At this year's playoffs, members of Seattle Slam, a Quad Rugby team, surrounded the table that member Mackenzie "Mac" Clay was lying on.

Quad Rugby, formerly known as "murder ball" or wheelchair rugby, is an international sport that originated in Canada.

It was during a break between games, which were part of the Pacific Sectional Playoffs in Northridge, Calif. The team had gone into a room where there were tables to lie down on and rest. But when it was time to play, Clay couldn't get up.

"They all got up and got in their chairs around him and coached him," said team manager Wimsey Cherrington. "'Okay try this, try that, okay well try this', and with their assistance, and sharing the things they know through their own experience, he was able to get up. That was pretty amazing."

Seattle Slam, formerly the Washington Warriors and then Team All Night, has been around since 1992; however, only in the last two years have they decided to revamp the team and go in a more serious direction. With new members such as Clay, the team is stocked with young talent, and they're planning big.

In the last few weeks, the team voted Brad Mikkelsen as the new coach. Mikkelsen, who is currently the coach for the international team from Denmark, is credited for bringing the game of Quad Rugby to the United States. Mikkelsen was the first inductee to the U.S. Quad Rugby Association Hall of Fame in 1999, and has served on the association board longer than any other member.

Mikkelsen sends weekly e-mails to Cherrington and former coach and player Curt Chapman with drills and other notes to run practices. Once a month, Mikkelsen flies to Seattle and the team holds a five-hour Saturday practice. According to Cherrington, Mikkelsen's goal is for the Slam to win Division II at Nationals in April 2009, and he thinks the team can do it.

In the Vancouver Invitational Tournament this past March, the Slam went undefeated, bringing home the Division II trophy. Portland, the only other U.S. team to attend, took home the Division I championship.

Chapman, who has played for the Slam since 1999, took on the job of coach when the team decided they wanted to play at a more serious level.

"I think the team in the next couple of years, if they can stay together and can keep going in that direction, you'll see them playing in a national tournament," he said.

The first step the team took was to increase practice time and outreach to rehabilitation centers to recruit players.

"What we realized was that a lot [of the centers] thought that the team was dead and they had stopped referring people," said Cherrington.

As a result of the efforts, the team added four new players this last season.

Clay, a 2007 graduate of West Seattle High School, is one of these players. At a wrestling practice his senior year, Clay broke his neck, damaging his spinal cord.

Before his accident, Clay also played golf and baseball for Westside.

"It's good to still play sports," he said at a recent practice.

When Clay first joined the team, they thought that due to the limited use of his arms, he would be unable to handle the ball. However, less than a year later, Clay has learned to catch and throw while playing defense for the team.

Another new player is Steven Ferreira, who, unlike his teammates, has had his disability since birth. Ferreira was born with cerebral palsy and has been in a wheelchair since he was 5.

Michael Lykins and Paul Walston are the other two players who have joined the team this past year. According to Cherrington, Lykins and Walston, along with Clay, have the drive and ability to one day be on Team USA.

Fellow team member Mike Wagner played during the "glory days" of the Slam in 1998-1999 and was a member of Team USA for that season.

"We're up and coming," said Wagner. "We've got new players so we're advancing."

Bruce Guertin, who will have played for the Slam for 16 years this fall, is the longest continuous player and brings a sense of appreciation for where the team has come.

"It was just me and Mike," said Guertin. "What's changed the most since I started is probably the chairs; they used to be just everyday chairs.

"I've had this one for 13 years," he said, not hiding his excitement for his new chair which was due to arrive any day.

Today's Quad Rugby chairs are specially designed with slanted wheels and a lower center of gravity. Many players borrow chairs; however, each chair is readjusted to best serve an individual player, their position and their disability.

Jeremy Hannaford, the "heart of the team" according to Cherrington, has a tattoo of a modern rugby chair on his right arm with flames and his number, 13.

Clay's dad, "Big Mike," stepped up as the equipment manager for the Slam and spends most of the practices fixing and adjusting the chairs for each player's specific needs.

The team has more than 50 volunteers, as well as 30 sponsors at various levels, from people who write checks to people who donate services and food.

"We have a lot of volunteers," said Cherrington. "They do a bang-up job at all of the tournaments...but we can always use more."

Volunteers and donations are sought in part because sectionals playoff tournament will be held at Seattle University in March 2009, where eight teams from the whole western U.S. will be attending.

Preparation has already begun for the event.

"With putting on sectionals and putting on the tournaments and having Brad come out and work with the team-we're going to have to raise somewhere in the neighborhood of $45,000," said Cherrington.

The team has put on fund-raisers as well, including a push-a-thon around Green Lake two years ago which was supposed to represent the distance from there to their new practice facilities at the Southwest Community Center, 2801 S.W. Thistle St. The team ended up going twice as far.

The Slam greatly appreciates their space at the community center in West Seattle.

"The community wants us here," said Cherrington. "This feels like home to us. The staff [and] the other people who use this space, they're not just being politically correct or being nice or doing what they have to do, they really and truly appreciate us and want us here, and have done amazing things to make that possible."

Cherrington said that in previous gyms, the team was just "tolerated," whereas the director at Southwest Community Center, Naseri "Junior" Kitiona, went out of his way to make the arrangement work.

Once a quarter the team invites kids from the Teen Life Center to try out the chairs and scrimmage with the team.

"It's a blast," said Cherrington. "The kids just really appreciate the sport."

The most recent open gym for local teens was held June 3.

Cherrington is the team manager and "visionary" for the Seattle Slam. She created and updates the team Web site, seattleslam.org, which provides information on the team as well as a background on the rules and history of the sport. Cherrington is also the vice-president of the USQRA.

Mehgan Sellers is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.