Alex Ruiz, center, passes the ball to teammate Chris Bacon,...

Alex Ruiz, center, passes the ball to teammate Chris Bacon, right, while Marcos Taveras, 14, plays defense during a Long Island Lightning wheelchair basketball team practice at the Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow. (Feb. 21, 2011) Credit: Newsday/Jessica Rotkiewicz

The thud of bouncing balls and the clang of metal against metal filled the old gym on the Nassau University Medical Center campus, where the wheelchair basketball team Long Island Lightning practiced.

"Nice shot, Z!" parents shouted from the benches as the teens shot baskets and dribbled down the court, their sports chairs banging against each other in Monday night's scrimmage. "Way to go, Chad!"

The varsity team - made up of 10 players from Long Island, New York City and elsewhere - won enough games this year to make it to the National Wheelchair Basketball Association's National Championship Tournament, to be held in Denver in April.

But head coach Mark Drummer said the economic downturn makes it difficult for the nonprofit team to find the private grants and corporate donations it used to get for the trip. The team, formed in 1997, has played in the nationals several times, including last year. The Lightning won the championship in 2005.

The varsity squad this year competed against other teams from around New Jersey, Philadelphia and Baltimore in the association's Eastern Conference, according to Drummer. The season began with a tournament on Long Island in October followed through the winter by tournaments on the other teams' home courts. The team turned down invitations to tournaments elsewhere because of the cost, he said.

"In past years, we've been able to raise enough money for the airfare and hotel bill," Drummer said. "This year we might not even be able to pay for the airfare just for the players - maybe not even that."

The team has raised about $5,700 of the $15,000 it needs. If it doesn't get more donations, the parents - many of whom already have spent more than $2,000 for their child's sports chair - will have to make up the difference, Drummer said. At least one player has dropped out because his parents said they can't afford the trip, he said.

Financial woes appeared far from the players' minds at practice this week. Point guard Adam Cruz, a 16-year-old junior at St. Anthony's High School in South Huntington, raced across the court, fearlessly popping up on one wheel. His life, he said, "is basically all basketball."

He said he sometimes gets questions about how someone in a wheelchair could also be a basketball player.

"I say, 'You wouldn't expect it, but it's a little more intense than regular basketball when the chairs are crashing into each other,' " Adam said. "Even though I'm disabled, I do more sports than most of my friends."

Mike DiPietrantonio started out with the Lightning's prep team when he was 6 - a shy, scared boy who cringed at the sounds and pace of the game.

But six years later, Mike now aspires to play basketball in college and plans to join the Lightning's varsity team when he turns 13.

"I like playing offense," Mike said. "You get to score points and get the attention of the crowd."

Mike's mother, Robyn DiPietrantonio, 42, of Lindenhurst, said she's amazed at how independent and outgoing her son became after joining the team.

"It definitely made me realize that he can try anything he'd like to try," she said. "There's no reason why he can't."


In addition to donations for the Denver trip, the Long Island Lightning is looking for new team members. Players must be at least 6 years old, must use a manual wheelchair and have a permanent physical disability that keeps them from competing equally in stand-up basketball.

For more information, contact the Long Island Lightning at 516-796-6320, lightningcoach@gliwac.org, or visit the team website at www.gliwac.org.

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