College of Education student to compete with U.S. Power Soccer National Team
Published: October 05, 2023
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Zach Dickey, a graduate student in Auburn University’s College of Education, is a member of the U.S. Power Soccer National Team.
Zach Dickey flies down the court, does a 360 at lightning speed and spin-kicks a ball into the net to score a goal for his team. The crowd goes wild!
It might sound like the popular video game Rocket League, but this is real life. Dickey, a graduate student in Auburn University’s College of Education, is a member of the U.S. Power Soccer National Team. He and his teammates are headed to Sydney, Australia, to compete against nine other nations in the Powerchair Football World Cup from Oct. 14-20.
While this is Dickey’s first trip to the World Cup, he is no stranger to the world of power soccer. The youngest of three, he and his siblings share a genetic disease that doctors have yet to diagnose. He grew up watching his brother and sister play on some of the country’s first power soccer club teams in Indiana, and he couldn’t wait until it was his turn.
“I was still up and running around because my disability is progressive,” he said. “All I wanted was to play power soccer. I was just waiting for the day I could play sports with wheels instead of having to run.”
Despite their different personalities, brothers Zach, right, and Jordan Dickey have played together for so long that they don’t even need words to coordinate plays during games.
Power soccer, which is under the umbrella of the U.S. Soccer Federation, is an adaptive sport where athletes in specially outfitted powerchairs speed down a regulation indoor basketball court at fast speeds of five to six miles per hour. Playing four-on-four, they whip their chairs around while dribbling a 13-inch ball, hoping to make a powerful spin kick into the goal.
“The spin kick is pretty cool,” Dickey said. “When other people try it for the first time, I realize that what we do is kind of impressive. It just feels so second nature. Spinning back and forth eventually becomes part of your body.”
Power soccer is a Dickey family affair. Dickey’s dad serves as the national team’s assistant coach, and while his sister has retired from the game, his brother, Jordan, and Jordan’s new wife, Natalie, also will be traveling to Sydney as team members.
“Jordan just married a teammate, so we added another Dickey to the lineup,” he said.
Despite their different personalities, he and Jordan have played together for so long that they don’t even need words to coordinate plays during games.
“We’re such polar opposites, but when we’re out there, we really can communicate in a special way,” he said.
Zach Dickey is one of eight members of the U.S. Power Soccer National Team.
Dickey is currently working toward a Master of Education in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling. In addition to his studies, he is a graduate assistant for Auburn Adapted Athletics, where he has been tasked with starting the first collegiate power soccer team in the nation. He recently started hosting official campus visits for power soccer recruits, and he’s hoping he can help grow the popularity of the sport beyond campus.
“That’s something we’d really like to see in starting this program at Auburn,” he said. “It would be great if other schools follow us and take this amazing sport and make a whole college division out of it.”
Dickey plans to continue working with the Adapted Athletics program at Auburn after he graduates next summer. While he won’t be a professional counselor, he says his degree in clinical rehabilitation counseling is perfect for what he wants to do.
“I think we know mental health in sports is a big deal,” he said. “I’ll end up with a solid understanding of mental health, disabilities and the laws that affect students who are going to come here. It’s a weirdly perfect mismatch for someone who wants to be a coach.”
As he prepares for a long flight to Australia, Dickey isn’t nervous or overwhelmed but instead thrilled to be playing against the best teams in the world. He and his teammates have been perfecting their playing style for the past three years and are more than ready to show it off.
“People keep asking me if I’m excited to go to Sydney, but I could go to this tournament and never leave the gym and I’d be totally happy,” he said. “I’m excited to play soccer against the world’s top talent, and I’m not too nervous. It’s more a feeling that we have a job to do. We have a really talented squad, and it’s so much fun to be a part of it.”
Watch Zach play in the opening match of the tournament on Saturday, Oct. 14, at 9 p.m. CT, on the @OfficialFIPFA YouTube channel.
Zach Dickey and his teammates are headed to Sydney, Australia, to compete against nine other nations in the Powerchair Football World Cup from Oct. 14-20.
