Westbury native heads to Rio for Paralympic Games
While most celebrate their birthdays with cake and balloons, Steve Serio will be spending his 29th birthday playing basketball with millions of people around the world watching. Sept. 8 will find Serio competing in the first round of the Paralympic Games Wheelchair Basketball Tournament in Rio, hoping for a chance to take home the gold.
(Photo courtesy the National Wheelchair Basketball Association)
The 2016 Paralympic Games marks the Westbury native’s third time competing in the international sporting event with the U.S. men’s team. The team placed fourth in the 2008 Beijing games and took home the bronze in the 2012 London Paralympics, and this year, Serio is hoping they can capture the gold.
“We have one goal as a team and that’s to bring home the gold medal,” said Serio, who is the team co-captain. This year’s team is much more cohesive than in years past, which Serio said will make a huge difference when it comes time to play.
“For the last four years, our goal has been to come together as a team,” he said. “We’re very close on and off the court, we fight for each other and care for each other. That’s going to be the biggest difference this year.”
That camaraderie between teammates is his favorite part of being on a basketball team, Serio said.
“I love being a part of a team. I love that you can push other people to improve and they can push you to become a better player and person,” Serio said. “There’s no greater feeling than to accomplish a goal together with friends that you consider family. It creates a unique bond between people.”
When Serio was 11 months old, a surgery to remove a spinal tumor resulted in the compression of his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed. Not having the use of his legs didn’t stop him from playing sports; growing up, he enjoyed playing baseball with his able-bodied peers. When he got to Carle Place High School however, the district wouldn’t let him play on the JV or varsity sports team for safety reasons, both for him and other athletes.
“I needed an athletic outlet,” Serio said. He soon learned of a wheelchair basketball team competing at the Nassau County Medical Center, just a few minutes away from his house. He decided to check out the team and was immediately hooked.
“My first impression was I couldn’t believe how fast and physical the game was,” Serio said. “It’s a really intense sport. Once people see it for the first time, their initial impression is completely changed.”
When Serio first joined the juniors team the Long Island Lightning as a sophomore in high school, it was just for fun. But soon he realized how far wheelchair basketball could take him and he began to take it more seriously. After graduating Carle Place High School in 2005, he attended the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign on a full athletic scholarship, helping lead his team to two national championships. After graduating with a degree in kinesiology in 2010, he joined German club team RSV Lahn Dill.
Playing with the German team for the last five years has been an unbelievable experience, said Serio, but he decided not to renew his contract this year. He recently moved back to New York and said a short break from basketball might be in order.
“For the last four years, my life has been geared toward Rio,” Serio said. “The club provides a great training environment where I can focus on basketball. But after Rio, I’ll move back to Brooklyn and see what happens.”
The future is filled with endless possibilities for the determined athlete, but first, all his attention is on the Paralympic Games. Family and friends from Westbury and Carle Place will be supporting the athlete’s quest for the gold both in the stands in Rio and back home. Serio’s parents, Ed and Hilary, as well as several aunts and uncles will be going down to Rio to cheer him on and Serio said seeing support on social media is always encouraging.
“It motivates me to get on social media and read all the comments from people who are supporting me back in the states,” Serio said. “They’re one of the reasons I work so hard and want to bring home the gold.”
Serio says playing wheelchair basketball has not only opened up endless possibilities, but has helped shape him into the person he is.
“I’ll never be able to repay wheelchair basketball for what it’s given me,” Serio said. “I’ve made lifelong friends all over the world and traveled to places I never thought I could go. It’s made me more of a well-balanced adult. I’m happy with who I’ve become because of wheelchair basketball.”
