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Jesse Honl pulls on his gloves before practicing in his rugby wheel chair. In a few weeks, Honl will help team USA practice for the Quad Rugby World Cup Tournament. His chair, like all rugby chairs, is custom made, built to take a beating, and costs around $3,000 to $4,000.

By Liz Ott

The term “wheelchair rugby” may sound like an oxymoron, but it is not. It is a blood and guts game also known as quad rugby or murderball.

Jesse Honl, Gaylord, is definitely not an “oxy moron.” He is a big guy who plays quad rugby.

Honl, 26, grew up in Sibley County and spent a lot of time in the summer on his family’s farm near Winthrop. His mother, Jo, says he was a good kid and never caused her much worry. She always felt he would become famous for something, but she never dreamed quad rugby is how he would gain notoriety.

In the very early hours of December 14, 2002, Honl and his friends were riding home, when they were involved in an automobile accident. The driver of the car lost control at a corner and the car left the road. As soon as he landed, Honl knew something was wrong. One of the other passengers told Jesse to get up.

“I can’t,” Honl replied. “I can’t feel my legs.”

He remembers being loaded onto a helicopter and taken to Hennepin County Medical Center. When he arrived, he was assessed for spinal cord injury. He was able to move his hands and his MRI looked fine, so it was assumed that the damage was to his lower back. It was not until late that night — about 22 hours after the accident — that doctors discovered he had a broken neck and the C8 nerve suffered damage.

That night, Saturday, Dec. 14, Honl was fitted with a stabilizing halo. The next day, surgeons removed his broken C7 vertebra and replaced it with a cadaver bone. A titanium plate was inserted in his neck to fuse the C7 and C6 vertebrae together.

Honl, his brother, Burt and parents, Rand and Jo, are bee keepers who spend their winters — bees and all — in Texas and California. After 17 days at HCMC, Jesse was flown to Texas to continue therapy at Texas Institute for Rehab and Research (TIRR) in Houston. He was in Texas for 4 months, including a one-month break between between rehab levels. While in Texas, his halo was removed.

He went from Texas to Minnesota for a month, then to another rehab program in California for two years.

It was in Texas that he first learned about quad rugby. In California, he saw his first game. The first time Honl saw quad rugby he knew it was for him.

“I immediately loved it,” Honl recalls.

Murderball began in Canada in the late 1970s. It is a combination of wheelchair basketball and ice hockey. It was introduced to the United States in 1981 at the University of North Dakota. The name was changed to “quad rugby” to be more palatable to sponsors.

The United States Rugby Association was formed in 1988. USQRA’s purpose is to help regulate and promote the sport. There are now more than 45 teams in the U.S.

A 2005 documentary called Murderball features quad rugby players, one of whom is a very good friend of Honl. The movie, which breaks down stereo-types about people with disabilities, was nominated for an Academy Award, but it did not get the attention Honl would have liked to see.

To be eligible for quad rugby, a player — male or female — must have impairment to at least three limbs. Players are given a classification number based on their impairment. A player with an .05 classification has the greatest impairment. The players with the least impairment are 3.5. Honl is 3.5. Teams play four players on the floor at a time. There can be no more than 8 classification points per team on the floor at any given time. In other words, a team could not play four 3.5 players at a time.

Honl says just because he is a 3.5 doesn’t make him the best player. He doesn’t have the trunk control that some players have, making it easier for them to maneuver their chairs.

A game is played on a regulation-size basketball court. A goal line at each end of the court measures eight meters. Players pass a volleyball back and forth to advance into the opponent’s half court. The object is for a player to gain possession of the ball and cross the goal line. Meanwhile the defense tries to get the ball and keep the opponent from scoring. While fouls and penalties are assessed, play does not stop if some one falls from his chair.

Honl started playing for the Minnesota Ice, but is in the process of transferring to a Texas team. He likes the more intense attitude of the Texas team. The sport is very rough, but that doesn’t scare Honl.

“What’s the worst that can happen, I’ll break my neck?” said Honl, quoting a friend of his.

Honl demonstrates typical rugby ball-handling. During play, the ball must be dribbled or passed every 10 seconds.

Honl met the Texas team coach when they were in Colorado. The Texas coach is also the coach for Team USA, which is headed to the World Cup in New Zealand next month.

The coach noticed Honl’s size and asked if he would help Team USA practice in Alabama later this month. Honl agreed to basically get beat up all weekend in order to help the team practice. Honl says his size is not always an advantage in quad ball. The smaller guys are often faster and all the players are tough.

In the meantime, Honl has been working to build endurance by practicing in the early mornings. Like may people with spinal cord injury, Honl has trouble regulating his body temperature. He cannot sweat and has trouble cooling down. That is one reason he practices at 6 a.m. During the extreme heat of the last few weeks, he has had to take it easy.

The quad rugby season starts in September. Honl will fly to practice in Texas every other weekend until the family heads south for the winter. The season continues until April.