News: Local News
October 18th, 2011
AUBURN, Mass. - For Addison Russell, 23, of Holden, the U.S. Power Soccer Clinic at Saint Joseph's Parish Center in Auburn on Sunday was an opportunity to reintroduce his passion for sports after a tragic accident nearly took his life several years ago.
In August 2006, at the age of 18, Russell was with friends riding a tube behind a motor boat on Lake Quinsigamond. A Kawasaki 900 STS Jet Ski ran him over, striking his head, and leaving him with serious injuries.
Russell, a three-sport athlete, had just graduated from St. Peter-Marian High School earlier in the spring. He had planned to play soccer at Emmanuel College.
He was in a coma for nine months and the family was unsure if he would survive. When Russell's mother, Gail, discovered the U.S. Power Soccer Association, she, along with several other community members, decided to host a free clinic in the Auburn area.
According to the USPSA, Power Soccer is the fastest growing sport for power wheelchair users. The sport was originally developed in France in the early 1970's and was introduced to the United States in the early 1980's.
Since then, many countries have created their own version of the sport, which led to an international meeting in Paris, France in 2005. This development led to the formal organization of the U.S. Power Soccer Association in...
September 23rd, 2011
If I told you that Team USA was the defending World Cup champion, you'd write me off as delusional.
However, I did just say that, and I am of perfectly sound mind—because the United States National Power Soccer Team did indeed win the 2007 World Cup in Tokyo.
Of course, by now you're wondering what is power soccer?
According to the returning Team USA coach Chris Finn, "Power soccer is similar to outdoor soccer only for people who use power wheelchairs. Instead of using our feet, we use our wheelchairs and foot guards to push and spin kick the ball."
Two teams of four play on a regulation basketball court in a fast-paced and sometimes very physical contest that has been spreading rapidly across the world.
There will be 10 countries from four different continents meeting for the World Cup in Paris this November. Team USA is, of course, hoping to come out on top again.
Power soccer is indeed a very competitive sport and, by hearing from some of the athletes, I think that you will hear a little bit more as to what this international competition means.
Jordan Dickey explained what the World Cup championship would mean to him.
"Every athlete at any level dreams of representing their country, I get that opportunity and I plan on making my country proud."
Although she was never...
September 13th, 2011
GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. - A local teen who has found inspiration on Courage Center's soccer field is helping other kids with disabilities see what is possible for them.
"She's pretty humble, but she's a pretty good player," Barb Fealy said about her daughter Deandra.
Dee was born with cerebral palsy, which means she has trouble with muscle control.
"She has no ability to control her body," Barb explained. "But she has a smart, intellectual brain."
Indeed, at 16 years old, Dee is ranked at the top of her class at Columbia Heights High School. She is intelligent, funny and very competitive.
"When she has that focus and that passion for things, nothing stops her," said Junior Mameo, Dee...
September 7th, 2011
ASSOCIATED SPORTS: Football (Soccer)
CAUSES SERVED: Athletics, Children and Youth, Disability Issues, Special Needs
AGE GROUPS SERVED: All
EMAIL: krusso1 [at] indy [dot] rr [dot] com
WEBSITE: http://www.powersoccerUSA.net
Just minutes prior to the final championship match, players on competing teams are seen hanging around talking, laughing, and having a blast. Blasphemous, right? Nope. This is special. This is the sport of Power Soccer.
Power Soccer is a sport developed specifically for those who use power wheel chairs. According to the United States Power Soccer Association, “Athletes' disabilities include quadriplegia, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, and many others.” The game is similar in format to outdoor soccer, but is played indoors on a basketball court. “Two teams of four players attack defend, and spin-kick a 13-inch soccer ball in a skilled and challenging game similar to able-bodied soccer.”
While relatively new, Power Soccer is played all over the globe, and every four years there’s a world cup - which Team USA won...
July 20th, 2011
If you followed the U.S. women's team at the World Cup or know the Fresno Fuego are unbeaten in their last 22 matches, you also know the popularity of soccer is on the rise.
From coast to coast, and right here in our Valley.
And tonight, Jessob Reisbeck introduces us to a local team that plays the sport with passion, and provides inspiration.
July 9th, 2011
HUNTINGTON, Ind. (WANE) - The Turnstone Flyers won a national tournament in Huntington Saturday. It's the Founder's Cup U.S. Power Soccer Tournament.
Five different teams from Indiana, Georgia and Minnesota were competing to be national champions.
Power soccer is a wheelchair sport created for those who use power chairs.
This is the first year Turnstone hosted the national event.
"We promote our services to the public because we want people to accept people with disabilities and we also want to provide opportunities for people with disabilities to compete," said Tina Acosta with Turnstone.
The Turnstone Flyers are now the national champions in the Founders Cup Division.
For videos and photos, see the story at the WANE-TV website.
April 30th, 2011
WATSONVILLE - At brother Freddy's seventh birthday party earlier this month, Carlos Vazquez left the table and headed out to the deck to mingle with guests - a simple social interaction most people take for granted.
But Carlos was born with cerebral palsy and until he obtained a power wheelchair about 16 months ago, the 10-year-old Alianza Charter School fifth-grader lived life in park unless someone came along to give him a push.
Since then Carlos has gained an independence he and his family only dreamed about, most recently joining the Hollister Free Wheelers, a power soccer team. Now he's envisioning winning a spot on the national team someday, competing globally. But first, if he can raise the funds, Carlos hopes to go to Minnesota with his team in June for a national tournament.
"I love it, the experience of power chair soccer," said Carlos, flinging his arms wide and grinning. "I love my team. My team is awesome."
Veronica Aguilar, who teaches seventh- and eighth-graders at Alianza, never imagined she'd be a soccer mom. She's amazed at how her son has grown since community donations enabled the family to acquire the power chair in 2009. Carlos lacks the motor control to manipulate a manual wheelchair, but he easily maneuvers his joystick-controlled power chair.
Aguilar said Carlos is...
April 15th, 2011
Independent. Confident. Passionate. These are the three words Arizona State University sophomore Katie Dickey uses to describe herself, and they have nothing to do with her wheelchair.
If someone saw her in the pathways of ASU, they might not guess she plays for a collegiate soccer team, coaches soccer and is training on the National team for her league in preparation of travelling to France to play in a world-cup game. They might not guess she has won numerous awards and accolades in the athletic realm.
They might not guess these things because Dickey has a genetic disease called Distal Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a neuromuscular disease that results in progressive weakening of the muscles and required her to use a wheelchair beginning her freshman year of high school.
“I don’t let my disability define me in any way, but it has had an impact on my life,” Dickey said. “I would like to think it has made me more open-minded and accepting of others.”
She said that her being in a wheelchair has given her opportunities. Dickey is a member of the United States Power Soccer Association and just recently filled one of the eight spots on the U.S. National team, which leaves for France in...
March 28th, 2011
He thought he could never be an athlete - then he found his game
All of his life, Tony Jackson loved sports.
He liked the idea that two people, or two teams, would face each other and do their best. One would win, and one would lose. The drama appealed to him.
So, throughout his youth, he got as close to the games he could. "But I was always the scorekeeper or the referee, never the athlete."
Jackson could not play because of arthrogryposis, a rare congenital disorder that restricted the mobility of his joints and led to the degeneration of his muscles. Jackson's condition is severe enough that he has used a wheelchair his entire life.
Jackson, now 34, was certain that not being able to play, or compete, contributed to the notion that people with disabilities are fundamentally different from people without them. He was on the sidelines - different.
In 2006, when he first learned about power soccer, a sport he might be able to play in his motorized wheelchair, he shunned it.
"People who don't know think of it as more of an elementary-school...
