Staff photo / Brian Yauger Nate Leskovac, left, of Austintown Fitch reaches in to try and steal the ball from Kyle Miller as Emma Bartlett (14) looks on during the second half of Monday’s exhibition between the Falcons wheelchair basketball team and a Fitch team comprised of boys and girls basketball players.

AUSTINTOWN — Since the 2017-18 school year, Austintown Fitch has offered a different type of basketball experience.

It is for those interested in basketball but are limited by a physical handicap. Students from first grade and older can get involved with the wheelchair basketball program.

Members of the Austintown Fitch basketball teams found out how difficult wheelchair basketball truly is Monday in an exhibition against the Falcons wheelchair basketball team Monday.

The Wheelchair Falcons won by a convincing 52-8 margin.

“It was tough, a lot harder than we expected,” Fitch senior Nate Leskovac said. “We expected to go in there and have a chance to win and you guys see how that turned out.”

Despite being held scoreless in the first half, the blue team, comprised of boys and girls basketball teams at Fitch, began to get a hang of things, finding the basket four times in the second half.

Fitch freshman and member of the wheelchair team Kyle Miller, was informed about the team last year and has enjoyed his time playing, noting that while there’s obvious differences, it’s still basketball.

“It’s different, but it’s not different,” Miller said. “It’s the same as regular basketball, just more challenging, and it’s a lot more fun in my opinion.”

There are rule differences between wheelchair basketball and basketball, like the differences in what is considered traveling. Players have to dribble after every two strides to avoid traveling.

While the team is designed to give differently abled students a chance to experience basketball, teams are allowed to have able-bodied players on the team as well. However, the rules allow for as many as three able-bodied players on a roster, and only two are allowed on the court at a time. They, too, must be in a wheelchair, of course.

In addition, once one of those players hits six points, they have to return to the bench for the remainder of the game.

One of those players on the Falcons roster is freshman Jackson Detchon. Detchon joined the team as an eighth grader when the team didn’t have enough players and says they work just as hard as the other teams.

Staff photo / Brian Yauger
Austintown Fitch senior Todd Simons prepares to shoot during the second half of Monday’s exhibition between the Falcons wheelchair basketball team and a Fitch team comprised of boys and girls basketball players.

“It’s an experience,” he said. “When you get out for the regular basketball team, you expect hard work. It’s everything you expect here. I expected it to be easy, but it’s not easy.”

With no schools in the area fielding teams, the Falcons have to look to the Akron/Canton area for competition. This past season, Fitch took on schools like Massillon, GlenOak and Wooster.

One hope from parents is that Monday’s event can help inform people that this is something Fitch offers, and it can drum up interest.

“The biggest thing is just recruiting kids,” Falcons coach Jody Myers said. “I don’t know that the word gets out enough. With a school as big as Austintown, I know that there’s a lot of kids here that are handicapped that don’t know about the program.

“My hope is being a parent in the school, that I can help get the word out, get more involved in pep rallies and fundraisers and stuff for the school.”

After the game, Leskovac, with hands covered in black marks from the wheels, encouraged interested students to give wheelchair basketball a try.

“If you’re not able to play basketball because something happened, injuries or something, I would definitely encourage you to go play wheelchair basketball,” Leskovac said. “It’s good exercise, and it’s really fun.”