Napoleon Dynamite and Power Soccer?

Okay, does anyone remember the amazing scene at the end of Napoleon Dynamite where he is playing tetherball with the girl whose name I am forgetting right now? Well, I now have found the power soccer version that would allow me to recreate the scene. The Power Soccer Shop sells a device which is essentially a metal pole that rotates 360° just like a tetherball would. I know that the Kick It Shop also had something like that except with a chain instead of pole. Either way, I now feel like watching that movie or playing that game or preferably both at the same time. I think it looks like a lot of fun and also allows you to develop a better spin kick. I also think of the slight adaptations that could be made to create a game very similar to tetherball in that one player would be on each side and whoever cannot return the spin kick loses a point. Competition is great! The only potential downside to the device is that it takes up quite a bit of room, but that is no different than normal power soccer. Maybe I will have to try one out!

Photo from http://dollface-is-candysweet.blogspot.com/2008/10/something-for-weekend.html

What a Year

Well, I ran an application on my Facebook that read what word I have said most in the past year. Of course, soccer was number one. Our team has had a great year of growth! I believe that the first clinic was last December, but I didn't start playing until March. Let me just say that it has been a great team to be a part of. We have grown a lot in the past year, but all that will be put to the test on Saturday. As many of you probably know from my incessant repeating, the Chargers are headed down to the University of New Hampshire for our only third game. However, this is incredibly important because we will have referees becoming certified which will enable us to host USPSA sanctioned games. With this building block in place, we will then be able to continue to grow. Who knows what the next level will be, but I do know that there will be one. It is kind of like the movie Inception where there is always another level. There is always a way to find a way to another level. Of course, some levels take longer than others, but they are all fun, and we will enjoy them along the way.

Growth is Imminent!

All right, let's talk about my power soccer thought right now. Right now, I do not understand how the Paralympic committee turned down power soccer for inclusion at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics. Unfortunately, I do not have statistics, but I have read that power soccer is the fastest-growing adaptive sport in the world. Therefore, imagine what it would be like in six more years. Nevertheless, I am sure that they know what they're doing, but it's too bad that power soccer won't be highlighted on that stage. Competing on that level would expose power soccer to the largest audience it has ever been exposed to. Of course, this is only temporary. I have no doubt that the sport will continue to grow. I have no doubt that more teams will pop up in different nations around the world. Earlier this year, I read that Singapore is starting to get into the mix. Once we have a more international competition, I do not doubt that power soccer will have a spot in the Paralympics. So, keep growing! I had no idea who will read this, but if anybody happens to come across this in another country, maybe you could start power soccer there. It really is a great game!
Photo by stevecadman on Flickr

Sports Addiction

I think that it is interesting how addictive power soccer is. For example, after we got owned by Syracuse, I knew that I had to upgrade my equipment. Similarly, many of my teammates continue to upgrade what they are playing with. More and more metal guards are coming in, and we have had a few new rear-wheel chairs for various people. The amazing part is that mostly people pay for this stuff either out of pocket or with a grant. It is amazing the amount of effort that people are willing to put in to elevate their game. It really is not that much different than any other sport though. If you're a young soccer player here in central Vermont and you want to elevate your game, you play during the regular season but you also sign up for some club team that does cost money. Once you are there, you need to make sure that you have the right equipment such as proper fitting spikes every year. The costs are not all that much different except for the fact that power soccer requires an initial investment but then is essentially over and done with until the wheelchair dies. However, it is awesome that people are willing to invest to improve at a sport that really is awesome.

Highland Games

I'm not sure how many of you have ever been to a Scottish Festival near you. Well, today I was at one in New Hampshire. Even though it is largely a cultural happening, there is a definite athletic side to the event. Some people would definitely argue that dance is in itself an athletic event, but I do not even want to touch that issue right now. Rather, I would rather write about essentially what is the World's Strongest Man for Scotland. There are several different events that I do not know the proper name of, but I do know that they take an incredible amount of full body strength to be good. One event is basically pitching a giant bale of hay over a bar that is attached to a ladder. Even though these events are very basic, there is something entertaining about watching sheer physical strength. There is definitely some technique involved, but the games seemed to be largely about the pure physical. Although I tend to have a mind for the tactical side of things, I really enjoy watching these guys (although I do believe that there have been women before).
Photo By foxypar4 on Flickr

Team Chemistry

When I think about our power soccer team, I realize that what we really need to work on is our communication, but there are definite signs of improvement. Last night, I was very encouraged as we were actually calling out when a defender was in the box rather than tripping into a three in the box call and giving up a free kick. For those of you who don't know, there can only be one defender and goalkeeper in the goal box at once. The offense does not have a limit though, so it is important for someone to be in the box to support the goalkeeper. However, I think that communication goes both ways, on offense as well as defense. Communication does not necessarily need to be verbal because often times verbalization well give away a wide open weak side cut. However, sometimes something as simple as eye contact can be enough if the team chemistry is there. I do realize that some of us, like myself, have some issues physically rotating our bodies, but we all have cues that we as teammates will learn to read and react accordingly. I am hoping to be able to pick these up from my teammates better so that we all can function as a better team.

World Cup Soccer vs Power Soccer

The Phillies won yesterday which is always good, but the bad news is that the US World Cup team is tied for second behind Slovenia. Somehow I doubt that Slovenia will be able to hold that top slot for very long with the United States and England right behind them, but it's kind of ironic anyway for the time. I was watching Germany versus Australia yesterday afternoon, and I began to wonder about some of the differences between soccer and power soccer. The biggest difference I noticed is that power soccer is much more dribble oriented while the World Cup match was much more focused on passing. However, I think that this difference can be accounted for by the fact that it is very difficult to lift a power soccer ball. I've only seen it lifted once or twice on YouTube and was only able to be elevated one or two inches. Therefore, power soccer players cannot make runs and try to beat the defender one-on-one while waiting for a pass to come over the top from the midfielders. Any long pass will probably get picked off by some defenseman without ever getting anywhere near its target.

Another difference I noticed was that almost every attack was based with some sort of cross to get the ball into the middle. We do cross sometimes in power soccer, but we mostly attack the middle of the field to challenge the goalie. I think this difference can accounted for because there are many fewer people on a power soccer team, so it is much easier to penetrate the middle. Since only one chair can be playing the ball at a time, why not take it to the goal?

The World Cup continues, a hopeful America can finally live up to the hype that it has brought to the past couple of Cups and put together a nice run.
Photo  by 1Happysnapper (photography) on Flickr

Invitation to Compete

Today, I am thinking about the benefits of competition. I think that, at some level, we all need competition. Even people who don't like to lose need to compete every now and then. There's something about competition that brings out some sort of adrenaline rush that caused all the participants to rise to the level that they don't normally need to reach to. For example, if you don't exercise your muscles, they become weaker and weaker. On a similar level, I think it is important to exercise your mind and body in this hyped up state to make sure that you don't lose that desire to win. We all like to get things easily, but every now and then it feels great to say that you got something because you hardest worked for it.

So, that is what power soccer does for me. It forces me to use parts of my mind that I don't typically have to. For example, it's very unusual that in everyday life I need to worry about pushing a ball to a teammate without having it intercepted by an opponent. In fact, I don't think that has ever happened in real life unless of course I made a Disney movie where I spontaneously burst into power soccer mode at random times throughout the day and call it something like High School Power Soccer or something like that. Of course, then that's not really real life. Anyway, back to the topic. Anybody else out there who feels like they need some competition in their lives but use a power wheelchair, we would love to have you on July 25 at the University of Vermont's Patrick Gymnasium for a power soccer clinic. Registration is at 12:45, and the clinic runs from 1 to 3 with Jerry Frick of the United States Power Soccer Association. Following the clinic, you can see myself and my teammates on the Vermont Chargers meet the New Hampshire Power Cats again at three o'clock where we hope to bring our record to 2-0! All power wheelchair users who can independently drive their chair are welcome to bring their chairs, themselves, and we provide the rest of the equipment to play. I'd love to see any of you all there!