ALLENDALE, Mich. — Think you can bend it like Beckham? Dismantle a defense like Messi? Score like Marta?
Try doing it on sticks.
On a rainy, Thursday afternoon, the Grand Valley State University varsity women's soccer team learned what it's like to play soccer with one less leg or foot, practicing with amputees in a clinic hosted by Mary Free Bed.
Sticks, the casual term for forearm crutches, are used by amputee athletes at the highest levels of competition, including the Women's Amputee Football Federation (WAFF), which will host its inaugural world cup in November (in Colombia, no less).
Elayna Alexandra, a Michigander who showed off her stick skills at the clinic, plans to represent the United States.
"Soccer is a game that’s played worldwide. It's played in muddy fields. All you need is a ball," Alexandra said. "The cool thing about amputee soccer is all you need is ball and some sticks."
Led by a Mary Free Bed physical therapist, the Laker women ran relays, did cone drills and took free kicks on the forearm crutches, taking cues from the amputees around them, especially Alexandra.
"I'm kind of starstruck," said junior Sophia Morgan. "The sport is so new. For me, it's kind of like, wow, she is in the moment. She is doing it right now."
"We're lucky to have them here," Morgan added, believing Alexandra to be a "role model" for women and girls in the sport.
Born with a bone disease, Alexandra chose to amputate her lower left leg later in life. Soccer, she says, changed her perspective on it. Mary Free Bed provided her with the prosthesis she needed to succeed.
"It's given me a reason to live," she said. "If it wasn't for Mary Free Bed, honestly, I wouldn't be where I am."
A range of abilities took the field on Thursday. Lauren Jones, a physical therapist at MFB, says that's the point.
"The goal of this is exposure," Jones said. "I just want to expose the world to the sport and just show them how amazing it can be and how hard it is to play."
