![\"Two](\"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/WheelchairBBall-Action-300x198.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Wheelchair basketball isn\u2019t just about the sport for Alicia Szutowicz, Co-Founder and VP of Operations for the Sacramento Royals. Playing wheelchair basketball is definitely great exercise and lots of fun, and for Alicia, it\u2019s truly about uplifting people.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore I found this sport, most of my time was filled in self-pity,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t understand why all these things happened to me.\u201d Alicia had undergone a hemipelvectomy <\/em>as a result of cancer, as she explains, \u201cI\u2019m missing a hip and pelvis on one side.\u201d<\/p>\n Once Alicia saw the energy and community of wheelchair basketball, something shifted in her mindset and sparked her interest on a deep level.<\/p>\n \u201cIt made me want to be<\/em> more. I went from running to pushing<\/em> a chair in less then a year, so the adjustment wasn\u2019t the easiest,\u201d said Alicia. \u201cWheelchair basketball freed me from my own mind and allowed me to grasp at more in life.\u201d<\/p>\n Alicia\u2019s newfound passion for the game and natural talent led to many accolades, including being a part of the Women\u2019s National Wheelchair Basketball Association\u2019s 2015 Championship Team.<\/p>\n In 2012, the only wheelchair basketball organization in the greater Sacramento area was a recreational team, so Christian Rodriguez (Sacramento Royals Co-Founder\/President) and Alicia saw a need for an organized and competitive league.<\/p>\n \u201cI grew up here and came back to raise a family,\u201d said Alicia, \u201cand bring my knowledge of wheelchair basketball back to my hometown.\u201d<\/p>\n With enough people that wanted to learn, Alicia and Chris were able to develop a program that could build self-confidence and self-worth, as well as increase physical, mental, and emotional strength.<\/p>\n The Sacramento Royals started with a Division 3 team and have competed in every division in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA), but the \u201cshining light of the organization\u201d is the new Junior Varsity (JV) Program.\u00a0 The JV program gives disabled youth athletes the chance to compete against other teams their own age.<\/p>\n The Sacramento Royals programs have served hundreds of people in all communities around the Greater Sacramento Area, with members traveling as far as Reno, Fresno, and the San Francisco Bay Area to participate.<\/p>\n With Alicia enthusiastically at the helm, the Sacramento Royals programs continue to grow and bring new athletes to the sport.<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/WBBall-Action-Youth-300x225.jpg\")
\u201cWe\u2019ve had teens on our team before, but we\u2019ve never given them their own team. Every single one of them has a superpower and this program is about unlocking their potential. And sometimes it\u2019s about finding the right equipment or assistive technology for the athlete,\u201d said Alicia.<\/p>\n