Steve Serio

Infobox NCAA Athlete
name = Steve Serio
nickname =


caption = Steve Serio in 2004 while a member of the Long Island Lightning
college = University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
conference =
sport = Wheelchair Basketball
position = Point Guard
jersey = 11 and 22
status =
class = Junior
classification = 3(college) 3.5(international)
career_start = 2005
height_ft = 5
height_in = 3
weight_lb = 110
nationality = USA
birth_date = birth date and age|1987|9|8
birth_place = Mineola, New York
highschool = Carle Place HS, Carle Place, New York
career_highlights = n
honors =
records =
favorite cer
choco krispy
tournaments =
tournament_list =

Steve Serio (born September 8, 1987) 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. [ [http://www.usolympicteam.com/paralympics/39341_47159.htm U.S. Paralympic Athlete Biography] ] 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. [ [http://www.usoc.org/117_45350.htm United States Olympic Committee Article 3/20/06] ] 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. [http://www.usoc.org/paralympics/news_47146.htm USOC Athlete Spotlight: Steve Serio] ] 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 currently plays 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. [ [http://students.uww.edu/bauleriiwm05/cid/cidmvp.htm Past NIWBA All-American Teams] ] 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. [ [http://www.disability.uiuc.edu/athletics/team.php?sport=1 Fighting Illini Men's Wheelchair Basketball Page] ] 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. [ [http://media.www.dailyillini.com/media/storage/paper736/news/2008/03/24/Sports/Mens-Wheelchair.Team.Wins.Championship-3279485.shtml Daily Illini Newspaper Article 3/24/08] ]

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. [ [http://www.usoc.org/paralympics/news_47915.htm 2006 U.S. Paralympics Men's Wheelchair Basketball Team Defeated by Canada in IWBF Gold Cup Final] ] In the summer of 2007, the U.S. National Team, including Steve, won a gold medal at the Parapan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. On the weekend of April 11-13, 2008, Steve tried out for the U.S. National Paralympic Team in Colorado Springs, CO. He made the team and in the summer of 2008, the U.S. National Team will be playing in the Paralympic Games in Beijing, China. [ [http://usocpressbox.org/usoc/pressbox.nsf/600975efad23ab78872565410013e138/127141f304214571852572bf00599eba U.S. PARALYMPICS: 2007 U.S. Men’s Parapan American Wheelchair Basketball National Team Announced] ]

He is currently studying Athletic Training and Nutrition at the School of Kinesiology at the University of Illinois.

Major achievements

* 2008: First place - North American Cup, Birmingham, Alabama
* 2008: NWBACollege Division National Champion, MVP of Collegiate Division - University of Illinois
* 2007: Gold medal - Parapan American Games, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
* 2006: Silver medal - IWBF Gold Cup (World Championships), Amsterdam, The Netherlands
* 2005: First place, Tournament MVP - Junior National Wheelchair Basketball Championships
* 2005: Gold medal - World Junior Basketball Championships

Paralympic competition statistics

Notes

External links

* [http://paralympics.teamusa.org/athlete/athlete/1956 U.S. Paralympics: Biography]