Patty Cisneros showed Lincoln Elementary School students some spin moves they had never seen before on the basketball court during a recent visit.

But it wasn't the moves that Cisneros, a paraplegic who uses a wheelchair, wanted the Addison children to learn.

It was the attitude it took to learn those athletic skills.

As the U.S. Paralympic gold-medal basketball player dribbled and shot baskets in front an audience of hundreds, she demonstrated what years of hard work and determination could do.

In August, Cisneros and her teammates beat Australia for the gold medal in the U.S. Paralympic basketball finals in Athens, Greece. It was her second appearance in the games, after the team failed in 2000 to win a medal.

The victory "took me believing in myself that I could do it," she told the students.

This wasn't Cisneros' first encounter with Lincoln Elementary. Her college friend Beth Kamano is a teacher at the school. During the Athens games, students encouraged the wheelchair basketball team with e-mails and kept track of them in the school's computer lab.

While following the team, the students realized that if disabled people, who face multiple challenges, can accomplish great things, then they can achieve whatever they set out to do, Kamano said.

"I think it's really opened up a lot of possibilities in their minds of what they are capable of, which has been really cool for them," she said.

Cisneros told the students when she was young she had dreams of going to college, becoming a teacher and playing in the Olympics.

Eight years ago Cisneros became a paraplegic after a car accident in college. Following the accident, she had a bad attitude and thought her life was over, she recalled.

But with support from her family, Cisneros realized she could still accomplish her goals.

"If you believe in yourself and work really hard, you too can reach your goals," said Cisneros, who graduated from Valparaiso (Ind.) University in 2000 with a degree in elementary education.

After the pep talk, it was the students' turn to make a shot from a wheelchair.

Despite thunderous applause and chants from their classmates, none of the students who tried scored a basket.

But it didn't stop them from having fun.

Fifth-grader Lucy Hernandez, 10, had mixed reactions about shooting from a wheelchair. She said it was fun sitting down but difficult at the same time.

"It's hard to shoot it up there," Lucy said, looking toward the rim. "It's hard because you're sitting down and you can't use your feet."

Then, it was the teachers' turn.

With chants from students sitting on the gymnasium floor, Kamano scored on her first attempt.

"It was really hard," she said.