Tim Johannsen, a 25-year-old former soldier who lost his legs during a roadside bombing in Iraq, dribbled down the court, looking for an opening through the thicket of wheelchairs so he could drop one in the hoop.

It was his first time on the basketball court in a wheelchair, and he was loving it. “My shoulders are killing me,” he said during a break in Saturday’s game between the Colorado Springs Rangers D-3 and the Denver Rolling Nuggets Varsity team.

The wheelchair basketball game was sponsored by the city’s Therapeutic Recreation Program, which is still being funded by the cash-strapped city government. Other sports offered to residents with disabilities include shooting, cycling, swimming, tennis, skiing and sled hockey.

As the players whizzed up and down the court, the crowd rose to its feet, and the old familiar smell of a high school gymnasium filled the air. When the competition intensified, the disabilities receded, and the participants just became basketball players.

And that’s exactly what people with disabilities want. “You want people to see you — not just your disability,” said Dara Albert, who was sidelined because of a bad fall she had experienced the previous day.

Her companion, Andrea Archer, also was sitting on the sidelines. “I’m terrible at basketball,” she said. “I come to be around people with similar life struggles. We support each other.”

Siso Almeyda, a volunteer, said wheelchair basketball was mentally and physically demanding. The most difficult part for the players, he said, was trying to score. Since the players are in a seated position, they have to throw the ball higher and tend to use a two-handed shot.

Jason Harmon, one of the Rangers, took a spill on the court but was pulled back into an upright position by his teammates. A few minutes later, he rolled into the sidelines to have his chair adjusted. His face was flushed, his jersey was wet, his eyes sparkling.

“You start feeling like you belong somewhere instead of being cast aside,” he said.

Although wheelchair basketball has been around for a while, it’s still in its infancy in Colorado Springs, said Dianne K. Ridderhoff, of the city’s Therapeutic Recreation Program.

The Colorado Springs Rangers had been wearing T-shirts, but on Saturday they were clad for the first time in brand-new red jerseys, courtesy of the parks department.  Dan Schwieder, the coach, said he’d like to get more people to participate so he could have teams for youths and young adults.

“Some of these kids have been on the sidelines their entire lives,” he said. “Recreation is a very important, and it’s no different for people with disabilities.”

—Call the writer at 476-4825.

Douglas Hatfield, right, and Susan Paul reach the summit of Mount Rosa Monday, Nov. 27, 2006, just like Zeb Pike did 200 years ago. Photo by Christian Murdock/The Gazette