News
President's Letter
Dear Teams,
The new season is upon us and there is a new order of competition and a renewed priority to register. This year there will no longer be divisions but rather all USPSA teams will be divided into conferences. The objective is to develop a means to maintain the integrity of competition while adjusting for future growth of the sport. While every effort has been made to anticipate a variety of situations and questions, as with anything that is new, we will work to deal with any unintended consequences and unforeseen issues as quickly and equitably as possible.
There will be a 12 game requirement to qualify for your Conference Cup Championship Tournament at the end of the season. This is why it is important to get registered and playing games as early as possible to meet the new required number of games.
This year for the first time, you will be able to make a choice to compete or not. You may opt out of competition at the time of registration. You can still play games, however you will not be involved in a...
Meet Gray Dougherty, third grader at Selwyn Elementary in Charlotte, North Carolina. His favorite subject is math; he's a weekend video game expert, a summer camp chess champion and a huge fan of Ben Roethlisberger, the Super Bowl winning quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. At age nine, Gray Dougherty is not only the youngest member of the Charlotte Power SURGE power soccer team, he's also a pretty classy and polite "boy about town."
Hey Big Ben, here is a young man you should look up to and idolize.
While Ben Roethlisberger has a definite size advantage over Gray Dougherty, he's got nothing on this power soccer stud when it comes to heart and determination. Michael Gray Dougherty was born in October 1998 and was diagnosed with Type II SMA in August 1999. Riley Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is a motor neuron disease that kills more babies than any other inherited disease.
With SMA, the motor neurons affect the voluntary muscles that are used for activities such as crawling, walking, head and neck control, and swallowing. It is a relatively common "rare disorder" where approximately one in 6,000...
Park and Recreation officials are working to bring the fastest growing sport for people in power wheelchairs to Sudbury.
Many children in motorized wheelchairs have never had the experience of playing a sport without the aid of an adult. Sure, there are Little League teams, but playing baseball usually requires a parent to help with swinging a bat or throwing a ball. There are few opportunities for someone in a power wheelchair to take the field alone, make his/her own decisions, and play independently. Anna Wood, the new therapeutic specialist and Teen Center director at the Park and Recreation Department, is bringing an opportunity to do just that to Sudbury: a sport called power soccer.
Power soccer was created in France in the early 1970s as the first competitive sport designed specifically for power wheelchair users and is played on a regulation basketball court with a 13-inch ball. Players are equipped with a chair guard, and given the same task as anyone else playing soccer: dribble and pass the ball in an effort to put it in a goal.
Wood, who was hired last month, studied recreational therapy at the University of New...
Dear Teams,
The new season is upon us and there is a new order of competition and a renewed priority to register. This year there will no longer be divisions but rather all USPSA teams will be divided into conferences. The objective is to develop a means to maintain the integrity of competition while adjusting for future growth of the sport. While every effort has been made to anticipate a variety of situations and questions, as with anything that is new, we will work to deal with any unintended consequences and unforeseen issues as quickly and equitably as possible.
There will be a 12 game requirement to qualify for your Conference Cup Championship Tournament at the end of the season. This is why it is important to get registered and playing games as early as possible to meet the new required number of games.
This year for the first time, you will be able to make a choice to compete or not. You may opt out of competition at the time of registration. You can still play games however you will not be involved in a Conference Cup Championship at the end of the season.
There is also a 2 game requirement within your conference. So of the twelve games, at least two must be against another team...
Wheelchair League Kicks Off First Season
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Kenton Bell has no legs and no arms, but loves to get on the court with a ball and play soccer.
"To me it feels great because as you can see I'm a quad amputee and there's not much stuff I can do", said Bell. "I don't like to sit on the sidelines, I like to mix it up. And this is the only sport where I can actually participate."
Bell is one of 16 players who make up the new Brooks Rehab Power Soccer team. It's a sport specifically for disabled people in wheelchairs who don't have the use of their legs.
The players use custom-designed wheelchairs to pass the ball back and forth.
Bell said he got the idea a few years ago when he saw other power soccer teams from Tampa and Orlando.
VIDEO: Power Soccer Kicks Off New Season
Coach Desiree Dinkel was on the sidelines Saturday. It was her team's very first game.
"We're really proud of our athletes because this is the first time that they've actually been able to play, and not just sit and watch. And that's huge...
7/25/10: The Northeast Disabled Athletic Association (NDAA) held a Power Soccer clinic last weekend at UVM's Patrick Gym. The newly formed Vermont Chargers played CNY United from Syracuse, New York.
Representatives from the US Power Soccer Association (USPSA) were on hand to give pointers and help new players get in the game. World-class French player Jerome "Pika" Durand (David Beckham of the Power Soccer world) and Syracuse's 19 year old Peyton Sefick will be competing in the 2011 Power Soccer World Cup held in France.
Back on the East Coast, The Vermont Chargers are hoping to find more players so they can scrimmage locally.
President's Letter
Dear Members and friends of the USPSA,
The season came to an incredible finish with a shoot-out in the Division I game with Circle City Rollers repeating their win for a second straight year and a third time in four. It was an incredible finish with both teams fighting hard for that top spot.
Division II finish was a confirmation of the Minnesota Thunder as the top team. The Thunder had two players score 10 goals each throughout the tournament. RHI Indy Cruisers played a good game but the Thunder ultimately prevailed. Congratulations to all teams who competed in this great event.
The annual meeting and elections were also held during the tournament. At the annual meeting there was much discussion about the reorganization of competition and in the end the membership approved to move forward with the plan presented.
Congratulations to Jenny Mitchell our newest member of the Executive Board. Jenny will serve as the new Secretary of the USPSA. I look forward to Jenny's contributions in the upcoming two years. I'd like to thank...
MARIETTA, GA - July 12, 2010 - The Georgia Games held their first ever power soccer event Sunday, July 11th at Fair Oaks Recreation Center.
The speed and concentration that these players possess is matched only by the precision and deliberateness of each kick. Like traditional soccer, in power soccer the quickness of the players is key as is a little bit of aggressiveness.
Power Soccer, a version of soccer for athletes in power wheelchairs, is a fairly new sport that has become quite prominent among many countries. Directing and controlling themselves in power wheelchairs is challenging and exhilarating to witness. The support from their families and communities also just encourages these players even more.
After a morning filled with exciting games in the gym at the Fair Oaks Recreation Center, the gold medal went to the Atlanta Tigers, which included the following players: Ricky Burnette, Keair Bussell, Jerry Frick, Nic McClay, Jujuan Redmond, and Dustin Swafford. Second place went to the North Georgia Screamin’ Eagles with players Carlin Camp, Russell Gregory, Karen Johnson, and Justin Pressley. And the third place bronze medal was awarded to the Carroll County Dominators, which included Anthony Hammett, Matthew...
After a great second place finish at the Western Regional, we on the Arizona Heat 2nd Degree were feeling really good about our chances at this year’s national tournament. However, those hopes were dampened slightly when we found out that one of us wasn’t going to be able to make the trip. It would change our game plan a bit, but we still felt strong heading to Indianapolis. Arriving at the airport, another member of our team showed up extremely ill, but he decided to make the trek anyway. He wanted to be there for the rest of us and he was sacrificing his health for the team. When the team arrived in Indianapolis, it was decided that our sick teammate was too sick and needed immediate medical attention. A trip to the hospital now left us with only four players. Despite the circumstances, we had to carry on.
The first day of the tournament was particularly challenging because we were playing with a different line up and we had never played against the other teams. Unfortunately the two games against the RHI Indy Cruisers and North Georgia Screamin’ Eagles resulted in two heavy losses, but we knew that there was still plenty of soccer left to be played. Off the court, our teammate who fell ill was being kept in the hospital, so we knew we had to...
Tournament was going to be the culmination five great years with the Arizona Heat soccer team. After spending the last five years with the Heat, I decided to join the new Arizona State University Power Soccer Club at the conclusion of the season. But before I join my new team, I wanted to make sure that my final season with the Heat would be our best season ever.
Expectations were high as we welcomed two new teammates from Indiana, Ginny Munson and Katie Dickey. The two came from a successful power soccer program, so we were hoping some of that winning spirit would follow them to the Valley of the Sun.
And follow them it did.
From the first practice, our new teammates brought a renewed vigor to the Heat squad that hasn’t been around for a long time. Our team had a new dimension and excitement that gave us hope for a very successful 2010 season.
It didn’t take long to see the impact of our new teammates. The Heat won their first ever PowerBlast tournament and even took Third-Place at the Western Regionals. The Arizona Heat won more games during the season than they've ever had before. We had developed a great chemistry throughout the season and were eager to see how we would do against the Nation's best at the National...
