ORLANDO, Fla. – A quick look at the court and it’s easy to see why every player on the Orlando Magic Dreamers prep team is a scoring threat.
“Shooting is by far my favorite,” says 14-year-old Chance Kern.
“Either shooting or picking,” adds 12-year-old Abby Walsh.
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Their teammate, 13-year-old Gary Dunn, offers some shooting advice.
“Take a breath before you shoot it, and aim at the white box on the hoop,” Dunn says.
Offense is fun, but defense is a critical component of 12-year-old Rebecca Di Giorgio’s game.
“I feel like I’m pretty good at blocking shots,” says Di Giorgio.
But their best trait is dishing out assists, according to Walsh.
“If I miss I shot and I’m sad, my teammates will encourage me. And the same thing...I’ll try and encourage someone if they’re sad,” says Walsh.
The Orlando Magic Dreamers is a traveling wheelchair basketball team for kids ages 5 through high school who have permanent lower extremity disabilities or limb differences.
“In my school we were doing basketball, and I was wondering how to dribble the ball, and I was really confused. So, I asked my mom and she sent Chance’s mom a message. Chance’s mom said, ‘Why don’t you just come to practice? ’ So I came and I liked it,” says Di Giorgio.
The Dreamers recently competed in the national finals in Richmond, Virginia.
They went 2-2 while there, but that’s hardly the most important takeaway for these kids.
“The first team we faced, I met two new friends,” says Kern. “Really good shooters. They told me to take my time with my shot.”
“When I see these other people that are in wheelchairs, I know I’m not alone,” says Dunn. “There’s other people around that can actually play stuff with me, and we can have a team together.”