‘Like a family’: Wheelchair basketball competition in West Philly is fierce (but in a good way)

Caroline Fitzpatrick was a teenager in her element, with the sound of bouncing basketballs and clanking metal echoing around a high school gym on a Sunday afternoon.

Her loyalties and attention, however, were both divided.

Fitzpatrick was wearing a jersey for Katie’s Komets, Philadelphia’s team in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association — but she was rooting for New York as it played inside West Philadelphia’s School of the Future.

There’s an explanation: Fitzpatrick, a 14-year-old Komets point guard, had lost earlier Sunday in the 24th Annual Katie Kirlin Youth Wheelchair Basketball Tournament, but she stayed to watch New York, a team for which she’d previously played.

Plus, Fitzpatrick is a South Jersey girl who just really loves basketball. The tournament was canceled last year due to COVID-19. Now, it was back, and she was rolling from one court to another to follow New York’s prep- and varsity-division games, which were played simultaneously.

“Come on, Charlie, you got this!” Fitzpatrick yelled to a former teammate on the 13-and-under team, before swiveling around to catch up on the varsity action.

Fitzpatrick, of Blackwood, started playing basketball five years ago and has since made friends around the country. Last year, she was named an MVP at the national championships in Wichita, Kan.

“I like the competition and I love the game,” she said. “It’s kind of like a family.”

Sunday’s tournament, an East Coast qualifier for nationals that drew more than 100 players from Virginia to New York, is named after Katie Kirlin, who died of cancer in 1989 at the age of 12. During the final years of her life, she excelled in wheelchair swimming and track and field.

Kirlin’s parents, Joe and Roseann Kirlin, of South Philadelphia, created a fund in her name that sponsors wheelchair events and assists with the costs of equipment, travel and meals.

“They are tremendous athletes,” Joe Kirlin said. “They just happen to be in a chair.”

Several local players have received college basketball scholarships, including Joe Rafter, a former Komet now at Auburn University.

“We lost our best player!” Kirlin joked.

Jordan McCown, 17, who played for the Komets on Sunday, is headed to Edinboro University with a basketball scholarship. Born with caudal regression syndrome, which affects the development of the lower half of the body, McCown first learned of the sport as a 9-year-old when he saw it on the Disney Channel.

“I decided I wanted to try it out and have been playing ever since,” he said.

At Sunday’s tournament, which is run by Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, and sponsored by Toyota, the Bennett Blazers of Baltimore won both the prep and varsity divisions and will advance to the national tournament in the spring.

Among the spectators were Steve Serio, a Paralympics gold medalist for Team USA.

“It’s a sport that teaches kids with disabilities life lessons,” Serio said. “I love the inclusivity the most. Kids with all kinds of disabilities and functionalities can play the game in a very cooperative environment.”

There are no squeaking sneakers, but the competition is fierce.

“You see how competitive they are. They’re brutal!” Roseann Kirlin said with a laugh, as players jostled for position, occasionally knocking each other’s chairs onto one wheel.

Off the court, youth wheelchair basketball also creates a network for parents. The players had a pizza party Saturday night, while parents were able to share tips, everything from finding the right doctors to affordable medical supplies.

“It gives the kids an opportunity to hang out, but also the parents some time to talk to other parents,” said Caroline’s father, Brian Fitzpatrick.

As for Caroline, after being named youth MVP, she’s now in her first year at the varsity level, but appears undaunted. In addition to the Komets, Fitzpatrick also plays with the Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets women’s team in North Carolina. The family travels a couple times a year for tournaments.

“She found what she loves,” her father said.

Joe Kirlin suspects there are hundreds of kids in wheelchairs in the Philadelphia region who would feel the same way if they picked up a basketball. He encourages parents to reach out.

“We’re always looking for more athletes,” he said.