"It's hard," said a bushed Roney moments after a 45-minute scrimmage. "My muscles are sore."

From the three-person weave to daily scrimmages in the heat of the gym, Roney and most of the other campers were introduced to wheelchair basketball.

Though Roney isn't sure if the game will be a part of her future, she and 21 other participants at last week's first IHSA-endorsed wheelchair basketball camp at IMPE on the Illinois campus will work up a sweat gladly to help what could lead to a groundbreaking initiative for the sport.

With the support of UI wheelchair basketball coach Mike Frogley - the braintrust behind the weeklong camp - and the IHSA, there might be a day when teams around Illinois will fight for an IHSA-sanctioned state championship.

For now, the plan is about spreading the good word of wheelchair basketball to gain interest. More importantly, it also might give teenagers with disabilities a new outlook toward their futures on and off the court.

"They'll make them better people and more successful in life overall," Frogley said. "All the lessons their peers are learning, those are the greatest lessons. Those are the ones they can take from the basketball court here and they'll apply those in the classroom; they'll apply those in the work situation.

"It will teach them that you can have a dream, and your dreams are not meant to be left on the shelf to sit there and be admired."

THE DRIVING FORCE

When Frogley was growing up in Ottawa, Ontario, his life revolved around basketball. He was a self-proclaimed "Gym rat." He couldn't get enough.

"1 was the kid they would kick out of the gym and tell to go home and do your homework", Frogley said.

Frogley's life changed after a serious car accident at age 17 left him relying on a wheelchair to get around. At the time, he was hesitant to think about basketball, but found he couldn't be away from it for too long.

While in rehabilitation, he helped coach his high school team and soon discovered wheelchair basketball. He attended the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater, where he played the sport and later coached. He was a member of the Canadian National team and currently is the team's coach.

Frogley recently finished his fourth year as both the UI men's and women's coach. The men's team won the National Intercolle-giate Wheelchair Basketball championship last year. But Frogley, 34, who's working on a doctorate, sees potential for the sport in the high school arena.

"Wheelchair basketball is a sport for anybody, really," Frogley said. "That's what we want to educate people. It's a sport for people to play who can’t play able-bodied basketball, or they can't run track and play football."

No state recognizes the game as a high school sport, although there are various national team events. So a few years ago, Frogley drew up a model detailing wheelchair basketball as a high school sport then approached the IHSA. After Frogley met with IHSA executive director Dave Fry last July, the initial blueprints for bring-ing wheelchair basketball to the high school level were born.

"This is right along with our mission statement," IHSA administrative specialist Jeff Creek said. "We want to make all high school students have an opportunity to be involved. There are some unbelievable athletes, and this was one area we hadn't ventured into."

Now it is time to spread the word.

"We'll keep trying to get the word out there so that kids all around the state can start to realize what kind of an opportunity this is, "Frogley said "Everybody is just finding out about wheelchair basketball."

WHEELS IN MOTION

Neither Frogley nor the IHSA are counting on teams hoisting wheelchair basketball state championship trophies next year.

Frogley wants to see some sort of state championship tournament debut in 3-5 years. He foresees anywhere from 15 to 40 teams of 12 to 15 kids each competing on co-op teams from neighboring schools or as a conference entry.

In a survey he produced among the more the 750 IHSA schools while researching for last week's camp, Frogley found that about 300 kids around the state showed interest in, and were eligible to play, the sport. Only 22 high school-aged youngsters participated in the UI camp, but the IHSA didn't endorse the idea until a little more than a month prior. The advertising window was short.

"We need to drum up more interest," Creek said. "Next year we want to do that. Maybe there will be more camps throughout the year. It's about getting a lot of kids to see this is available and what the real interest is."

Frogley's UI teams have performed demonstration games at the IHSA March Madness Experience at the boy's basketball state tournament in Peoria. Plans next year might include bringing the athletes from last week's free camp - where they learned passing, dribbling and shooting drills, scrimmaged and finished up with a tournament - to the boys' and girls' tournaments next school year.

The combination of Frogley's knowledge and passion, along with the support of the IHSA, will provide the resources for the opportunity, but the experience of the participants will be the determine factor on how far the sport goes.

"(The IHSA) realizes what it means to the whole state of Illinois," Frogley said. "They know what it means to high school sports and what it means to each and everyone of these kids and how important it is"

"(The UI) camp is designed to bring in all the kids, teach them how to play wheelchair basketball, then send them back out to their schools and set up teams around the state to let them compete."

After that, the possibilities are endless.

MORE THAN JUST A GAME

The athletes' intensity and determination at IMPE this year reinforced Frogley's beliefs. But Frogley, his players and the world -class coaches on hand at the UI camp realize the youngsters who took part, and those who plan to pursue it in the future, will achieve more than a good workout.

"It's going to help athletically and socially as well," said Nipa Pandya, the captain of the UI women's team. "Being around the same people as themselves, it's a great social environment. I was the only person in a wheelchair in my high school and never had the opportunity to interact with someone who was like me or who can relate to me."

Like the benefits that come through able-bodied sports, Frogley wants wheelchair basketball players to experience all the positives of athletics: discipline, self-confidence and teamwork.

Roney, 14, who played basketball and soccer before a car accident left her needing a wheelchair 2-1/2 years ago, realizes the benefits of the sport and her experience at the UI camp.

"1 think it's a really good idea," Roney said. "It's giving them something to do. I came here and I didn't know anything and I know so much. The people are very friendly."

Whether it be Roney or anybody else who makes the sport a part of their life, Frogley can envision the day when his dream helps fulfill the dreams of the people who matter most.

"One day I really believe that there are literally going to be thousands of kids around the country playing wheelchair basket-ball as varsity athletes in high school, competing in state tourna-ments all over the United States," Frogley said. "Were going to go from the 22 kids here to literally tens of thousands playing on the high school level - and seeing all those kids realize their dreams."

Copyright 2001 Champaign News-Gazette