Photo: Luca Bruno | AP Photo
Four second-grade classes in a Milan suburb have this past spring been learning to play basketball from a real pro; they also got a lesson in diversity. Their coach for a month has been Adolfo Damian Berdun, an Argentinian-Italian wheelchair basketball champion. Berdun, 39, lost his leg in a traffic accident at age 13 in his native Buenos Aires, and he has visited many schools over the years to discuss how he has lived with his disability. But this time, when he entered the suburban elementary school, Berdun simply wanted to be coach; he declined to discuss his disability until his last day with students and instead got them right into playing the sport. "The most beautiful thing," Berdun said, "is that we succeeded in breaking down the barrier between the coach with one leg in a wheelchair and the ideal of a coach. Period. How do I know this? Because after asking me a couple of questions, they asked if they could continue doing basketball drills. That means they were more interested in playing than in knowing why I only have one leg.
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