It's the only one in the state-a team of local kids whose eyes have been opened to new possibilities thanks to sports and the guidance of a gold medalist. KOAT Action 7 News sports director Orlando Sanchez introduces us to the Junior Rollin' Lobos

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The only youth wheelchair basketball team in the state is gaining encouragement from guidance of a gold medalist.They are called the Junior Rollin’ Lobos, a team of kids ages 12 to 19, dealing with a physical disability.The team share a connection with their disabilities through basketball.“I’ve never been with a group of people in wheelchairs before,” 16-year-old Dagoberto Saenz said. “I don’t feel so alone or different.”The Junior Rollin’ Lobos recently raised enough money to compete at the Endeavor Games in Oklahoma. It is one of the largest multi-sport competitions in the country for kids with varying disabilities.“My eyes opened,” Saenz said.Even though they didn’t win the tournament, it was a life-changing experience for the team.“It just opened their world up and gave them something to dream about,” head coach Loraine Gonzales said. “Their confidence is growing. They’re saying you know what? I have value, I actually have skill and I can actually do something when they’ve been told their whole life that they don’t.”Gonzales had dreams of becoming a Division 1 basketball player, but 40 surgeries on her leg couldn’t stop a bone infection. Her leg had to be amputated.“It was one of the lowest times of my life,” Gonzales said.Gonzales said she found wheelchair basketball to be the answer. She later competed in the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, where she won a gold medal.“I still pinch myself to even say, did that really happen?” Gonzales said.One of her teammates is Alana Nichols, who grew up in Farmington, New Mexico.Nichols was the first American female to win gold in the winter and summer Paralympic Games.Because of her, Gonzales was inspired to try playing volleyball and eventually tryout for the national squad.“To give hope to people with physical disabilities here in New Mexico that you can go out and live your dream,” Gonzales said.