Like Harlem Globetrotters of wheelchair basketball, the Sitrin STARS rolled into Herkimer County Community College gym on Thursday to put on a show.
During warm-ups they drained three pointers and half-court shots to the amazement of those gathered for the third meeting of Success Through Adaptive Recreation and Sports (STARS) and athletic-oriented students.
Physical therapy and physical education majors joined members of the HCCC men’s and women’s basketball teams in an effort to play the role of perennial Globetrotter-doormat Washington Generals.
Watching the pre-game display, men’s basketball coach Matt Lee all but accepted defeat for the third year, “We don’t have a chance. Usually the STARS take it easy on them for a half, but when they need a bucket they get it.”
“It’s certainly a fun event,” said Marc DePerno, STARS director.
He explained the skilled team practices in Utica, and participates in plenty of events at elementary and high schools as well as colleges.
“We’re the only team in town,” he said in reference to the only other local team, the Syracuse Flyers.
Thursday’s basketball game was part of HCCC’s Accessibility Awareness Week activities.
In an effort to raise awareness, students participated in everything from movies and music to simulations of various disabilities, according to Ellen Curry, committee member.
“We emphasize the ability in disability,” she added.
The STARS basketball squad is part of an overall adaptive sports rehabilitation program based at the not-for-profit Sitrin Medical Rehabilitation Center in New Hartford.
It started in 2001 as a way to participate in the Boilermaker, said DePerno. And from there it branched out into basketball, kayaking, canoeing and even curling.
In fact, some of the basketball players competed in the Paralympic games in curling and took home a bronze medal for team USA.
“They’re all fantastic athletes in their own right,” he added.
Support for the athletes comes from local donations, grants, local events, and the occasional fundraiser against local celebrities, said DePerno.
The funds are needed to purchase equipment like the all-court wheelchairs, which are designed for speed and impact sports such as basketball and rugby, costing anywhere from $2,500 to $3,000.
Herkimer, N.Y. —
