Students who use power wheelchairs at Nicholls State University will have the opportunity to participate in a competitive sport designed just for them.

Power soccer is the first team sport that allows power wheelchair users to compete on a regional, national and international level. According to the United States Power Soccer Association, competition is open to anyone over the age of five who is limited to the use of a power wheelchair from cerebral palsy, head trauma, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injury, stroke and other disabilities.

To play the game, competitors attach a plastic or metal guard to the front of their wheelchairs and follow many of the same rules as the able-bodied game of soccer. One of the main differences of the game is the use of an indoor basketball court as the field.

Speech instructor Michael Jeffress is in the early stages of developing a power soccer team at Nicholls. To start an official team, he plans to raise $250 to register the team with the United States Power Soccer Association. The team also needs an additional $250 for an insurance policy that would allow them to hold practices on campus. To help raise funds, Jeffress plans to raffle an iPad 2 at $5 per ticket within the next few months.

Last fall, Nicholls held a free Power Soccer Clinic with Jerry Frick, a power soccer coach from Atlanta, Ga. who is affiliated with the United States Power Soccer Association and the Fernando Foundation. Members of the women’s soccer team at Nicholls volunteered to help out at the clinic where the team signed up two players. Jeffress said so far he has received support from many people on campus who see potential in the sport.

Nicholls has three students in power wheelchairs who are interested in the sport, but it takes four players to make an official team. Once the team becomes insured, Jeffress plans to extend an invitation to anyone in the surrounding parishes who want to play in this competitive sport.

Starting a power soccer team at Nicholls would give the University an opportunity to use it as a recruiting tool for students with disabilities since these teams are few in numbers.

Jeffress took interest in power soccer in 2006 with his son who has a form of muscular dystrophy. From that point, he developed an interest in researching how power soccer affects participants and their social lives.

“I’ve seen the impact firsthand,” Jeffress said. “It boosts their self esteem and helps people feel better about themselves, and it opens a new world of social networking for them.”

Manual wheelchair sports are off limits to people in power wheelchairs since they do not have the strength to maneuver themselves, he said.

“These people face double discrimination.,” Jeffries said. “They have no mental impairments, so on the inside they have the same hopes and dreams as any able-bodied person.”

On Nov. 1, Jeffress will present his research at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association in Washington, D.C. He hopes to raise awareness about the health benefits of power soccer. According to his research, even though players are stationary in their chairs, they still feel an increase in heart rate and can feel their adrenaline pumping.