When you think of sports, the first image that comes to mind is a perfectly fit person in complete control of their body. A person in a wheelchair is not what comes to the front of anyone's mind when it comes to playing a sport. With the exception of the U.S. Paralympics and wheelchair racing, people in wheelchairs do not have a variety of sports to choose from. Power Soccer is trying to give people in wheelchairs a new choice of sport.
Power soccer is exactly as it sounds; soccer played by people in power chairs. The first team to be created in Tampa was the Tampa Thunder. Soon, however, so many people wanted to play power soccer, they formed multiple other teams. The Tampa Thunder team isn't just a local Tampa sports team — they've had players in the past go on to nationals and battle against teams from all over the world.
Another team that sprang from the Tampa Thunder is the Tampa Bay Crossfire. The Crossfire was created back in 2007, and from there has had quite a journey. One of the team's former players and head coaches, Elio Navarro, made his way to Tokyo to assist the USA team in winning the 2007 World Cup of Power Soccer. The Crossfire used to practice and play wherever it could find facilities before discovering the All People's Life Center; now all of the squad's practices and home games are held at All People's indoor soccer field.
This sport really means something to these kids; they really get into it. It's just like any regular soccer game — two 25-minute halves, a goalie, a striker, a referee and a coin toss at the start of every half. The teams have their head coaches and their assistant coaches run down plays with the players and strategies for the game. The only difference, really, is the fact that it's played in a power chair.
The players really get competitive during the game and they constantly communicate with each other directing who should be where and who should be doing what, just like in any sport. Robert Meyering, current assistant coach of the Tampa Bay Crossfire, says many of these players don't get to feel what it's like to "experience those pressure-filled moments when you're relying on another person to score and win the game at the last minute" from other sports because they aren't given the chance to play. In this sport they do get to feel the pressures and challenges of any other sport. They get to feel like they belong and aren't told they can't play.
This article appears in May 19-26, 2016.