It had been about a week since the accident that changed Armando Rodriguez’s life, and he had yet to break down. 

Maybe the 25-year-old was still in a state of shock after hearing the diagnosis: complete T9 spinal cord injury, paralyzed from the waist down. He had walked out of a party in 2006, upset, and got behind the wheel drunk. After losing control of his car and getting ejected from it in a fiery single-vehicle wreck, he would never walk again. 

A week later, Rodriguez arrived at a spinal cord rehabilitation facility in Santa Clara and saw a basketball court in the courtyard. Reality set in. 

“I remember when I saw that court, like, I just broke down and I started crying,” Rodriguez told The Standard. “Like, ‘I’m never going to play basketball again.’” 

Nineteen years after the drunk-driving accident that left him paralyzed, Rodriguez has not only returned to the sport he loves but is as dedicated a hooper as anyone. He founded a Division III wheelchair team, the Bay Area Ballerz, two years ago. He practices six times a week and uses some of the same technology that trains pro players to chase elite status in wheelchair basketball. The journey back to the court has transformed him physically and motivated him to become more involved in the community. 

Rodriguez, now 44, grew up hooping in Union City and played in a men’s league while he was still able-bodied. A die-hard Warriors fan, he was always a hoops junkie. 

After the accident, he thought that part of his life was over. He needed to relearn how to breathe, because his lung was partially paralyzed at first. He had to teach himself how to tackle everyday tasks: getting out of bed, using the bathroom, opening doors, cooking. 

Since picking up a basketball again four years ago, Rodriguez has lost 60 pounds and gained a new perspective on life. He’d spent years after the accident battling depression, helplessness, and anger. Reborn by the power of sport, he has grown more confident, creating a support group for men with spinal cord injuries and working with nonprofits like the Life Goes On Foundation and the NorCal Spinal Cord Injury Foundation. 

“It’s OK to feel sad and depressed and stuff, but life does go on,” Rodriguez said. “You’ve got to keep doing what you’re doing or find a different path in life to make yourself happy, because you only get one life.” 

…

Wheelchair basketball’s storied history in the Bay Area dates back to 1976, the year after the Warriors won their first NBA championship on the West Coast. 

That’s when the Golden State Wheelchair Basketball program began. Now called the Golden State Road Warriors, and affiliated with the NBA franchise since the 1990s, the team plays in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association and tours the country. 

Road Warriors head coach Paul Jackson said many disabled people have never even heard of wheelchair basketball, but the sport is “growing considerably.” It is officially recognized and celebrated by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the Paralympics are broadcast on NBC, and the Paralympic national team is part of USA Basketball. 

Jackson, the Road Warriors coach since 1978 and a National Wheelchair Basketball Hall of Famer, inspired Rodriguez to start playing. Jackson saw Rodriguez coaching his son’s AAU team one day during the pandemic and invited him to a Road Warriors practice. 

Rodriguez was hesitant. It took more convincing from a longtime friend, Arthur Renowitzky, to put himself out there. 

Renowitzky, paralyzed by a gunshot wound from an unknown assailant, is the founder of Life Goes On (opens in new tab). Rodriguez received a grant from the foundation for a personalized performance chair — required to play basketball — that helped get him started.

“It’s very therapeutic,” said Renowitzky, who plays for the Road Warriors. “I mean, personally as a player. It’s changed my life. And I could see it changing Armando’s life in real time. … Wheelchair basketball’s a game that gives you not only physical health with cardio and being dedicated to working out and getting better and stronger physically, but mentally just being able to connect and having that camaraderie, that brotherhood of teammates.” 

… 

Rodriguez changed into gym clothes after rolling into the Shoot 360 facility in San Mateo. An employee asked how many shots he wanted. 

“Fifty,” Rodriguez said. 

That was just to start. 

Stationed at the foul line, Rodriguez looked up toward the hoop. A net obstructed his view of the rim, and a rebounding machine spat passes right back to him. A flat-screen TV suspended above the backboard displayed live statistics on every shot: arc, depth, and spatial trajectory. 

“Instant feedback and objective coaching, that’s what we provide,” said Dan Trigub, cofounder of the Shoot 360 San Mateo franchise.

Before Shoot 360 opened in late January, Rodriguez was limited in how he could train. The Ballerz practice twice weekly at Chabot College, but he would often have to shoot alone in his backyard, tracking down misses in the grass. That’s not easy in a chair. 

At Shoot 360, Rodriguez can get all the reps he wants. That day — May 13 — was a good one. He sank 109 of 150 free throws before shooting 40% from 3-point range. He would bring the ball to his chest, lean back in his chair, and fling it high above his head. Sometimes, he’d roll the chair as he caught and released to simulate game action. 

“It’s inspiring for me to have people like Armando come in here,” Trigub said. “Like I tell my son every day: You work hard, you can do anything, but there’s also no excuses in life.” 

Shoot 360 offers training for players of all ages and talent levels. The technology provides AI-driven shot analytics, interactive drills, and skills competitions against other members around the world. Former Warrior Zaza Pachulia is one of the company’s investors (hence the location in his native country of Georgia). 

Rodriguez has seen the benefits of the technology. He credits his sessions at the gym with his 26- and 24-point performances in a February tournament. He wants to be considered one of the best at his position — Class 1, a designation for wheelchair players with little or no trunk mobility, on a scale up to 4.5 (opens in new tab) — and training at Shoot 360 is part of his ascent. 

“I think I’m one of the best shooters in the country at my level,” Rodriguez said. “I think once I get faster, try to lose maybe 15 more pounds just to get quicker in the chair, I think I could be up there.” 

It’s the offseason now, but Rodriguez stays busy. He drove down to a Los Angeles camp to scrimmage with paralympians and get feedback on his game. His Ballerz team, supported by the Berkeley-based nonprofit BORP (opens in new tab), doubled its win total from its first to second season last year, traveling the country for tournaments. 

“He’s committed,” Jackson, the Road Warriors coach, said. “I mean, he’s lost a lot of weight, so he doesn’t have as much weight to push. For his disability, he has a very good shot.” 

Jackson added that Rodriguez knows he needs to work on his chair skills, reaction time, turning, and speed if he wants to play Division I. 

Between training sessions, Rodriguez has been a guest speaker at Life Goes On’s youth leadership program. He visits hospitals with NorCal SCI to mentor recently injured people, especially Spanish-speaking ones who might have an even tougher time adapting to life in the U.S. after a spinal cord injury. 

Rodriguez said he would have never done anything like that before he started playing basketball again, but he’s “very passionate” about his volunteer work now. Helping people in similar situations is fulfilling for him because he knows how hard it can be. He didn’t have someone like that when he got injured 19 years ago, and he’s proud to provide mentorship to others. 

“Being able to understand that tragedy can happen, but there is life after a tragedy,” Renowitzky said. “His circumstances and just being able to find something that keeps you passionate and motivated about life, and to keep going. Sport is a powerful thing.”