Athletes spent time this May at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, for the Toyota Team USA Men's Selection Camp for the National Wheelchair Basketball Association. The final roster for the 2019 U.S. Men’s National Wheelchair Basketball Team was posted at the conclusion of the three-day camp. Twelve athletes were selected to compete at the 2019 Parapan American Games, taking place from August 23 to September 1, 2019, in Lima, Peru.
Take a behind-the-scenes look of the men's selection camp in Colorado Springs:
In addition to training sessions, athletes participating in the camp also met with sport psychologists, sport dietitians and strength/conditioning coaches over the course of the three days.
In addition to the national team roster, six players were named as alternate selections to the roster. Those players are Dylan Fischbach of Vermillion, South Dakota, Nate Hinze of Cedar Grove, Wisconsin, Ryan Neiswender of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Ian Pierson of New Braunfels, Texas, Eric Rodriguez of Ashland, Missouri, and Jorge Salazar of Delano, California.
Jorge Salazar takes a shot during a practice game. The California native was named as an alternate to the 2019 roster.
Jake Williams (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) passes a ball to his teammate, Josh Turek (Council Bluffs, Iowa). Williams and Turek were both part of the gold-medal winning team from Rio, with Turek also earning a bronze medal at the Paralympic Games London 2012.
Turek and Matt Scott (Detroit, Michigan) vie for a ball during a training session. Scott, a four-time Paralympian for Team USA, also competes professionally in Europe.
Steve Serio of Westbury, New York looks for an open teammate. Serio was one of two captains leading the gold-medal winning team at the 2015 Parapan American Games, along with Mike Paye (Macomb, Michigan).
The 2019 national team includes eight members of the U.S. gold medal-winning team from the Paralympic Games Rio 2016 and nine athletes from the silver-medal 2018 IWBF World Championship Team.
The team will head to Plano, Texas, next month for the 2019 Toyota Team USA Men's Wheelchair Basketball Series, starting June 20th.
Two-time Paralympian Nate Hinze (Cedar Grove, Wisconsin) takes a shot during warm-ups.
Players take turns shooting from the free-throw line.
The team comes together for a post-practice discussion, led by head coach Ron Lykins of Columbus, Missouri, while a tour group observes from above.
