Written by BORP Power Soccer Head Coach, Margo Roeckl
I recently went to MDA Camp at the Grizzly Creek Campground in Portola, CA to preach the gospel of power soccer. As a coach of developing athletes over the past several decades I love the moment when someone who has never had the opportunity to play a sport becomes AN ATHLETE. Being part of a team, putting on the game jersey, having people cheer them on – it is life altering for many of our participants. BORP offers many life altering opportunities…
MDA camp has a variety of folks with a wide range of abilities. Many of the boys at camp were eager to hop into a strike force chair and go fast and spin, and some literally could since they were able to ambulate. Others were a bit more cautious and needed a little encouragement. Some campers did not want to get in a strike force chair – it was too low to the ground and intimidating, so we had a modified everyday chair with a guard. Some individuals wanted to stay in their chairs but have a milk crate strapped on to kick the ball around.
My job was to introduce the sport and our athletes and let the magic happen. I made it a point to check in with every camper to see if they wanted to give it a go. One teen girl was in a manual chair that a counselor pushed for her. When I approached her, there was no eye contact, just a shy sidelong glance. I asked her if she wanted to try power soccer – she immediately said NO! I stayed with her for a little bit talking about “girl power,” how much fun it would be to drive herself around, and encouraged her to watch the others to reassure her that it was safe. And I asked again if she wanted to give it a go. No! was the prompt, emphatic reply. I got down really low and close and told her if she changed her mind to let me know. “Changed mind!” was the immediate response.
It took a little more coaxing to get our camper, whose name was Patience, into a strike force chair. At first she did not want to drive it. I realized that she doesn’t normally drive herself, so she needed a little more encouragement. Her initial efforts were a bit traumatic as she bumped into every chair and object in the nearby vicinity trying to get to the open court space. She sat there with her counselor for a little bit until one of our athletes made it a point to talk to her and tell her about controlling the chair and showing her simple moves. And that is when it happened…the light bulb went on and Patience realized that she was in control of her chair, where she went, her Destiny! For the first time she was able to navigate the world INDEPENDENTLY. The shy sidelong glance turned into a grin of wild joy. It took us a long time to get her to relinquish the chair so someone else could try it. Having found her independence, she was reticent to give it up.
It is unlikely that Patience will want to be a power soccer athlete. But just maybe she now has the belief that she can be more independent, and that will open up the world to her. That empowerment is priceless, and it is what BORP offers to those that come “…just to try a sport.”
