Paralysis doesn't kill hoop dreams
by Astrid Galvan
Tommy Hambicki works with his Arizona Celtics team in Gilbert.
Five years after a car accident ended his future as a basketball player, a paralyzed Tommy Hambicki has no complaints.
Well, except for the fact that the Gilbert man is eager to finish his degree in secondary education at Arizona State University soon.
Hambicki is 23 years old now, and most of his friends have finished school.
He's trying to fit his studies into a busy schedule that includes coaching a soon-to-be nonprofit basketball team, playing wheelchair basketball for the Phoenix Suns and doing normal things such as watching his favorite actor, Edward Norton, in his favorite movie, Fight Club.
"Once I get my degree and a stable job, I wanna go back to rehab," he said.
Hambicki said he received only five months of physical rehabilitation after the accident in 2003, because that's all he could afford.
The accident happened just two weeks after he led Gilbert High to its first 5A state basketball title.
He was driving home from a trip to Puerto Penasco, or Rocky Point, Mexico, with friends when he lost control of his truck and crashed into a ditch.
The 11th vertebra in his back snapped, and doctors told him he'd never walk again.
"I never went through depression," he said.
Steve McDowell, athletic director at Gilbert High School and a friend of Hambicki, called the former point guard remarkable.
McDowell has known Hambicki since he was his freshman basketball coach at Gilbert High. To this day, Hambicki turns to him for advice and guidance.
"I'm just amazed by his attitude towards everything he's been through," McDowell said.
These days, Hambicki has a mission beyond walking again.
After coaching at Highland and Gilbert high schools, Hambicki formed a traveling basketball team named the Celtics. The team consists of mostly junior and senior high school boys.
Hambicki's main goal is to expose the players to college recruiters in hopes of helping them get scholarships.
"I want these kids to use basketball to its fullest," he said. "I really care about these kids."
The Celtics are currently looking for sponsors to fund their travels and tournament entry fees.
Six tournaments cost the team $30,000, Hambicki said.
The team is a few pages of paper work away from becoming a non-profit, which would make donations tax-deductible.
McDowell has attended a couple of the Celtics' twice-weekly practices and says the players have a lot of respect for Hambicki.
"He is a constant reminder to them of how frail life can be," McDowell said.
Hambicki, who wants to coach college basketball after finishing school, doesn't shy away from being a role model.
He said he wants to be a public speaker and talk to youth about overcoming adversity, often using his own strength and faith in God to exemplify his words.
"I got hurt and it sucks," he said. "But basketball is still there and it still makes me happy."
For information on donations to the Celtics, call Hambicki at 480-703-4945.