S.J. PROGRAM GIVES BETTER RIDES TO YOUNG DISABLED ATHLETES

By Bruce Newman

December 20th, 2007

Mercury News

Dominic Rodriguez so perfectly embodies the spirit of the athletes of Wheels On Fire, a sports program for kids in wheelchairs, that when he hurtles across the floor at the Camden Community Center on Saturdays, the front wheels on his chair literally light up. The wheels have disco-style sparkle lights embedded in the tread, and when Dominic, who is about to turn 13, goes steaming down the basketball court, they come to life. So does he.

Dominic's old wheelchair was the kind you see in airports and hospitals - functional, unless you happen to be a boy who dreams of playing rugby and basketball. And dancing.

"It got to the point that he wasn't really active because he was scared to go over cracks in the sidewalk or the garden hose," said Iben Rodriguez, Dominic's dad. "He was afraid of tipping over because the chair wasn't stable."

 

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