Nick Nelson was surprised by a large group consisting of family members, friends, power soccer teammates and Make-A-Wish reps for a party in his honor prior to a team practice session at Anthony Elementary on Saturday, Dec. 20.Buffalo County teen Nick Nelson recently received a new Strike Force power soccer wheelchair, made possible by the local Make-A-Wish Foundation of Wisconsin chapter. Pictured, Nick paused for a photo with his parents, John and Sheila Nelson, and his younger sister, Emily.During the Hooligans’ practice session, Nick Nelson worked to propel the power soccer ball around a defender.Expertly swinging his fast-moving chair in an arc with the perfect timing, Nick Nelson sent the ball sailing across the Anthony gym with impressive force.John Nelson worked to attach the power soccer guard to Nick’s chair. A great deal of time and effort goes into preparing the Chippewa Valley Hooligans players and their equipment for practices and games.Make-A-Wish wish granters Carol Davis (center) and Doris Davis (right) presented Nick and Emily Nelson with special gifts. Both Carol and Doris have donated their time to making wishes come true for area youths in need for the past 10 years. The pair even got local businesses to donate all of the items for Nick’s surprise party, including sandwiches, cake, and decorations.

Local teen receives special gift through Make-A-Wish

New wheels have helped Nelson elevate power soccer game to next level
I was so excited when this came through. I knew when I met Nick this was the perfect fit.” ~Carol Davis, local wish granter for Make-A-Wish

 

by Beth Kraft

 

Nick Nelson isn’t exactly what most would consider chatty, but the stoic Mondovi High School sophomore couldn’t help but crack a big smile while demonstrating his skills operating his new Strike Force power soccer wheelchair for friends and family who attended a special event in his honor.

Nick is the area’s most recent recipient of a gift from the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Wisconsin’s northwest region. The Nelson-area resident received his wish in the new power chair several weeks ago, but a surprise party was held at Anthony Elementary School north of Mondovi on Saturday, Dec. 20, as planned by local “wish granters” Carol Davis and Doris Davis.

Nick thought he was headed up to Anthony for a routine practice session with his power soccer team, the Chippewa Valley Hooligans, but he was surprised by the Make-A-Wish committee, family, and friends with the gathering and a few more gifts.

The local power soccer player had only been using his new, state-of-the-art chair for a few weeks, but already he was noticing it had made a big difference in his game.

“I can get after the ball faster,” said Nick of his speedy new chair. “I was excited [to receive it].”

This season marks Nick’s second with the co-ed Hooligans squad, which participates in tournaments in several major cities December - April. He used an older, slower chair last year, and team coach Neil Shipley and Nick’s dad, John Nelson, have both enjoyed watching the teen use power soccer to break out of his shell.

“I’ve seen him really get a lot more into it,” Shipley said of Nelson’s game, noting the new chair in particular has helped give him the confidence to become a key player for the Hooligans this year.

John Nelson says he enjoys seeing the big smile that spreads across his son’s face each time he plays power soccer, especially while watching him try out a newer, faster power chair for the first time last year.

“That’s when I knew we had to get one for him,” John said.

That’s where Make-A-Wish and the Davis mother/daughter duo came in.

A power chair like Nick’s Strike Force can cost over $8,000. The guard players use to push and “kick” the ball and the brackets used to secure it to the front of each chair can cost about $500 alone.

Carol Davis said the local wish team initially met with the Nelsons to discuss Nick’s wish in September. They have to make sure the request is truly the child’s wish—not that of a parent, she explained.

“It’s wonderful,” said Carol of the opportunity to grant Nick’s wish as she watched him expertly demonstrate his chair for those in attendance. “I was so excited when this came through. I knew when I met Nick this was the perfect fit.”

Equally suitable for Nick is power soccer, John Nelson says, noting it has provided a new social outlet and a way for his son, who battles Duchenne muscular dystrophy, to experience a team sport.

“It’s good for him to get out and get involved with a sport and a team,” says John.

Nick’s recent achievement of visiting all 50 U.S. state capitols, featured in the Dec. 18 edition of the Mondovi Herald, was another way parents John and Sheila Nelson have encouraged their son to explore his interests.

In addition to the opportunity to interact with others who share similar limitations when it comes to mobility, Nick agrees taking the court with his Hooligans teammates has been a great experience.

While a bit shy around those he doesn’t know well, Nick morphs into the aggressor in the gym when faced with goal posts and the large power soccer ball.

A rapidly-growing sport exclusively for power wheelchair users, power soccer’s 4-on-4 structure uses a standard gym size and incorporates many of the same rules as traditional soccer.

The Chippewa Valley Hooligans typically practice a few times a month in Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls, bringing together players of a wide range of ages from all across the region.

“You don’t age out of it—they can be competitive for a long time,” said Shipley, whose son, Grant, is the team’s youngest player at nine years old.

This season the team is slated to play in tournaments in the Twin Cities, Madison and St. Louis. A local tournament in Eau Claire—the Shamrock Smackdown—is scheduled for March 29.

The Hooligans also periodically demonstrate their skills during halftime at local basketball games, including one planned for the Mondovi vs. Eleva-Strum boys basketball game on Feb. 3. Another such event will be held in Menomonie on Jan. 20.

“We’re trying to get a little more exposure [for the sport],” Shipley explained.

Assisting with that visibility in part are the Hooligans’ snappy new jerseys, donated by team sponsor Lindstrom Equipment, also John Nelson’s employer. 

“It takes dedication and people helping to get [a team] going,” Shipley added, noting the power soccer community is fairly tight-knit. “You really get to know people at these tournaments nationally.”

Perhaps equally strong are the giving spirits of Carol Davis and Doris Davis, who have spent the past decade helping local youths’ wishes come true through Make-A-Wish.

Carol and Doris work to grant a few wishes in their region each year.

“It’s fun to do them, but the less we have the better because it means there are less sick children in the area,” Carol said.

Youth wishes are often trips to Disney World or Hawaii, she said. Other notable wishes in the area region have included a Rainbow Play System, attending a taping of the Ellen DeGeneres Show and a horse trailer—the most recent wish granted for a Mondovi-area Make-A-Wish recipient, Carly Buchholz, back in 2011.

“It has been a great opportunity to work with Nick and his family to give him this chair,” commented Carol.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Wisconsin is funded entirely through charitable donations and has granted wishes for nearly 5,000 families since its inception in 1984. A record-breaking 340 wishes were granted across the state in 2013 for children ages two-and-a-half to age 18. Virtually any wish can be granted as long as the child’s wish receives their doctor’s stamp of approval.

For more information about Make-A-Wish of Wisconsin, please visit http://wisconsin.wish.org.

To follow Nick Nelson and the Chippewa Valley Hooligans, please visit http://hooliganpowersoccer.org or “like” the team on Facebook.

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