Steve Serio
Encyclopedia
Steve Serio is a world-renowned wheelchair basketball
player. When Steve was 11 months old, he had surgery to remove a spinal tumor which resulted in the compression of his spinal cord. Consequently, he was left paralyzed and is classified as an incomplete paraplegic. He grew up in Westbury, New York
and graduated from Carle Place High School in 2005.
Steve began his wheelchair basketball career as a sophomore in high school with the Long Island Lightning, the only competitive junior wheelchair basketball team in New York State. He was a tremendous asset to this team, eventually leading them to the team's first National Championship in 2005 where was named the tournament MVP. In that same year, he played on a USA U-23 Team played at the Australian Junior National Games for the Disabled in Sydney.
He played point guard for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
. Steve was named a 2nd Team All-American in both the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons at Illinois. At the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament at Oklahoma State University on March 15, 2008, Steve led the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to a NIWBA Championship over the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
. Steve took home the Championship Game Player of the Game, NWBA Tournament MVP, and the NWBA 31st NIWBT Player of the Year in the process.
Steve also plays on the U.S. Paralympics Men's Wheelchair Basketball Team, which came in second place at the World Championships in Amsterdam in the summer of 2006. In the summer of 2007, the U.S. National Team won a gold medal at the Parapan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Steve made his Paralympic debut with the U.S. National Team in 2008 in Beijing, China. The team finished in fourth place, just missing a medal. Since the disappointing Paralympics, the U.S. National Team took the gold medal at the 2009 America's Cup in Richmond, Canada and finished third at the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Birmingham, England.
He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2010, where he studied Personal Training.
He is currently living in Germany and playing for RSV Lahn-Dill
. His contract runs through the 2012 season.
Wheelchair basketball
Wheelchair basketball is basketball played by people in wheelchairs and is considered one of the major disabled sports practiced. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee as the sole...
player. When Steve was 11 months old, he had surgery to remove a spinal tumor which resulted in the compression of his spinal cord. Consequently, he was left paralyzed and is classified as an incomplete paraplegic. He grew up in Westbury, New York
Westbury, New York
Westbury incorporated in 1932 as a village in Nassau County, New York in the United States. The population was 15,146 at the 2010 census.The Village of Westbury is in the Town of North Hempstead....
and graduated from Carle Place High School in 2005.
Steve began his wheelchair basketball career as a sophomore in high school with the Long Island Lightning, the only competitive junior wheelchair basketball team in New York State. He was a tremendous asset to this team, eventually leading them to the team's first National Championship in 2005 where was named the tournament MVP. In that same year, he played on a USA U-23 Team played at the Australian Junior National Games for the Disabled in Sydney.
He played point guard for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
. Steve was named a 2nd Team All-American in both the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons at Illinois. At the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament at Oklahoma State University on March 15, 2008, Steve led the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to a NIWBA Championship over the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
The University of Wisconsin–Whitewater is part of the University of Wisconsin System, located in Whitewater, Wisconsin. It became Wisconsin's second public college on April 21, 1868 when it opened its doors to 39 students taught by nine faculty members...
. Steve took home the Championship Game Player of the Game, NWBA Tournament MVP, and the NWBA 31st NIWBT Player of the Year in the process.
Steve also plays on the U.S. Paralympics Men's Wheelchair Basketball Team, which came in second place at the World Championships in Amsterdam in the summer of 2006. In the summer of 2007, the U.S. National Team won a gold medal at the Parapan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Steve made his Paralympic debut with the U.S. National Team in 2008 in Beijing, China. The team finished in fourth place, just missing a medal. Since the disappointing Paralympics, the U.S. National Team took the gold medal at the 2009 America's Cup in Richmond, Canada and finished third at the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Birmingham, England.
He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2010, where he studied Personal Training.
He is currently living in Germany and playing for RSV Lahn-Dill
RSV Lahn-Dill
The RSV Lahn-Dill is an association for wheelchair basketball in Wetzlar. The Association was founded in 1983....
. His contract runs through the 2012 season.
Juniors
- 2005: First place - Junior National Wheelchair Basketball Championships
- 2005: Tournament MVP - Junior National Wheelchair Basketball Championships
- 2005: Gold medal - World Junior Basketball Championships
Intercollegiate
- 2010: National Champion - U.S. Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball
- 2010: MVP - NWBA College Division
- 2008: National Champion - U.S. Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball
- 2008: MVP - NWBA College Division
US National Team
- 2010: Third place - Wheelchair Basketball World ChampionshipWheelchair Basketball World ChampionshipThe IWBF World Wheelchair Basketball Championship is an international wheelchair basketball competition contested by the men's and the women's national teams of the members of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation , the sport's global governing body.The first unofficial Wheelchair...
, Birmingham, England, UK - 2009: First place - America's Cup, Richmond, BC, Canada
- 2008: Fourth place - Paralympic GamesParalympic GamesThe Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event where athletes with a physical disability compete; this includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and Cerebral Palsy. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which are held immediately following their...
, Beijing, China - 2008: First place - North American Cup, Birmingham, Alabama
- 2007: Gold medal - Parapan American Games, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 2006: Silver medal - IWBFInternational Wheelchair Basketball FederationThe International Wheelchair Basketball Federation is the international governing body for the sport of wheelchair basketball. IWBF is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee as the sole competent authority in wheelchair basketball world wide...
Gold Cup (World Championships), Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Professional
- 2011: German DRS Cup Champion
- 2011: German Championship
- 2011: IWBF Champions League Silver Medal