When you hear the story of Melissa Klabunde, you may think she's just another outstanding high school basketball player. But what makes Klabunde's story different is that all of her accomplishments are made in a wheelchair. Klabunde was born with Spina Bifida, a birth defect that affects the base of the spine.

According to the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities, Spina Bifida means cleft spine, which is an incomplete closure in the spinal column, causing paralysis below the cleft.

Klabunde, a sophomore at Lewisville High, began playing basketball when she was 11-years-old. Her interest in the sport was sparked by watching her older sisters play for their school. Klabunde expressed her desire to play and found the Jr. Texans Wheelchair Basketball Team. Each team includes a wide range of ages-consisting of kids age eight to 18. Serving as a guard on her team, Klabunde has earned several awards in the last four years. She started in 1994, winning rookie of the year. Since then, she has achieved six MVP awards and two All-Star awards.

She likes the competitiveness of basketball and hopes her role on the team can assist the other players. "My mom would say I'm a team leader," Klabunde said.

She believes her main contribution to her team is showing up to practice and games and putting in extra time to watch the older team play. Her dedication to the sport was strengthened when she attended a wheelchair basketball clinic in Indiana. Klabunde, her peers and several adult sponsors spent one week at the clinic. The young athletes learned new techniques to improve their game.

"We were taught different ways to handle the ball," she said. An avid basketball fan, she looks up the women's team and on the professional level, idolizes Michael Jordan's accomplishments. She hopes to earn her spot on the women's team and earn a college scholarship through the organization.

It's a little early for Klabunde to decide her entire future, but she has visions of what she would like to do. "I'd like to go to UT Arlington. For a career, I'm heading towards something with kids-and I'd like to keep playing basketball," she explained.

Although she also participates in tennis and track and field, basketball is her first choice. "Basketball is more social and more interactive," she said.