Heroism comes in all shapes and sizes
– just ask Joey Sandoval, the Hollister Free Wheelers’ youngest
power soccer player.
Heroism comes in all shapes and sizes – just ask Joey Sandoval, the Hollister Free Wheelers’ youngest power soccer player.
“I thought it would be a fun sport for me to play, and I just kept getting better,” he said.
Sandoval, 10, has been playing with the Free Wheelers since he was 5-years old. The Free Wheelers are currently one of the top teams in the world of power soccer – a sport designed specifically for athletes who use a power wheelchair. It is played in nations throughout the globe. Though the rules are similar to conventional soccer, the raw determination of the team’s 14 men and women, who range in age from 10 to 42 and are armed only with their power chairs, is an unique spectacle.
The oldest (by one minute) of triplets, Sandoval was born prematurely at 28 weeks, weighing 2 pounds, 7 ounces, and afflicted with cerebral palsy, a not uncommon occurrence among babies born so early. He has been confined to a wheelchair essentially his entire life, but he hasn’t let that slow him down – he participates fully in school at R.O. Hardin and is well-liked by his classmates.
“The kids don’t mess with Joey,” said Joey’s mother, Monica Sandoval. “There aren’t too many triplets in town, so everyone knows who he is.”
Her experience raising Joey led Ms. Sandoval to take a position with the Special Parents Information Network, a nonprofit designed to unite and educate parents of children with special needs and the community at large. It wasn’t long before Sandoval realized that precious few recreational opportunities exist for a child in her son’s position.
“When Don (Jones, the Freewheelers’ head coach) told us about the team, I was very excited,” she said. “We started taking him to watch when he was only 3-years old, but he didn’t like it. He would cry because he didn’t like the sound of the buzzer.”
All that changed, however, when Sandoval received his first power chair at age 4. It allows him to maneuver himself easily with little more than the touch of a joystick.
“Once he really started to figure out what he could do with his chair, it was like he became a different person,” said Ms. Sandoval.
Though most of his teammates on the Freewheelers are high school-aged or older, Sandoval refused to be intimidated, jumping into practices and learning the ropes from the older players. He does not play one fixed position, rather, he plays wherever his coach needs him on any given day.
“I guess I don’t get nervous, I just try to do my best, always,” he said. “It’s just fun to be there.”
Joey’s mother says she has seen a dramatic change in her son since he began playing power soccer. She attributes the transformation to the positive influence of the older players.
“He’s a lot more confident in himself,” she said. “We used to have a hard time even getting him out of the house – this is great for him.”
And his mother isn’t the only one who’s noticed a difference.
“Joey has improved immensely since he first started with us,” said Jones, who started the Free Wheelers 1997. “And he’s grown in more than just soccer, he’s grown into a fine young man.”
Sandoval’s favorite part of his sport, he says, is the chance to travel and compete in national tournaments, held in Arizona, Indianapolis and, this June, Alabama. The team has placed second or first at five national championships, and is widely considered the best team in the US and among the best teams in the world.
“I like to travel and meet all the other players from around the county, we have a good time together,” said Sandoval. “Everybody has something different, and it’s quite fun to meet players with other disabilities.”
Last year Sandoval and a handful of his teammates put on a power soccer demonstration for his classmates, most of which had never even heard of the sport before. It was well received.
“All of my friends were cheering for me, they really liked it,” he said.
The power soccer community is hoping to have its sport featured as an exhibition sport at the Paralympics, which are always hosted by the Olympic city, in this case Beijing in 2008. It could be a competition sport in 2012. A US team has already been assembled, but Sandoval intends to represent his country and his sport when he is a little older, and hopes that power soccer will become more popular among fans and potential athletes alike.
“It doesn’t matter what disability you have, it doesn’t matter what you think,” he said. “All that matters is what you can really do.”
To learn more about the Free Wheelers or to make a tax-deductible donation to the team, call 636-3271.
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or ds****@fr***********.com.
