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BORP Power Soccer at the 2018 National Tournament

By Chris Finn on July 13, 2018 1 Comments

The US Power Soccer Association (USPSA) hosted the 2018 MK Battery Conference Cup Series, a national power soccer tournament, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, June 28 through July 1. The BORP power soccer program sent two teams to the tournament: The Crushers and the Shockers. The tournament was held at the Turnstone Center which is a beautiful Paralympic certified training facility. Thirty-five teams from four different divisions participated in this week-long event. It was the first time all the teams were able to compete and be under the same roof at the same time—that alone was awesome!

Shockers team picture

In order to accommodate all the teams, the Presidents and Founders Divisions (third and fourth divisions respectively) started a day before the Premier and Champions Divisions (first and second divisions respectively). The Shockers are in the Presidents Division and played three games on June 28, the first day of the tournament. Most of the players traveled the day before and with the three-hour time difference I believe that may have been a factor in their slow start to the tournament. The first two teams capitalized on some mistakes that we made early on and scored several goals each which proved too much for us to come back from. After a little pep talk, some coffee and a little fuel from lunch the Shockers came back and won their third game, finishing third in their pool of four teams.

The second day of the tournament began with another early morning start for the quarterfinals and the Shockers lost a close one but came back with a vengeance to win the next game, putting them in the fifth place game going into the third day of the tournament.

The Shockers started out a little slow in the first half of their final game on day three, which resulted in two quick goals for the opposition. With ten minutes left to go in the game we scored our first goal and kept putting more and more pressure on but just couldn’t break with the tying goal to send it to overtime. The Shockers finished in sixth place out of ten. One of the highlights for me was seeing the players transition from sleepy and passive, to the most tough and aggressive I have ever seen them play. Hopefully at our next tournament we will be able to start there from the beginning! Also, Ian Kinmont was nominated to the all-tournament team.

Crushers Team Picutre

The BORP Crushers started their three-day stint on June 29. Luckily none of the games for each BORP team conflicted making me choose which team to coach. In their first game, the Crushers came out and scored a quick goal on a corner kick with Jake Bath sneaking the ball directly into the goal between the two defenders. The final score was 1-0.

The second day they played three games starting at 8:00 AM. In their first early-morning game they went down 0-1 in the first half but rallied to win the game 3-1 showing much resilience. They went on to go undefeated in pool play and getting a quarterfinal bye. The team was extremely excited about this especially because we had just moved up to this upper-level division after winning the lower level tournament last year. This also meant that on our first game on day three was at 11:00 instead of 8:00 AM, giving us much needed rest.

Many of the teams were confident that we would do well because we were playing an aggressive style of play by always playing our goalie up court and having them intricately involved with the flow of the game versus keeping them planted in the goal. We call this the four-up system, and none of the teams have ever seen it or played against it.

In the semifinal game despite our extra rest, we played a little sleepy and passive which the opposition took advantage of scoring two quick goals in the first five minutes. After that, we woke up and dominated possession and play throughout the rest of the game but were only able to score one more goal even though we had multiple chances. This put us in the third-place game where again we started out a little slow and came on in the end and lost 2-1 finishing in fourth place out of ten. After starting the tournament so great the players were a little disappointed with a fourth place finish with their eye on winning it all. But after being promoted from the lower division up to the Champions division with much more competitive teams, the result is very respectable as most teams struggle with the promotion. From the experience the team definitely learned a lot, identifying areas we need to work on for next year to take home the title. Also, Calum Cain was nominated to the all-tournament team.

Overall it was a great tournament for both teams. They played hard, progressed and developed a lot, both individually and as a team, and learned a lot about how to deal with the agony of defeat. I’m proud of both teams and appreciate everyone’s hard work. including the parents, volunteers, and personal care attendants who help make the journey and experience as seamless and enjoyable for the athletes. We’re looking forward to next year and continued improvement. The BORP power soccer program would especially like to thank all the people who donated and assisted in the fundraising with the poker fundraiser to make it possible for us to attend. We are already looking forward to next year!

Click here to see more pictures from the tournament taken by Scot Goodman.

Categories : BORP Adult Sports, power-soccer

Tags : Adaptive Sports, borp, BORP Power Soccer, Disability, Poker Slam, Power Soccer

BORP Poker Fundraiser a success for the 15th time!

By Chris Finn on March 21, 2018 No Comments

Whether you’re an avid poker player or a novice at best, anyone has a chance to make the final table at the BORP Poker Fundraiser, and this year was no exception. There was a first-time attendee, a regular, and a power soccer player and assistant coach at the table. But the person who won the tournament was Katherine Russell, who arrived at the tournament late because of a delayed flight, coming directly from the airport to the fundraiser. That’s how much she loves BORP!

The fundraiser had one of its best turnouts, with over sixty people participating. And while many were first-time players, one of the best things about the event is that people tend to come back year after year, making it feel like a fun game with family and friends, versus a cutthroat battle of competitors.

The tournament started out cautiously as everyone settled in, but by the third round, the “all in’s” were coming from every table and the first player was knocked out. Luckily this year we had instituted the ability for people to “buy back in” to the tournament by making another donation and almost everyone took advantage of this option which kept almost everyone playing in the tournament for the first two hours. From there people started dropping like flies. One could hear the cheers of joy and moans of despair as the last card in the hand was revealed to help someone win and derail someone’s hopes.

The final table had Adam, a power soccer player from Sacramento, against Katherine who helped to produce a documentary about power soccer. Adam was the chip leader by 4 to 1 at the start but Katherine clawed her way back, battling it out. Patience, savvy betting, and a few lucky cards put her over the top in victory. A spectator commented, “This kind of action should be televised!”

Thanks to everyone for supporting BORP power soccer and another successful poker fundraiser! With your contributions, we were able to meet our fundraising goal, raising more than $10,000! Mark your calendars for next year’s event February 23, 2019, to see your old poker buddies and make some new friends, too.

Big thanks to Bob Dubow for helping get the tournament started off with a poker tutorial that helped new and rusty poker players feel confident and comfortable participating. He did such a good job teaching people how to play one of the students knocked him out of the tournament! The tutorial drew a crowd and actually got people in the spirit to shuffle up and deal.

I’d also like to thank Jonathan Newman for setting up and making the venue look good, Betsy Dorsett and Daniel McDonnell for making sure everybody got registered, Danielle and Tiffany for quenching everyone’s thirst, and Sarah Dawn for providing the amazing food and treats.

This year more great support was also provided by Delta Gamma sorority throughout the night. They helped the entire event from set up to clean up and we couldn’t do it without them!

Go BORP!

Categories : BORP Adult Sports, BORP General Interest, power-soccer

CAL/BORP Goalball take on CSB Goalball

By Jonathan Newman on February 15, 2018 No Comments

Group picture of CAL/BORP and CSB Goalball players

On Tuesday, February 13, the UCB Goalball Team in collaboration with BORP Goalball went to the California School for the Blind (CSB) in Fremont to play the CSB Goalball Team.

The CSB staff and students showed tremendous support for their team with a pep rally and 100% attendance for the rally and game. Spectators crowded the gym and the game was broadcast into the CSB multi-purpose room for those who couldn’t make it to the gym.

The CSB players showed big improvement since games at BORP on December 13, 2017, and fired up by their home court crowd kept the game close into the 2nd half. At that point, the CAL players asserted themselves and used their superior defensive teamwork and offensive firepower to pull away from the young CSB-ers.

Thanks to CSB Coach Caiti O’Mallor and all the players, students and staff at CSB for a great day of goalball!

Thanks to the CAL/BORP team for making the trip so successful and to BORP for the transportation.

Categories : BORP Adult Sports, BORP General Interest, goalball

BORP Goalball Invitational XXIII Recap

By Jonathan Newman on December 14, 2017 No Comments

In my various roles during the BORP Goalball Invitational, I am generally too busy to reflect on the events and tenor of the day while it is happening. And year XXIII was no different as we crammed 12 exciting games into an 8-hour period. However, in immediate contemplation post-competition (and with the help of a cold beer(s)), I was most struck by the camaraderie among the athletes and teams and the support the veteran players provide to the less experienced. So, while this event is very much a competition, for me it also embodies the sports experience at its best for the athletes, spectators, and volunteers! It wouldn’t be possible without all of you!

Scot Goodman Galleries:

Gallery on Smugmug
Gallery on Facebook
Please contact Scot for purchase or permission to use his photos: sgoodman@lmi.net

Bryanna Stubbert throws the ball

GAME 1: Honey Badgers versus Seriously! Seriously! was not able to field a full squad for this game and played with only 2 players: Bryanna Stubbert and Brandon Young. The Seriously! 2 put up a valiant fight but Honey Badgers were able to find the gaps and hold off Seriously!’s late surge and won 7-4. Chris Lucero had 4 goals for the Honey Badgers and Brandon Young had 4 on the losing side. The Badgers other 3 goals came from Michelle Yoo.

GAME 2: Replicas versus Walking Dead. Two powerhouse teams took the court and both came out firing bombs! Replicas took an early 3-0 lead behind Joe Hamilton’s 3 goals but that lead was gone in a jiffy as Grej Pesjaka scored 5 unanswered goals in a minute and a half to put the Dead up 5-3 at halftime. In the 2^nd half the Hamilton/Pesjaka duel continued but the Replicas slowly crept ahead as Replicas’ Roger Acuna found the net for 2 critical goals. The Replicas again fashioned a lead late in the 2^nd half and their defense steadied just enough in the final 3 minutes to capture a 10-8 victory. Joe Hamilton had 8 goals for Replicas and Grej Pesjaka had 8 for the Walking Dead.

GAME 3: Seriously! versus Cal Bears. Early nerves put Cal in a 4-1 halftime hole as the defense was slow to get into gear. Seriously!’s goals in the 1^st half came from Mandy Gargano (3) and Brandon Young (1). The second half was more of the same as Young (2) and Gargano (1) led Seriously! to a 7-2 triumph over the Bears. Sergio Lopez and Tiffany Zhao each had a goal for Cal.

Christella Garcia throws the ball

GAME 4: Honey Badgers versus Replicas. An early goal by Replicas’ Christella Garcia was the only score in the 1^st half as both teams played superlative defense. In the 2^nd half the Replicas built their lead to 3-0 with goals coming from Garcia and Casimir Werda. Starting at the 3:22 mark the Honey Badgers offense came alive and goals from Lucero (2), Jeshua Aveno (1) and Yoo (1) put the Badgers ahead 4-3 with 14 seconds left. This only left time for one more throw from the Replicas’s and Garcia made it count with a goal and a 4-4 tie.

GAME 5: Cal Bears versus Walking Dead. A re-grouped Bears team shed their first game jitters and took a 3-0 lead in the 1^st half with goals from Lopez (2) and Jessica Adams (1). Walking Dead’s Pesjaka led a 2^nd half surge with 5 goals but the Bears kept up their scoring as Lopez tallied 3 and Adams 1 to earn a 7-5 win.

GAME 6: Seriously! versus Replicas. Replicas blistered the nets throughout the 1^st half and took a 6-3 lead with goals from Hamilton (3), Acuna (2) and Garcia (1). Both teams came out with a defensive mindset in the 2^nd half and shot after shot was blocked with each team getting only one more goal and Replicas eventually taking the 7-4 win. Replicas final goal tallies were: Hamilton 3, Acuna 3 and Garcia 1 while Seriously! had 2 from Khemnesuel Fisher, 1 from Bryanna Stubbert and 1 from Young.

GAME 7: Walking Dead versus Honey Badgers. Walking Dead got an early goal and never took their foot off the gas pedal against the Honey Badgers. Badgers got 2 late goals in the 2^nd half but no answer for the Dead onslaught and lost 9-2. Dead goals came from Pesjaka (5), Victor Hakopian (2), Jon Marcotte (1) and Elena Hodges (1). Honey Badgers’ Aveno and Lucero had 1 goal each.

GAME 8: Replicas versus CAL Bears. Team defense was the story of this game with Replicas Building a 3-1 lead behind goals from Acuna (2) and Micah Aveno (1). In the 2^nd half Cal scored an early goal to pull within 1 but could not break through and lost the nail-biter 3-2. Sergio Lopez scored both Cal goals.

GAME 9: Walking Dead versus Seriously!. Young and Fisher led the offense for Seriously! while Pesjaka was in top form for Walking Dead. When the dust had settled Dead had an 8-6 win with all 8 goals coming from Pesjaka. Fisher (4) and Young (2) had the Seriously! goals.

Jeshua Aveno dives to block the ball.

GAME 10: Cal Bears versus Honey Badgers. Brilliant defense characterized the first half of this match. At halftime, the score was 1-1 with Lopez scoring the Bears goal and Aveno the Badgers lone tally. The 2^nd half was similar through the first 2 minutes but then the Bears went on a goal-a-minute spree, with 2 goals each from Lopez and Adams, and rolled to a 5-1 triumph.

With Pool Play complete the matchups for the playoffs were set with Walking Dead facing Honey Badgers in the 3^rd Place game and Replicas and Cal Bears in the title match.

GAME 11: 3^rd Place: Walking Dead versus Honey Badgers. In pool play Walking Dead had made quick work of Honey Badgers but the 3^rd Place game was a different story. Both teams were in good defensive form and half #1 ended in a 2-2 tie. Dead’s 2 goals came from Hakopian while Badgers got 1 apiece from Aveno and Lucero. In the 2^nd half the Badgers crept ahead 4-2 with goals from Aveno and Lucero, but that lead evaporated quickly as the Dead’s Pesjaka blasted 3 quick goals through the Badgers defense. The Badgers got a tying goal (5-5) from Yoo with 1:35 left but Pesjaka found the net one more time with 40 second left and secured the 6-5 3^rd Place victory for the Walking Dead.

Cal Bears embrace after winning the tournament

GAME 12: 1^st Place: Cal Bears versus Replicas. The Bears who started the day with a shaky defense, re-found their mojo to get in the title game while the Replicas used their all-around game play throughout the day to earn their spot. Cal owned the first half and the first 6 minutes of the 2^nd half and had a 4-0 lead with 1 minute left behind 4 goals from Lopez. Quick back-to-back goals from the Replicas’ Hamilton put the result in doubt with 32 looong seconds left. However, with the game on the line, Cal tightened up their defense and won the title of BORP Goalball Invitational XXIII, 4-2. Go Bears!

End of an Era

Bill Johnson, BORP goalball volunteer, for almost 3 decades is moving to Grant’s Pass Oregon. BORP Goalball commissioned a tribute book for Bill from Scot Goodman including photos from his career at BORP and the following text.

“Bill Johnson Loves Goalball!

And the BORP Goalball Program and all our participants benefited from that love for almost 30 years. Bill wore every hat the program has, including: player, coach, referee, driver. floor taper, fundraiser, team sponsor (Autopsychic.com) and ambassador. Nearly every week (thanks, Teresa) Bill showed up early to help set up the court, coach early arrivals and rookies, play, referee, shag balls, clean up and ferry people to BART or Lane Splitters for post-practice “analysis”. Known in his playing days as InvinciBill (or InvisiBill) he is definitely IrreplaceaBill and his contributions to the long term success of BORP Goalball will never be eclipsed.”

Individual scoring totals for BGI XXIII (1^st number) and career (2^nd number)

Cal Bears
Lopez: 15, 70
Adams: 4, 19
Zhao: 1, 2
Cabrera: 0, 3

Replicas
Hamilton: 13, 114
Acuna: 7, 121
Garcia: 4, 34
Aveno: 1, 1
Werda: 1, 1

Walking Dead
Pesjaka: 30, 47
Hakopian: 4, 127
Hodges: 1, 1
Marcotte: 1, 21

Honey Badgers
Lucero: 9, 14
Aveno: 5, 5
Yoo: 5, 13
Salazar: 0, 0

Seriously!
Young: 10, 180
Fisher: 6, 94
Gargano: 4, 10
Stubbert: 1, 10

Brother versus sister: Jeshua Aveno scored 5 goals for Honey Badgers and finished in 4^th Place while Micah Aveno had 1 goal for Replicas but finished in 2^nd Place.

THANKS

Group shot of players and volunteers at the BORP Goalball Invitational XXIII

As with every tournament, there are numerous people and businesses that contribute to the success.

How to Raise Over $700 for Your Revolution Ride in a Day

By Betsy Dorsett on August 23, 2017 No Comments

We’ve been happily giving away these nifty BORP hats every Tuesday to the Revolution rider who raises the most money that week, but recently something unexpected happened.

Annie Kaferle registered for the Revolution on Monday afternoon. And by the time we were calculating the winner of the week’s hat giveaway, she was squarely in the lead. When the contest officially ended at noon on Tuesday, Annie had raised over $700. In less than 24 hours.

Here’s Annie’s secret to raising over $700 in under 24 hours

“I sent an e-mail to my friends and family with the link in it – riffing on what BORP provided with a little personal blurb about why I chose to support BORP and then I also posted a similar link on Facebook for people to donate directly. I have to say, I think the more you facilitate donating (i.e. adding a hyperlink) the easier it is for people to donate – and quickly! I’m pretty lucky to have such generous friends and family that are willing to donate to a cause that I am interested in!”

Image of hand cyclist and standard cyclist riding in the Rev. Text over image reads "Why I Ride the REV ... because 84% of all BORP participants report an increased ability to lead an active lifestyle."

Click here to download images like this one to share on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Give it a try. (You, too, could win a hat and help support BORP at the same time!)

If you haven’t registered for the 15th Annual BORP Revolution Ride & Festival yet or haven’t started fundraising, don’t worry. There’s still time to meet and exceed the $400 minimum fundraising requirement.

Try personalizing the templates we provide, like Annie did, with your own reasons for supporting BORP and sending it to your friends, family, and coworkers. Be sure to include the link to your personal or team page.

You can also post something similar, including the link to your fundraising page and your reasons for getting involved with BORP and riding in the Revolution, to your Facebook page.

Give it a try! You may be surprised by how much your friends and family want to support you and care about the causes that you’re committed to! Plus, we’re giving a BORP hat to this week’s top TWO fundraisers, and you could win! (All donations made between Tuesday, August 22 and Tuesday, August 29 at noon will count toward the contest. Winners will be notified on Tuesday, August 29.)

More Fundraising Resources:

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Categories : Adaptive Cycling, adult-wheelchair-basketball, BORP Adult Sports, BORP Cycling, BORP Fitness, BORP General Interest, BORP Youth Sports, power-soccer, revolution

Tags : Adaptive cycling, Adaptive Sports, borp, BORP basketball, BORP Jr. Road Warriors, BORP Power Soccer, BORP Revolution, Cycling, Disability, goalball, handcycling, Jr. Road Warriors, Power Soccer, Rev, Revolution, wheelchair basketball

2017 FIPFA World Cup

By Jonathan Newman on July 17, 2017 No Comments

The 2017 FIPFA World Cup in Kissimmee, FL was a world class competition with thrilling play, heart-rending controversy, and great sportsmanship!

10 countries qualified for the competition and the big target was on TEAM USA, who was going for an unprecedented 3rd consecutive championship.

Captained by 3 time USA team member, Michael Archer and 2 time USA team member, Jordan Dickey, the USA steamrolled through Pool A and finished 4-0, giving up only 1 goal. In Pool B France and England dominated the competition and France finished on top of Pool A by virtue of their 2-1 win over England.

In the semi-finals, France made quick work of Australia while the USA edged England (2-1). This game featured a big controversy over a disallowed England goal which would have tied the game late. The call held up and the finals matchup was USA v France (as it was in World Cup #1 in Tokyo in 2007 which the USA won on sudden death kicks-from-the-mark).

In the final, the USA came out strong and just missed scoring in the first minute. The French were on their heels throughout the opening 5 minutes but weathered the relentless USA attack and started putting pressure on the USA. That pressure created a French scoring opportunity about 1/2 way through the first half and the French capitalized to take a 1-0 lead. The USA came back on a penalty kick and a set play and went up 2-1, but France got to 2-2 on a brilliant counter-attack. The half ended 2-2.

In the 2nd half the play was end to end but France dominated possession and neutralized the USA’s potent passing game. A late score by the French put them up 3-2 but did not end the drama as the USA pressed the attack. However, the French were equal to the defensive challenge and scored another goal on a penalty to win the title 4-2.

After 3 years it seems very strange for the journey to be over. As I look back I am very grateful to have been a part of this team and thankful for all the generous love and support I/we received on the way. Don’t know where the 2021 World Cup will be but I’m ready to go!

United, Strong, Able, TEAM USA!!!

US versus Uruguay at the FIPFA World Cup

Photo by Scot Goodman. Click here to go to his gallery.

Final Standings

France
USA
England
Australia
Japan
Ireland
Argentina
Uruguay
Denmark
Canada

Categories : BORP Adult Sports, BORP Fitness, BORP General Interest, power-soccer

Tags : Adaptive Sports, borp, BORP Power Soccer, Disability, FIPFA World Cup, Power Soccer, Team USA, US Power Soccer, USPSA

Congratulations to the BORP Crushers, Presidents Cup Power Soccer Champs!

By Chris Finn on June 20, 2017 No Comments

BORP Crushers take home the Presidents Cup Championship Trophy

The BORP Crushers and Shockers went to Indianapolis from June 16-18 to compete in the US Power Soccer Association MK Battery National Tournament. Both teams were in the Presidents Cup Conference, which is the third of the three conference competing at the tournament. The tournament organizers put the teams in different pools so that they would not play each other until possibly during the finals and I was hoping for a BORP-vs-BORP finish.

The Crushers got off to a slow start compared to their usual performance, mostly because several players on the team had had surgeries during the year that affected their ability to practice for most of the season. They came away with a win the first game but it didn’t instill the most confidence. Luckily, as the tournament went on, they improved in their individual and team play while increasing the margin of goals they won by with each game within their pool.

The Shockers played hard in each game, playing against teams in their pool that had much more experienced. They also improved with each game and played with tremendous heart, finishing the last game in pool play with a 7-0 win. At the half during the last game we were ahead 2-0 and during halftime, one of the player’s dads came over to me to let me know that there would most likely be a three-way tie in the Shocker’s pool. This meant a tie-breaker of goal differential (or most goals scored throughout the games) would break that tie. So, going into the second-half we started scoring goals two minutes in and ended up winning 7-0, giving us one goal more than the two other teams and put us in third place out of five.

Entering the quarter finals I had to decide was which BORP team to coach because the Crushers were playing in one quarter final game and the Shockers were playing in another at the same time. Because the Crushers were ranked higher, I left my trusty assistant coaches, Bill and Travis, to coach them while I coached the Shockers.

The Crushers anticipated crushing the Tidewater Piranhas but with ten minutes left to go, they were only up 1-0 and seemed to have a little bit of nerves. The other team scored a goal to tie it up which seemed to motivate the players and they went on to win 6-1.

Meanwhile the Shockers were playing the second ranked team from the other pool and were in a tight battle at halftime with the score at 1-1. The team had many opportunities to score but were not able to finish and execute to go ahead. In the second half, the NEP Wildcats had a few breakaways, making several goals to bring the score to 4-1. BORP scored a last-minute goal to make the score 4-2. Even though we lost, the team felt good about their effort but it ruined the chance of having a BORP-BORP final.

The Shockers won their next two games in heated battles and back and forth play, eventually beating the Tidewater Piranhas 4-2. The tide went out on the Piranhas playing the BORP teams and the Shockers finished in 5th place out of ten teams.

The Crushers went on to easily win their semi-final game and faced the NEP Wildcats who beat the Shockers in the final, so they were out to take BORP revenge. BORP went up 2-1 at half-time and felt good about how they were playing and eventually went on to win 4-1 with great execution on set plays by Jake Bath, who scored directly from a corner kick. And Josh Burger received a corner kick pass from Calum Cain, putting it right past the goalie in the corner of the goal.

Both teams competed hard and were extremely excited about the results. Ian Kinmont from the Shockers and Calum Cain from the Crushers were selected for the Presidents Cup all-tournament team. Because they finished first, the Crushers will now move up to the Champions Cup Conference and hope to repeat their success next year. The Shockers, gained valuable experience this year and will hopefully be able to compete for that first place trophy next year to follow in the Crushers footsteps.

Many thanks to all the sponsors and donors who supported us on our journey, especially the Challenged Athletes Foundation who supported several of the players with grants and everyone who supported and came out to the Poker Slam back in February. And big thanks to all the family and support staff for making the trip fun, exciting and memorable for all.

Go BORP!

Crushers Players
Milo Balcziunas
Jake Bath
Josh Burger
Calum Cain (made all tournament team)
John Madigan
Cosmo Rudd
Kayvan Zahiri

Crushers Staff
Chris Finn – Head Coach
William Cain – Assistant Coach
Travis Bath – Assistant Coach
John Madigan – Assistant Coach
Jonathan Newman – Team Manager

Shockers Players
April Bryant
Ariana Dindzans
Stephen Dykstra
Talia Geliebter
Ian Kinmont (made all tournament team)
Margaret Mele
Ruby Shemaria

Shockers Staff
Chris Finn – Head Coach
Aleksandr Dindzans – Assistant Coach
John Madigan – Assistant Coach
Jonathan Newman – Team Manager

Congratulations to all the Power Soccer players, coaches and staff! And thank you to the families and friends who made the trip to cheer on BORP!

Categories : BORP Adult Sports, BORP General Interest, BORP Youth Sports, power-soccer, Uncategorized

Tags : Adaptive Sports, borp, BORP Power Soccer, Power Soccer

BORP Goalball Invitational XXII

By Jonathan Newman on December 13, 2016 No Comments

Another great tournament is in the books! BORP Goalball Invitational XXII, on Saturday, December 10, was a wonderful day of spirited competition, skillful play and community engagement!

Group shot of all the Goalball players and volunteers after the BORP Goalball Invitational XXII. Photo courtesy of Scot Goodman.

Joe Hamilton, Jonathan Newman and Christella Garcia

Joe Hamilton (left) who won silver with the men’s Goalball team and Christella Garcia (right), bronze medalist in Judo, with BORP’s Adult Sports Programs Coordinator, Jonathan Newman (center).

We were honored to have two 2016 Rio Paralympic medalists join us for the day: Joe Hamilton won Silver with the USA Men’s Goalball Team and Christella Garcia won a Bronze in Judo.

BORP Goalball Invitational Report

Five teams took the court to determine BORP Goalball supremacy and the ultimate champions went undefeated to claim the crown.

CAL Bears and ZaZa’s All Stars got the tournament started with a run-away that turned into a nail-biter. CAL took a 3-0 lead into the final 3 minutes behind 2 Will Slason goals and 1 from Jessica Adams. With 2:21 left Shen Kuan scored for the All Stars and that’s when the game got really interesting. A 4th goal for CAL from Adams at 1:26 seemed like it would salt the game but the All Stars Sergio Lopez scored with 34 seconds and Mandy Gargano with 15 and the score was 4-3. CAL’s defense held for the last All Stars’ throw (Yow!) and the game ended 4-3 as CAL Coach Newman had a heart attack :-).

Game 2 paired Roll City against Tequila Poppers and was a heavyweight shoot-out with each team owning a half. Tequila Poppers used 4 Abel Del Toro goals and 1 from Victor Hakopian to take a 5-3 lead at halftime. Joe Hamilton accounted for all Roll City’s first half goals. In the second half an early flurry of 3 goals in a minute from Grej Presjaka put Roll City on top 6-5. The goals kept coming for Roll City with 2 from Hamilton, 1 from Presjaka and 1 from Jon Marcotte to take a 10-7 victory. Del Toro and Bryanna Stubbert has a goal apiece for the Poppers in the 2nd half.

Game 3 was another offensive thriller with a twist. 2 month old goalball rookie fan Zyona “ZaZa” Gargano Young was treated to a match-up between her parents (Mandy Gargano and Brandon Young) as ZaZa’s All Stars (Gargano) took on PKRB (Young). Young’s PKRB squad jumped out to an early lead behind 2 goals apiece from Young and Khemnesuel Fisher. The All Star’s used goals from Kuan and Lopez to stay close and the score was 4-2 at half. The All Stars ratcheted up the offense in the second half as Lopez and Kuan scored 2 more goals each to put the outcome in doubt. However PKRB maintained their lead with 4 goals of their own (Young 3, Fisher 1) and held on for the 8-6 win and family bragging rights for Young.

Tequila Poppers and CAL Bears squared off in Game 4 and Poppers, as they say, came loaded for Bear. The Poppers could do no wrong in the first half and took a 6-2 halftime lead behind 4 goals from Del Toro and 2 from Hakopian. The Bears were not without fight and their revitalized second half defense held the Poppers to 1 Del Toro goal while the Bears added 2 to theirs. Final was 7-4 and both teams had much to be proud of. CAL had 2 goals each from Slason and Adams.

PKRB and Roll City was a Game 5 shoot-out as each team sent rocket after rocket cross court and into the opposing defense. A 3-3 halftime score was the prelude for an explosion of goals from Roll City that PKRB could not match. The final was 11-6 Roll City. Young tallied all 6 PKRB goals while Presjaka 5, Christella Garcia 3, Hamilton 2 and Marcotte 1 all scored for Roll City.

ZaZa’s All Stars and Tequila Poppers showed their defensive mettle in Game 6 and it wasn’t until late in the first half that either team scored. The All Stars got a goal from Lopez to take the lead but Del Toro and Stubbert answered and had the Poppers up 2-1 at half. The second half saw Poppers adding on a goal per Popper (Del Toro, Hakopian, Stubbert) to go up 5-1. The All Stars tightened up their defense and used goals from Kuan and Lopez to draw within 2 but ran out of time and succumbed 5-3.

The 7th game of the day was a brilliant defensive “clinic” between the CAL Bears and Roll City. CAL’s Tiffany Zhao made her debut in the middle and anchored a first half shut-out for the Bear while CAL’s Slason provided the only first half goal for either team. The excellent defense continued for both teams through the 2nd half as players for both teams blocked ball after ball. The teams hammered away at each other relentlessly and finally with 3 minutes left Roll City’s Presjaka found a crack in the CAL defense for City’s first goal. With the outcome still in doubt, Garcia blasted in City’s game winner 1 minute later for the 2-1 win.

Game 8 offered no relief from the tension of the previous game, only a difference in styles as PKRB and Tequila Poppers staged an offensive fireworks show for 10 minutes that flipped to a defensive struggle at the end. PKRB’s Young was in top form in the first half and his 6 goals led his team to a 6-4 halftime lead while Poppers’ had 3 from Del Toro and 1 from Hakopian to stay within striking distance. In the second half the Poppers’ defense stiffened and relinquished only 1 PKRB goal from Fisher. With 2 minutes left the Poppers had forged a tie behind 2 goals by Del Toro and 1 by Stubbert. Defensive artistry from both teams kept the score unchanged and the game ended 7-7.

Roll City and ZAZa’s All Stars matched up for Game 9 and City’s Presjaka was on form early leading his team to a 5-2 halftime lead scoring all 5 City goals. Lopez had the All Stars 2 goals and in position for a 2nd half run. An early 2nd half City goal by Hamilton pushed the lead to 4 and while the All Stars played great 2nd half defense they were matched in that regard by City and absorbed a 6-2 loss.

Game 10 was the final game of Group Play and would determine who was in 2nd and 3rd in the group. PKRB needed a 4 goal win over CAL to make the title game as Tequila Poppers held the goal differential advantage. PKRB showed they were ready for the challenge early and used 3 Fisher goals and 1 from Young to take a 4-2 lead over CAL at halftime. CAL had goals from Julie Cabrera and Slason to stay in touch and set up an exciting finish. In the 2nd half PKRB jumped their lead to 3 as Fisher notched another goal but then the Bears put a wall in front of their goal and started chipping away at the PKRB advantage. 2 goals from CAL’s Adams sandwiched around a Slason rocket evened the score 5-5 with a minute left. And after a loooong minute that’s the way it ended.

With Group Play finished the match-ups were set for the the play-offs. The 3rd Place game had PKRB and CAL while Roll City and Tequila Poppers were set for the 1st Place game.

After a 20 minute break PKRB and CAL took the court and picked up where they left off from Group Play. PKRB had the early advantage behind 2 goals from Fisher and 1 from Young but CAL’s Slason got one back for CAL and burnished hopes for a 2nd half comeback. CAL’s Adams fed those hopes with a quick goal to get CAL to 3-2 and 6 minutes of courageous goalball followed. With both teams blasting away and both defenses in lock-down mode the tension rose with every throw until ultimately PKRB prevailed 3-2.

Christella Garcia BORP Goalball Invitational

Christella Garcia taking a shot at the BORP Goalball Invitational XXII. Photo Courtesy of Scot Goodman.

The Championship between Roll City and Tequila Poppers had a similar script in the first half to the 3rd Place game. City took a 3-1 lead with 2 goals from Hamilton and 1 from Garcia while the Poppers’ Del Toro punched 1 in right before the buzzer. The Poppers closed to 3-2 with an early goal from Del Toro and a quick exchange of goals from City’s Hamilton followed almost immediately by a Del Toro strike had the score at 4-3 with 5 minutes left. From there it was all City as they settled their defense and used 2 more Presjaka goals and 1 from Hamilton to secure the BORP Invitational title.

Thanks to all the volunteers, teams, families, friends and sponsors for their generous donations of money, time, goods and services. It is an honor to be associated with all of you and share this wonderful event (that started as my senior project at New College in 1995).

Thanks to Delta Gamma (DG) for their enthusiastic support of goalball and BORP throughout the year and especially to Sierra Westhem for her leadership in expanding the collaboration between BORP and DG.

More thanks to all day volunteers: Leslie Zander, Stephanie Spenny, Bill Johnson, Scot Goodman and end of day helpers: Jessica Adams and Matt Grigorieff

Thanks to our sponsors:

Nakashima Fine Arts, Ikeda/Greenwood Family, Sue Johnson Custom Lamps & Shades, Vision Faire Optometry, Scot Goodman Photography, Zander Associates Environmental Consultants, Golden Gate Labrador Retriever Rescue

Click here to see the photos from Scot Goodman Photography

Categories : BORP Adult Sports, BORP General Interest, goalball, Uncategorized

Tags : Adaptive Sports, borp, goalball, paralympics

James Bohnett Wins NWBA Intercollegiate Player of the Week

By Betsy Dorsett on November 15, 2016 No Comments

James Bohnett playing at the 2013 Hoops Classic tournament.

Former BORP Varsity Basketball player, James Bohnett, was named NWBA Intercollegiate Player of the Week for October 31-November 6. James, who attends the University of Missouri, scored 82 points, and had 19 rebounds and 16 assists over the course of three games during the University’s Mizzou Classic tournament, leading his team to the tournament title.

Reflecting on James’ early career as a young BORP athlete, Coach Trooper Johnson said, “James was such an incredible athlete during his time here at BORP. He was a true leader on the court and made all of his teammates better. His passion for the game was incredible and he seemed to always have a smile on his face. During his senior year, James scored 80-90% of the team’s points and never failed to give his teammates credit for the work they were doing to make it possible for him to score. Congratulations James!”

Click here to read more about James and learn how the NWBA selects a Player of the Week.

Categories : adult-wheelchair-basketball, BORP Adult Sports, BORP General Interest, BORP Youth Sports, youth-wheelchair-basketball

BORP Power Soccer (VIDEO)

By Betsy Dorsett on November 3, 2016 No Comments

“The greatest thing about power soccer is that you’re able to play a game, have fun, and become an athlete, just like anybody else.” -Chris Finn, BORP Power Soccer Coach

Andreas Floistrup, a journalism student at San Francisco State University, recently joined Coach Finn and BORP’s power soccer players for a practice. Check it out:

Categories : BORP Adult Sports, BORP General Interest, BORP Youth Sports, power-soccer

Tags : Adaptive cycling, Adaptive Sports, borp, BORP Power Soccer, Disability, Power Soccer

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