Paralympics help woman get back in the game

 4 comment(s)  
 E-mail Story
 Print Story
  Share

 digg it!
 Facebook
 del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit

Text Size: 

Tools Sponsor

By LORI GRIFFIN / Lincoln Journal Star

Like any young basketball player, Natalie Schneider had dreams while growing up.

Those dreams started out small.

[+]Enlarge

Natalie Schneider moves downcourt for the Madonna Magic wheelchair basketball team in a tournament game in this December 2006 file photo. (Jill Peitzmeier, LJS File)

Natalie Schneider moves downcourt for the Madonna Magic wheelchair basketball team in a tournament game in this December 2006 file photo. (Jill Peitzmeier, LJS File)

She wanted to make Super-State, then go on to play collegiately at the NCAA Division I level.

And her ultimate dream — the WNBA.

But as a 5-foot-9 post player, the WNBA was highly unlikely.

Still, the 2001 graduate of Crete High School dreamed.

But those dreams were dashed at age 16.

After suffering pain in her knee for what Schneider described as no apparent reason, the career-ending diagnosis came.

Schneider had osteosarcoma. The bone cancer, which is common among teenage youth, affected her femur.

After 10 months of chemotherapy, Schneider had surgery to replace her knee and femur.

“The doctors told me the day I was diagnosed that my volleyball and basketball careers were over and that I would have to find other avenues for my competitiveness,” Schneider said. 

She started with sit-down volleyball during her senior year in college.

 She rejuvenated her basketball career three years ago with the Madonna Magic wheelchair basketball team, which consisted of men.

“The men didn’t take it easy on me just because I was a girl,” Schneider said.

And she wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. The toughness provided by playing with her peers has helped Schneider become a member of the 2008 Paralympic women’s wheelchair basketball team.

The Lincoln woman will travel to Beijing this fall for the competition.

“It’s a huge honor,” Schneider said. “Everyone has watched the Olympics growing up and to actually be part of it is a dream come true.

“I never thought I would be able to participate (in sports) again because of my legs and now I get a chance to go to the Olympics.”

Schneider, who plays with a women’s team based at the University of  Arizona, was invited to try out for the national team after the 2008 Women’s National Tournament in Illinois.

After that event, 21 players were invited to tryouts and 12 made the team.

“My coach said, ‘Congrats on making the team, but it’s only just begun,’” the 25-year-old Schneider said.

The team will get together several times throughout the next few months and attend a training camp in June.

“I’m not entirely sure how it’s all going to work out, but it’s going to be a neat time for me,” Schneider said.

Reach Lori Griffin at 473-7174 or lgriffin@journalstar.com.