Hello everyone, my name is Gary McKie. I am one of the trustees at TreatSMA, and as some of you may know, I am father to Sam, who is 8 years old and has SMA Type 2.

After the initial diagnosis, dealing with the abundance of appointments, professionals and everything else that comes with having a neuromuscular condition, we wanted to put a bit of normality back into life, after the upheaval of moving and adapting a home for 2 years.

Over the next few months, I’d like to tell you about Sam’s personal experiences, and also delve into the world of disability sport, and find out exactly what is out there, what can be achieved and to help us all realise that there really is “life outside the chair”

With Sam now quite settled in nursery at the age of 3 back in 2014/15, and the arrival of his new powerchair (Permobil K450), we wanted to have a look around at what was available for Sam to be able to participate in recreationally, and sports that he would be able to participate in, with the right environment and equipment. Like any normal dad, I’d like for my son to be able to play football. So we looked around at what was available, and what we needed to do for Sam to be able to participate.

We realised that there was a local powerchair football club on our doorstep, so went along to see what the set up was. 

Here is a brief explanation of the game - Powerchair Football, also known as Power Soccer, is a variant of association football for people with physical disabilities. Players use power wheelchairs in order to maneuver and kick an oversized football. The game is played in a gymnasium on a regulation basketball court. Two teams of four players use powerchairs equipped with footguards to attack, defend, and spin-kick a 13-inch (330 mm) football in an attempt to score goals.

The sport is played on a standard-sized basketball court. Each team is allowed 4 players on the court at one time including the goalkeeper. A match consists of two 20-minute periods. Because of the two-dimensional aspect of this game (players are typically unable to kick the ball into the air), artificial space has to be created around the players. The two distinct differences in the laws from the able bodied game are: 1) the "two-on-one" rule, and 2) the 3-in-the-goal-area violation

1. "2-on-1". Only a player and an opponent are allowed within 3 meters of the ball when it is in play. If a teammate of either one comes within 3 meters the referee may call an infringement and award an indirect free kick. This forces the players to spread the field and prevents clogging up of play, allowing for a greater free flow of play. The only exception to this violation is if one of the 2 teammates is a goalkeeper inside his/her own goal area, then there is no infraction of the laws.

2. "3-in-the-goal-area". The defending team is only allowed to have 2 players in their own goal area. If a third player enters the area, the referee may stop the game and award an indirect free kick to the opposing team.

In the case of either of these infractions (2-on-1 and 3-in-the-area), the referee may refrain from making the call if the player in question is not affecting the play (similar to the concept of the offside law in able-bodied football).

Additionally, because many of the players do not have the upper body strength to throw the ball with their arms, when the ball leaves the touchline of the field, the players kick the ball back into play. In other words, instead of a "throw-in" from the sideline, powerchair football has a "kick-in"...and because the ball is 'kicked' a goal can be scored directly.

Intentionally striking or ramming another player may result in a penalty.

The laws of the game can be found here

Initially the first thing we had to do, was to get Sam into one of the specialised football powerchairs, which can go much quicker than traditional powerchairs (10kph/6.2mph) and they can also spin much quicker to be able to strike the ball at pace along the court to team mates and into the goal. This was our first challenge. With Sam being only 3 and on the smallish side. 

However, we succeeded. By using and securing a conventional car seat to the chair and securing Sam inside the car seat.

The first few classes were used to get Sam used to the chair, and to also allow him to grow his skills with hitting and dribbling the ball. It was evident very quickly that Sam had a flair for the sport, and you could also see from the big smile on his face that he absolutely loved it.

Until the age of 6, you cannot participate in any competitive matches, and also due to the nature of the sport and the small numbers of people participating compared to able bodies sports, there are no age restrictions within the team, so you can find yourself coming up against young players, teenagers and adults. There are some restrictions when it comes to playing competitively at either regional (6) or national league (11) level and also when it comes to playing for your country (16).

When Sam turned 6, he began to play for Newcastle Magpies in the North East Championship league, with games taking place in various locations, such as Leeds, Middlesborough, Hull and Newcastle.

                                                                         We also began to fundraise for a specialist chair called a “StrikeForce”, which is used worldwide by

                                                                         The best players and teams. The cost of the chair was £7,500, which we managed to raise very quickly, and took delivery of the chair in February 2019, helping Sam to raise his game amongst the other teams and bag himself a total of 18 goals over the remaining 6 matches, scoring 8 goals in one match alone.

Sam went on to be nominated by his coach for NUFC Foundation disability player of the year, which he won, and was presented with his award by Rafa Benitez and Gabby Logan at a star studded black tie dinner at St James’ Park.

As Sam’s parents, we could not be any prouder of what Sam has achieved in the sport so far. He has also just been given special dispensation to play in the Muscular Dystrophy National Championship league with his teammates for Newcastle United Foundation Team. He came on last weekend against Middlesborough and scored his 1st national league goal in a 5-0 thriller, securing our place at the top of the league by 5 points with 2 weekends to play in the season.

https://www.facebook.com/Newcastle-United-Foundation-Powerchair-Football-Club-110397277001206/

When participating in national league competitions, players must go through a classification process and will be either a PF1 or a PF2 depending on physical strength and abilities. This also means that teams cannot field 4 players who are all strong in ability, to make things fair all round.

Powerchair football allows it’s participants to take part in “the beautiful game” and enjoy the thrill of football in all its glory. It also increases self esteem and confidence of individuals and has a great social aspect too. Players compete for their favourite teams, wearing the team colours with pride and compete to a high standard at regional and especially national level.

Details of regional and national leagues can be found here as well as a map to show the UK clubs.

The England Powerchair squad won the EFPA Nations Cup in May 2019, after beating current world champions France in Finland.

The Para Lions beat Les Bleus in a penalty shoot-out, after coming back from 2-0 down. France had yet to concede a goal throughout the whole tournament and had beaten England in the qualification group by 3-0. You can read the article regarding this here.

Chris Gordon, who plays for West Bromwich Albion is a double MDUK National Premiership League winner and also a key player with the England European Nations Cup winning squad. He also coaches one of WBA's youth teams in the national championship league also. Chris is the go to person in the UK for information and purchases of the StrikeForce powered football chair, through his company G5 Sports Services. Along with his partner Niamh O'Reilly, they offer a flawless service from start to finish in the process of ordering and fitting the chair to the specification of each individual. You can find information about G5 on their Facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/G5sportsservices/

In the UK, there are many local and regional Powerchair football clubs. A definitive list and contact details for these can be found here. The governing body is the Wheelchair Football Association (WFA). You can find out everything you need to know regarding them and also what is going on in the world of Powerchair football over on their website here

Football can be enjoyed and played by anyone. Where there is a will, there is a way, and adaptations to chairs can be made to suit every individual player. There is life outside your chair if you want it. Football is just one of many sports that I will be looking at over the next few months.

Until next time,

Gary