at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. An avid athlete, Morrin was introduced to adaptive sports, which has helped her adjust to her new normal.
"I did a variety of sports as a child and lifted weights. I was a bit apprehensive at first to try adaptive sports due to my injuries and I began participating in events such as archery, rowing and field. I learned that adaptive sports are a great way to continue to be competitive while working around your injuries," Morrin said.
These days Morrin is focusing on competing at the 2018 Army Trials at Fort Bliss, Texas for the first time. The event will take place March 3 -- 9 with more than 90 wounded, ill and injured active-duty Soldiers and army veteran athletes training and competing for a spot on Team Army and the chance to compete at the 2018 Department of Defense Warrior Games, June 2 - 9 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
"This competition is important to me because it has been quite a while since I have been able to compete in something that I really enjoy," Morrin said. "I am excited to be competing and to meet other wounded warriors who are dealing with a lot of the same obstacles and hardships."
The Wisconsin native will compete in recurve bow (archery), rowing, shot- put and discus. Morrin says she's realizing that the upcoming competition is about more than sports.
"The connections you make [at Army Trials] can become lifetime friendships. I have bonded with a few participants here at the WTB with me and with several veteran competitors with whom I am still in contact with," Morrin said. "This competition proves that we have the ability to adapt and overcome any obstacle that is put in front of us. The pain that comes with that is just weakness leaving the body."
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