News: Local News

May 10th, 2012
Jeannie O’Sullivan

FLORENCE — The huge ball shot forth as if from a cannon and pummeled surfaces with thunderous force, making the newbies wince and the long-timers grin.

Metal foot guards, not sneakers, propelled the sphere around the Fountain of Life Center gym during a wheelchair sport that’s just as action-packed as traditional soccer.

The 13-inch ball is slightly bigger than the regular one, and the athletes play in teams of four on a basketball court. But all the rules of regulation soccer apply.

You attack, you pass and you defend, according to player Jerry Frick.

“This isn’t an ‘everybody wins’ thing,” he said, whizzing around to spin-kick the ball across the court.

Frick and several other members of the U.S. Power Soccer Association gave pointers during a clinic at the Columbus Road church on Wednesday.

The Fountain of Life Center was the latest stop on the Indiana organization’s tour of the Northeast, where the players are introducing the sport to legions of power wheelchair users.

The 10 participants who showed up got their wheelchairs outfitted with foot guards and were escorted by Frick to an area where experienced players mentored the newcomers.

“We have a new victim,” joked Frick, who was rendered a quadriplegic after a 1989 motorcycle accident when he was 19....

April 28th, 2012
Jim

After writing the Senda Athletics article their founder brought an amazing and inspiring division of soccer to my attention; a little sport called Power Soccer. The more I learned about Power Soccer the more inspiring it became. It is amazing to see how far football can reach and how it can change lives.

I managed to get in contact with the head coach of the US National Power Soccer Team, Chris Finn, and asked him some questions about his experiences as Power Soccer player and coach.

How did you get into coaching?
I grew up playing sports with my focus being soccer. I dreamed of being the next Pele, playing for my country and winning the World Cup. After suffering a spinal cord injury resulting in quadriplegia in 1992 at the age of 21, I search for a sport to play for almost 10 years until I found out about a nonprofit called the Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program. One of the sports they provided was power soccer. Power soccer is a sport for people with severe physical disabilities who use a power wheelchair. The sport is four on four using the boundaries of a basketball court. The players attach a foot guard to pass, push, dribble and kick an oversized soccerball for two twenty minute halves of play. After playing for four months and going to my first national tournament, the person who was the coach at the time said to me,...

January 24th, 2012
Sports 'N' Spokes Magazine

 

January 1st, 2012
Tiana Velez, Quest MDA

The U.S. Power Soccer Team went head to head with the best in the world last fall and came away champions of the 2011 FIPFA World Cup. It's the second win for Team USA, which previously won the 2007 Cup in Japan.

Returning as undefeated champions, expectations were high for the U.S. players.

"It was more difficult this time around knowing that every team wanted to beat us," said J.C. Russo, 21, Team USA's goalie. Russo was one of five players making his second World Cup appearance.

Taking place over four days in November 2011, in Paris, France, the World Cup is the premier international competition for power soccer, the first competitive team sport designed specifically for power wheelchair users.

The Fédération Internationale de Powerchair Football Association, or FIPFA, hosts the single-elimination tournament every four years, drawing teams from 15 power soccer organizations worldwide from countries such as England, France and Japan. New to the 2011 games were clubs from Australia, Canada, Ireland and Switzerland.

Representing Team USA were 11 players — eight starters and three alternates. Of the 11, seven have muscular dystrophy or a related disease.

On the roster is Russo (Indiana); brother and sister duo, Jordan, 18, and Katie Dickey, 20 (...

October 18th, 2011
Tara Johnson, The Daily Holden

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
Zak Schmoll, Bleacher Report

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
Jeff Olsen, KARE-11

deeandra power soccer 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
Sports and Social Change

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
Jessob Reisbeck, KMPH-Fox 26

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.

Watch the news report at KMPH.

July 9th, 2011
WANE-TV 15

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.