A welcoming Beijing awaits Paralympians

The intrinsic rewards of participating in the Games have struck a chord with a U.S. wheelchair tennis coach and player.

By BRIAN STENSAAS, Star Tribune

Last update: September 5, 2008 - 9:54 AM

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Before heading to Sydney for the 2000 Paralympic Games, his first, U.S. Paralympics tennis coach Dan James was given some caution. It wasn't about the jet lag, the food or the people. Rather, it was about limiting his expectations even before a single point was played.¶ Because it was the Paralympics, held every four years at the same venues and cities as the Olympic Games but for those with physical disabilities, James was told not to get his hopes up about large crowds, or even interested fans.¶ Then came the opening ceremony .

"At first, I thought it was nice they put all the people by the entrance," James recalled. "Then it got louder, and all of a sudden we're in front of 110,000 screaming Aussies. For the Paralympics. It was awesome."

For James and U.S. Paralympic tennis team member Jon Rydberg, both of Oakdale, those experiences will begin again Saturday with the opening ceremony at the Bird's Nest national stadium in Beijing. Three days later, competition begins in the three Paralympic tennis categories: open men's and women's and quadriplegic. Rydberg will compete in men's open singles and doubles.

It will be the second Paralympics for Rydberg, who originally is from Pine City. He also competed in the 2004 Athens Games.

"That was pretty cool; the birthplace of the Olympics," he said of his first trip.

James and Rydberg began their paths to the Paralympic Games at the same time.

About 15 years ago, James was a teaching pro in need of hours. One of the slots open was wheelchair tennis. And one of his first clients was Rydberg, then a teenager.

Since then, James has coached wheelchair tennis on six continents, including work in Kenya and Tanzania with the International Tennis Federation's Silver Fund, an initiative that aims to bring sports for athletes with disabilities to developing nations.

"I fell in love with it," James said of wheelchair tennis. "It was dumb luck that I became involved, but I now feel very fortunate."

James still lives in Oakdale, but has an office with the USTA in White Plains, N.Y., and is on the road 30 to 35 weeks a year.

It's a grind, but James called the last decade and a half a "great journey." And it is not over.

As the U.S. men's Paralympic tennis team practiced at the University of Minnesota's Baseline Tennis Center earlier this month, word was trickling in that tennis events in Beijing were sold out.

As of Aug. 23, more than 408,000 tickets for Paralympics events had been sold, according to the Games' official website.

Regardless, James and the team are expecting a warm reception no matter how many fans show up.

Rydberg, too, is ready for another trip.

"I'm not very extravagant with my eating habits, so I'm a little worried about the food," Rydberg said with a laugh. "But that's the best part. You learn a lot by traveling. Not everybody gets to represent their country. We don't take it for granted."

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