Posted: Wednesday, August 15, 2012 --- 8:12p.m.

Some UW-Whitewater alums and players are headed to the Paralympics in London for wheelchair basketball, hoping to win gold.

Wednesday, they were sharpening their skills before they head off to London. Jeremy Opielade says becoming one of the best in the world takes a lot of practice. He and his team have been training for years. Sometimes they train for up to 8 hours a day.

All of that hard work and dedication means making a lot of sacrifices. Opielade says, "it's definitely like a full time job".

Guard, Ian Lynch, says taking home the gold medal will be a challenge because every team is good. He's expecting some tight games.

All of the players are grateful to get to experience the Paralympics.

They leave for training camp in Ohio next Tuesday, after a few days there, they'll head to London. Their first game is August 30th, against Turkey.