At University wheelchair basketball coach Michael Frogley's summer camp, it's about more than basketball.

"Kids with disabilities that come here have been told their whole life what they can't do ... (the camp) shows them what they can do," said Stephanie Wheeler, a camp coach and University women's wheelchair basketball player. "It develops their self-esteem and self-worth. They develop more highly as a person."

About 30 students attended a wheelchair basketball camp in the Intramural-Physical Education building last Tuesday through Saturday. The second annual summer camp was sponsored by the Illinois High School Association. Activities ran between 8:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. Frogley and 15 of his players coached the camp.

Students learned dribbling, picking, shooting and how to communicate on the court.

"You don't get this kind of practice at home," said Dixon, Ill., resident Sarah Fischer, 15. "During the games they'll stop you and tell you what you're doing wrong."

There are more similarities than differences between "walking basketball" and wheelchair basketball, Frogley explained. Traveling in wheelchair basketball consists of pushing the chair more than two times before dribbling. Wheelchairs count as part of the body, so players have to be careful not to run into each other's chairs or they risk fouling.

Lombard, Ill., resident Pearl Gannon, 15, said there are no double dribbles because players need the time to stop and regain their composure. Wheelchairs used for basketball are different than everyday wheelchairs, and Gannon said she learned to move her wheelchair in different ways at the camp.

"It's different because we can't jump," said Gannon, who was awarded the title of top female camper of the week. "We need arm strength. You kind of bounce yourself."

Fischer also said she improved her skills at the camp.

"I made my first shot in a game," she said. "I made two. You could hear my screams in China."

Frogley said he uses his University players as coaches because they are good role models. The coaches show the high schoolers academic and athletic success, Frogley said.

"The biggest benefit of sports is the development of role models of what possibilities are out there," Frogley said. "They take away a new perception of themselves by beginning to see things they can do."

Frogley said he hopes the camp helps teach the students that they can do anything, that they just have to do some things differently. He told his students they needed to prove themselves both on and off the court.

"They start to wonder what else (they) can do," he said. "That's when they start dreaming."

© 2001 Illini Media Company