Smashing Stereotypes

TEMPLE TERRACE - There are instances in which devastating accidents result in unanticipated blessings.

Such is the case for the Tampa Bay Generals, a team of eight athletes with spinal cord injuries brought together through their love of sports and their will to keep on rolling.

The 2008 Coloplast International Wheelchair Rugby Tournament in Tampa this weekend offers them that opportunity. It is the host team for the U.S. Quad Rugby Association-sanctioned event that draws athletes from Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, Michigan, Georgia, Colorado and Canada.

Two teams of four players each line up, facing each other across a basketball court. The referee tosses the ball into the air and the game is on, flesh and metal crashing in pursuit of a goal.

"Playing this game has probably been the best thing I've ever done," said Ryan Kress, 22, of Brooksville, who contracted polio from a vaccine at 2 months old that has left him with limited use of his four limbs. "I've developed some great friendships, and even though everybody's competitive, we're all friends off the court. We'll even go out for a beer afterward."

Marine Corps veteran Ryan Lindstrom, 23, of Brandon, a quadriplegic after a car crash Sept. 28, 2002, after falling asleep at the wheel, was determined to continue to live life to its fullest.

Because he'd always enjoyed full-contact, fast-paced sports, his recreation therapist at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center took him to a quad rugby game.

"Seated in a wheelchair with my neck brace on, I told my mom I was going to play the game," said Lindstrom, a 2002 Tampa Bay Tech graduate. "Yeah, I know it's an aggressive sport, but you meet so many people from all over the world who are your really good friends."

Tampa Bay Generals' coach Dave Ceruti, 42, broke his neck while playing football in his freshman year of high school.

"I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to play sports again. That was difficult to swallow because I was your stereotypical jock," he said.

He credits his sister, a physical therapist, for introducing him to wheelchair rugby, which led to his playing in Connecticut and Tampa and also earned him a spot on the 1996 U.S. Paralympics Wheelchair Rugby National Team and several gold medals.

"When I got back into sports again, it renewed that competitive spirit in me," Ceruti said. "Plus, I've gotten to meet, play with and coach some really great guys."

Forty-eight-year-old Mark Hickey of Seminole, the oldest guy on the team, agreed.

"I hope to still be playing when I'm 50; this is what keeps me going," said Hickey, who broke his neck in a boating accident at age 21. "For 17 years, this team has been my family. Before I started playing, I just existed in the wheelchair, but now I'm living in my wheelchair."

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Coloplast International Wheelchair Rugby Tournament

WHERE: All People's Life Center, 6105 E. Sligh Ave.

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Sunday

HOW MUCH: Free

INFORMATION: Call (813) 744-5307.