by By RYAN CRAIG
KYNR News
WAPATO, Wash. – A Wapato High School senior recently announced she’d be attending the University of Illinois on a basketball scholarship.
Alicia Guerrero, 17 and of Wapato, will make the move from home this August to begin her schooling and training for the Fighting Illini wheelchair basketball team.
“I’m excited, but a little nervous too,” Guerrero said about the move to Champaign, Illinois.
The university’s campus is around 2 hours from Chicago.
Guerrero said she plans to major in biology.
“Growing up I was always heavily influenced by people who made my legs,” Guerrero said. “Because I have to have a close connection with them, so I wanted to become a prosthetist. I talked to a couple people at the office who make the prosthetics and they said biology is the best way to get into it.”
Guerrero was 2 years old when she lost her left foot and leg up to her knee in a lawnmower accident.
“My first memory is actually going into my first surgery,” she said.
Guerrero said that after her surgeries, it was her family that helped her remain active and healthy. The first sport she ever participated in was ballet. After ballet her parents got her into gymnastics and then basketball.
“My mom always wanted me in sports,” said Guerrero. “That’s what my surgeon in Seattle said, it’s good to have people with disabilities in sports because it keeps us active and healthy.”
Guerrero said her mother’s strong will and determination to keep her active is something she learned and practiced herself at a young age.
“My brother’s, Noe and Arturo Jr., have always supported me as well.” she said. “When I first lost my leg my mom said they tried to baby me a little but I never let them.”
Guerrero first found athletic success in high school in track and field. She said she never intended to have anyone give her an easy way out because of her disability.
“I just knew I was going to do sports like the rest of my brothers did and like everyone else,” she said.
It was her freshman year when she first learned about ambulatory and adaptive categories of events and sports. Her coach at the time, Alexander Jeffrey, told her about the option to compete in the ambulatory section.
“At first I was a little hesitant,” remembered Guerrero. “I was a little bit insecure about my disability at that time, but I decided, ‘why not show some representation and go for it?’”
Guerrero would finish her freshman track and field season at the state meet in Tacoma with a first place finish in the shot put and discus events in the ambulatory section. She said she was happy her coach offered her the opportunity to compete in the category for those with a disability.
“It opened up a new door for me to be able to compete competitively,” she said.
In Guerrero’s sophomore season she would bring home first place finishes at state in the shot put, discus, javelin and 100 meter race categories in the ambulatory section.
After seeing her daughter excel in track and field, Bernadine Guerrero, Alicia’s mother, contacted the United State Paralympics Committee. The committee referred her to Para Sport Spokane, a non-profit group in Spokane, Wash. whose goal is to use adaptive sports as a catalyst for life. It was there that Guerrero was first introduced to wheel chair basketball.
Alicia Guerrero remembers arriving to the Spokane facility and sitting through two hours of her mother completing paper work. After the paper work was completed she said a wheelchair was brought to her and they told her she would be playing wheel chair basketball.
“I really didn’t want to do it but I didn’t want to be rude to the other kids ‘cause kids in our program don’t always have a choice,” Guerrero said. “There are some kids who can’t just get up out of the wheelchair.”
Guerrero said in time, after trying it out at that first practice, she began to like wheel chair basketball. She had already learned the rules and fundamentals of the sport of basketball in elementary when she played on a local AAU team.
“I had fun with it.,” she said. “The next week after that first practice I got to play in Hoopfest (a Spokane outdoor 3 on 3 tournament) and we got second place.”
After enjoying Hoopfest, Guerrero said she tried out for and made the Para Sport Spokane women’s and varsity teams. Since becoming a part of Para Sport Spokane she has traveled to and played in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Arizona and even to the national wheelchair basketball tournament in Chicago.
Guerrero has grown to love wheel chair basketball. She said for the most part, the game is just like the basketball most people play.
“The one huge difference is you don’t get to use your legs,” she said. “Our legs are usually strapped down.”
Guerrero said that she’s had to maintain her upper body strength to excel in wheel chair basketball.
“Shooting is a lot more difficult. You’ve got to have good upper body strength. Upper body is used to wheel fast, defend and shoot,” Guerrero said.
The games are still played with 5 players on each team on the court at once and the scoring is still 2 points per shot made. The 3 point shot is also still in play in wheelchair basketball. Guerrero said she could make 3 points shots as long as it’s with a women’s ball.
While Guerrero will be attending the University of Illinois on a basketball scholarship, she still has a goal to compete in ambulatory track and field. She also said she’s considering trying out for the U.S. Paralympics team in the future.
The coach at Illinois, Stephanie Wheeler, is the U.S. Women’s Paralympics team coach as well. Guerrero is excited to have many more opportunities awaiting her in Illinois.
While succeeding on the track and field and court, Guerrero has simultaneously excelled in the classroom. For two semesters straight Guerrero has achieved a perfect 4.0 grade point average. Her accumulative high school GPA is currently a 3.8. Guerrero said her favorite class subjects are History and English.
Guerrero said thanks to her parents and brothers she has been able to maintain her perseverance to keep following her dreams. She hopes to inspire anyone who may face similar challenges she has faced in her life.
“If it feels like the world is stacked against you, you still have to persevere,” she said. “Not only for yourself, but for other people who could be looking up to you or see you as a role model.”
Alicia is the daughter of Arturo and Bernadine Guerrero of Wapato. Her brothers are Devearl Winishut, Nathaniel Winishut, Arturo Guerrero Jr. and Noe Guerrero.
She is a member of the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation. The tribe’s home is near Smith River, Calif. near the Oregon-California border.
(Reprinted with the permission of the Yakama Nation Review. All Rights Reserved)
