Paralysed following a rugby accident aged 17 has not proved a bar to future success for Keenan Alexander.
A member of intake two of the Para Sport Collective, supported by ACC, Keenan is not only emerging as a Wheelchair rugby player of rich promise, but also excelling professionally after recently earned a promotion as an Agribusiness partner at the Bank of New Zealand (BNZ).
Only taking up the sport two years ago, Keenan has progressed rapidly. Possessing a natural aggression and physicality from his days playing rugby has translated well to his new sport. Yet perhaps most significantly, playing Wheelchair rugby has also filled a void he has felt since his days playing the 15-a-side game.
“I really enjoy the camaraderie of playing Wheelchair rugby with the lads,” explains Keenan. “It has given me a sense of belonging that I have probably missed since I played rugby. Making the big hits, challenging yourself physically and going to war with your mates is what I loved about playing rugby, and it is also what I love about Wheelchair rugby.”
Raised in the old gold mining town of Thames on the southwestern edge of the Coromandel Peninsula, Keenan grew up a typically sporty Kiwi kid. Besides playing lock forward for the Thames High School First XV, he was also a keen adventure racer and athletics representative.
Yet everything changed shortly after his 17th birthday. Playing a crunch semi-final match for his school against Paeroa College in 2016, the 6ft 5in player powered off the back of a ruck – only a metre or so from the try line – which resulted in his injury.
“An opposition player rotated position and ended up presenting his back to my head, effectively as a wall to stop me crossing the try line,” recalls Keenan, 26. “My head struck his back and hit the ground. The momentum of people driving on my back helped me get over the tryline, but all that pressure dislocated my C6 and C7 vertebrae.”
Keenan heard “a massive crack”, and after being airlifted to Middlemore Hospital in Auckland, he quickly realised the seriousness of the injury. Undergoing an operation two weeks later he was transferred to a high dependency ward for four months before transitioning to an apartment in Auckland.
Struggling to come to terms with his paralysis, Keenan admits: “I was stubborn, and I didn’t believe I was never going to walk again. I thought I’ve seen other people walk again after serious spinal injuries, and I’m going to be the same.”
However, after returning home to Thames some 18 months or so after the accident he admits he hit a “roadblock.” Accepting that he would never walk again he struggled to find meaning and purpose in his life.
“I was probably at rock bottom to be honest,” he explains. “I got a bit of depression, and it sucked. I guess I had to pull myself out of that and find something to strive for and work towards.”
However, thanks to the support of family, friends and psychologists, he gradually changed his mindset. He enrolled in a three-year Bachelor of Business degree – with a Major in Finance and a Minor in Agribusiness – at the University of Waikato. Studying gave Keenan purpose which would later open the door to a full-time position at BNZ.
Yet despite the fulfillment he feels in his day job, given his sporting background he always felt something was missing in his life post-accident and Wheelchair rugby has filled the gap.
His first brush with the Para sport came when rehabilitating post-accident in the spinal unit. Paralympian #212 Hayden Barton-Cootes came into his room dripping in sweat after a training session encouraging Keenan to take up the Para sport. However, such was his focus back then of one day walking again he turned down the invite.
However, shortly after moving to Hamilton in 2023 he received a message from New Zealand Wheelchair Rugby Development Officer and friend Paralympian #216 Rob Hewitt for a catch up. Following a brief conversation Keenan was finally ready to try his hand at Wheelchair rugby adding: “Before long I was playing for Waikato Stampede and in the New Zealand development team. I then got asked to Wheel Blacks training camps and within six to nine months of taking up the Para sport, I was on the high performance programme.”
Relishing the camaraderie and physical contact of the game, the 2.5pt player believes his rugby background has aided his ability to read the game, while physically his body mass and long limbs have also proved advantageous. Pulling on the Black Singlet for the first time in Adelaide last year was a personal highlight, and while his progress on court has been hugely impressive, he has also benefited from his time on the Para Sport Collective.
“The Collective has probably strengthened and refined my understanding in a number of areas,” he admits. “I come from a strong sporting background and was lucky that in my younger days I had some very good coaching and input from many people. Being part of the Para Sport Collective added some more tools in my toolbox and reassured me I was on the right path.”
Training five times a week – once as part of a team and four times individually – Keenan admits that besides his work and sporting commitments there is barely enough hours in the day for anything else. However, on the occasion he does enjoy some downtime, he likes to take his specially modified boat out fishing off the Pauanui coast.
For the future, though, Keenan harbours some big sporting ambitions, with the LA28 Paralympic Games an exciting future goal.
“The Paralympics Games is the peak – like the World Cup for the All Blacks – and it is what I’m building towards,” he explains. “Of course, I’m part of a team sport, but my drive is to be the best that I can be for the team to bring home the results.
“In the longer term I would love to cement my position and to play internationally and be a stalwart like Cameron Leslie (Paralympian #164 MNZM) or Hayden Barton-Cootes. These guys will be known for decades, and it would great to be a pillar of the team just like them.”
Given Keenan’s drive and ambition, few would bet against it.
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