Boston wheelchair basketball clinic draws future players of all ages

From The Boston Globe. In the picture, Omar Benitez of Pawtucket, R.I., dribbled the ball while being defended by Damon Isles of Charlestown.

Every Saturday, 18-year-old Katie Bruckmann and her mother get up at 4:30 a.m. and drive four hours from Walpole to New Jersey so she can play wheelchair basketball, because there are no teams for her to join in the Boston area.

But Feb. 7, Bruckmann had to go only as far as Boston University, where a basketball clinic was being sponsored by the New England Paralyzed Veterans of America and Joining Hands, a volunteer group at the university that pairs BU students with elderly and disabled people.

“I do it to have fun and be athletic,’’ Bruckmann said. “It’s nice to be with people in the same situation and be on a level playing ground.’’

Thomas Dodd, who is assistant sports director of NEPVA and coaches a team in Brockton, and Karen Hutchinson, a clinical associate professor at BU, have been trying to hold the clinic for months. They said they hope it becomes a regular event, possibly weekly or monthly, but for now the focus is getting space and building interest.

“We’re trying to increase the opportunity for [disabled people] to play sports,’’ Hutchinson said. “It’s this circle - it’s very hard for a person in a wheelchair to get out. But since they don’t get out, facilities rarely accommodate them.’’

The clinic was attended by about 20 people ranging in age from their teens to over 60 and with different levels of expertise. The event started with basic drills, led by Dodd, and eventually ended with a scrimmage. Because of the varying abilities of the players, the teams were split up according to a classification and point system, as they are in all wheelchair games, he said.

With no collegiate teams in the area, Dodd and Hutchinson hope to provide an outlet for those who may not otherwise have the chance to play.

“It’s informal. We’re just trying to get people to come out,’’ Dodd said. “We’re hoping that [the clinic] will create more interest locally.’’