The Fulton boys tennis team is the only team in Section 3 with a handicapped person on the team. Senior Ryan Barry has been on the tennis team since his junior year.

Wheelchair tennis has become much more well-known in Central New York because Move-Along started an adaptive tennis program. Move-Along is a non-profit organization that forms adaptive teams for many sports. All able-bodied and handicapped children and adults are able to join and play.

The rules in adaptive tennis are only slightly different. The rule changes consist of instead of just one bounce, they are able to let the ball bounce twice for better mobility. The first bounce has to be inside the lines of the court and the second bounce does not have to bounce in play. That is the main rule change that affects the game.

Barry continues to be the only wheelchair tennis player in Section 3. Most of Barry's teammates think it is quite cool to have a teammate in a wheelchair. Hitting against him makes not only him a better player, but everyone else on the team better, too.

Coach Goodnough is inspired by Barry and noted, “Ryan is my first wheelchair tennis player. I am very proud to be coaching Ryan and especially happy to be able to watch him compete. I see the determination in all that he does.”

He continued, “It presents challenges for sure, but Ryan is amazing. He is determined to compete at the highest level. He can hit a with spin, respectable pace, and good placement, which makes him a worthy opponent.”

Barry stated, “The plus about tennis is that it is one of the few sports that allows a disabled athlete to compete with able-bodied athletes on a pretty even playing field.”

Senior Collin Bennett is also honored to have Barry as a teammate. He said, “I think it is really awesome. I hope this shows other schools that wheelchair tennis is really fun and everyone should try to get involved."