Amputee sports are our primary concern. But Activeamp.com also provides other information on amputees, amputee azthletic, amputee athletics, amputee sports, adaptive and disability sports, handicapped and paralympic sports, and other disability issues.

Rookie - Page 3

Adapting

With New USA Teammates: from left, Robert, Ignacio (Nacho) Medrano, Chuck Brown, and Dan Broome
"We were particularly interested to see how Robert would adapt," Broome said. "All his life he'd been a right-legged shot.

"Even an accomplished two-legged layer, when he becomes a one-legged player, has to quickly adapt to using both sides of one foot alone. And since the game is played on crutches, without prosthetics, you really have to build stamina."

"Robert showed he had the work ethic, the discipline and the skills to play with us on the international level. He adapted his entire game to controlling the ball and to shooting, with power, with his left foot. It was quite an accomplishment in such a short period of time."

A Year and a Day

Broome invited Spotswood to travel with the team to Kiev, Ukraine, to compete in the 1st Open European Amputee Soccer Championships.

A year and a day after his near fatal accident, Robert Spotswood took the field as a member of the US National Amputee Soccer team and played in his first international competition.

"That's something I could never dream of doing, to actually wear a United States national uniform," he said. "That's something I would never have been able to do before my accident."

World Class Athlete

Tournament Captains - From left: Russia, Republic of Georgia, Ukraine, UzUzbekistan, England, Robert Spotswood - USA, Brazil, and Moldova.
His youthful determination and strong work ethic earned Robert immediate respect from his elder teammates. Spotswood was the youngest member of the team by more than 10 years.

The respect was so high they elected him Team Captain for the tournament's opening ceremonies.

The tournament was the first time Spotswood played competitive soccer since the accident.

"I'd done most of my training on my own, or playing with able-bodied soccer players, my friends," Spotswood said. "Real competition was a big change. It was extraordinary. The game was so fast, and the human spirit was unbelievable."

"When I used to think of amputees I thought of depression or handicap. But this game is really physical. There's a lot of yelling and screaming going on and everybody plays with all they have. It's incredibly competitive."

More