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Vermont Chargers Power Soccer Brings Together Diverse Group of Athletes

Standing with school friend Julia Johnson, Vermont Charger Power Soccer Team Member Kyle Grant looks ahead to national competitions this summer after helping his team win the Stamatis Cup this past weekend at UVM.
photo provided
Standing with school friend Julia Johnson, Vermont Charger Power Soccer Team Member Kyle Grant looks ahead to national competitions this summer after helping his team win the Stamatis Cup this past weekend at UVM.
Made up of members of all age and walks of life, the Vermont Chargers play a rough and passionate game of power soccer that brought the crowd to its feet.
photo provided
Made up of members of all age and walks of life, the Vermont Chargers play a rough and passionate game of power soccer that brought the crowd to its feet.
With practices every week, the Vermont Chargers are not just out to have a good time, but are serious about their efforts and their love of the game.
photo provided
With practices every week, the Vermont Chargers are not just out to have a good time, but are serious about their efforts and their love of the game.

Tuesday April 1, 2014

By Cookie Steponaitis

Power soccer is a unique sport for power wheelchair users to participate in a competitive team sport. “Power soccer is a real sport that takes a high level of skill to play, “shared team coach Scott Goyette. “This is not an, everybody gets a hug at the end kind of situation, and that's what we love about it.”  Comprised of a diverse group of men and women that off the court are students, professional artists, kindergarten teachers, advocates legal analysts and more, the members of Vermont Chargers Power Soccer are bound together by a love of the sport and the amazing game that is called power soccer.
    Founded in 2012, the Vermont Chargers compete nationally as a part of the United States Power Soccer Association.  A part of the Northeast Disabled Athletic Association, the NDAA is a nonprofit that offers competitive athletic opportunities for individuals with disabilities throughout Vermont. Thanks to great working relationships with the Burlington Parks and Recreation Department and the University of Vermont, the Vermont Chargers make use of Robert Miller Community Center in Burlington and UVM to hold their practices. Working together as a team, also translates into success off the court. “Living with a severe disability can be isolating,” shared Goyette. ”Power soccer turns that notion on its head by providing an opportunity for athletes to pursue excellence, travel the country and be part of what has become a large global community.”
    Besides the challenge it the pure fun of the sport. Just ask Charger Player Kyle Grant. Kyle is a senior in high school, who lives in Addison with his parent Scott and Betsy. Grant joined the Chargers three years ago and has been in love with the game ever since. “People would be surprised to know, “shared Kyle,   “that there are 60 teams nationwide and more internationally. The World Competition is held in Paris, France. Also, there are no age limits. I am the youngest player on my team.” Aware that most people probably don't understand the differences between power soccer and traditional soccer, Kyle went on to explain. “In power soccer you have two people trying to get the ball away from another player."
    With practices from September – May and a competition season from January- June, Power Soccer basically keeps the athletes busy all year. This past weekend the group played in a tournament at Patrick Gymnasium with teams from Montreal, Boston and New Hampshire. “It was so much fun," shared Kyle.  “Several of my friends from school came to see me play and they were shocked by how hard we play. We won the tournament and it was not an easy win. We lost one game and came back to take the tournament. We have a few more tournaments this spring and a national competition in June in Indiana."
    Power Soccer, like all sports bridges gaps, barriers and gives all the team members a chance to develop not only individual skills, but to bond as a team.  Kyle serves as a     for the team and moves his power chair with a speed and precision that is reminiscent of his Nascar idol  Dale Earnhardt Sr. " It was so much fun to watch and to be at," remarked school friend Julia Johnson. “We had heard Kyle talking about it for a while, but to see power soccer in person is incredible. We were in the stands yelling and when his team won we all cheered."
    While Kyle was born with Myotubular Myopathy, a rare condition that limits his use of his muscles and requires his use of a ventilator to breath, on the court he cruises in his motorized wheel chair at about 6 miles per hour using a steel guard to pass the soccer ball to his teammates.  Winning the Stamatis Cup that weekend was a high point for Grant and the other Chargers, but in perspective it is a drop in the bucket compared to the skills, confidence, camaraderie and passion for the sport of soccer that is shared in the Vermont Chargers.  Kyle summed it up best with a grin and one simple sentence, “It’s just fun!”


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