About Colorado Power Soccer

Wheelchair power soccer is the only sport in the world where power chair users can play competitively on a team—completely on their own. That’s not hype, that’s the truth. Think about that for a second: if you were confined to a power chair, what could you participate in? What outlet would you have to compete, sweat, and be part of a team? For most, there’s nothing. Power soccer fills that void, and for this community, it changes everything.

This is an underserved group of athletes. Life in a power chair often means isolation—whether you can’t walk, can’t speak, can’t use your hands, or are paralyzed. Power soccer tears through that barrier. It brings these players together to build teams, to interact, to compete, to socialize, and to support one another’s mental and physical well-being. It helps them maintain body function, release stress, and experience the raw joy of being a real athlete on a real team.

And here’s the difference: in power soccer, they aren’t being guided, shadowed, or helped by a therapist or family member. They are fully in the game, controlling their own chair, their own moves, their own shots. For once, it’s all on them—just like any other athlete.

These young men and women may be confined to chairs, but power soccer unleashes the competitor inside them like nothing else. Their heart rate spikes. Their reflexes sharpen. Their adrenaline pumps as they go head-to-head against an opponent at full speed. They learn strategy, teamwork, and quick decision-making. Every bump, spin, and kick matters. This is fast, physical, competitive sport—and they love it.

With coaching, practices, and competition ranging from local leagues to national tournaments, athletes step into a whole new world. Traveling itself is no small feat—loading power chairs, medical equipment, caregivers, and gear is a battle on its own. Yet they fight through it because the sport means that much. Once players taste the level of competition at nationals, they catch the fire. They push themselves to achieve more, to test their limits, to raise their standard of play. They build confidence and self-esteem they’ve never had before.

Many of these athletes never had the chance to be on a school team, never experienced the rush of competition as kids. Power soccer gives them that experience—sometimes for the first time in their lives.

It’s easy to take sports for granted when fields, gyms, and equipment are everywhere. But for power soccer athletes, the obstacles to play are endless. Here’s just some of what they face before they even roll onto the court:

• People assuming they don’t have the skill 
• Equipment that’s inadequate or hard to maintain 
• Few accessible practice facilities 
• Distance and lack of transportation 
• No dedicated coach 
• No one available to fix or adjust their chairs 
• Shortage of players to practice with 
• Lack of a caregiver to help with transfers or travel 
• High costs of specialized chairs and guards 
• Limited funds for gym rental or tournament travel 
• Negative attitudes from gyms that give prime times to able-bodied teams and leave scraps for disabled athletes
   

And that’s not even counting the massive headache of traveling to another state for a tournament—moving multiple power chairs, gear, medical supplies, and caregivers through airports and hotels is a logistical nightmare. Yet families do it because the sport is worth it.

Survey after survey shows that kids and adults with disabilities have far fewer chances to participate in sports compared to their able-bodied peers. For many power chair users, the opportunity is zero—until power soccer enters the picture.

This isn’t just a game. It’s a lifeline. It’s a chance to compete, to belong, to be taken seriously as an athlete, and to experience everything sports are meant to give: pride, teamwork, achievement, and joy.

For these players, power soccer is more than a sport. It’s freedom.