San Jose Steamrollers

A Power Wheelchair Soccer Team

2020 – What a Year!

For anyone following the posts on the Steamrollers website, you will notice that we have not posted since early March 2020, which was the weekend of our annual Battle of the Bay Tournament. We had fantastic tournament. The Steamrollers had just deepened their partnership with the San Jose Earthquakes MLS team, and played in the new Blue & Black Earthquakes jerseys that were presented to them the week prior by the General Manager of the San Jose Earthquakes. The team demonstrated a high level of team work with several cross court linked passes which led to many shots on goal and several scores. By all accounts the team was looking good for a run at the top level of the Premier Cup tournament in June, and were planning for a high level tournament in Las Vegas at the end of March.

All of that came to a screeching halt as we saw our first contact with the Coronavirus just after our Battle of the Bay Tournament in early March. The next several months would see cancellation of tournaments, loss of our gym facilities, and the move to reviewing game film over Zoom. Throughout the remainder of the year the team has kept in touch through Zoom and the good news is that everyone is still healthy. Those Steamroller athletes attending college have also moved to virtual environment, and have successfully completed two more semesters. Those of us working, have all moved to a work from home posture. Our blessings are many. We and our families are all healthy, and we continue to be employed, or are active in our studies. We certainly have it much better than many, and for that I am extremely thankful.

I would also like to thank all of you who have supported the Steamrollers through this crazy year.

We still don’t know when we will be able to return to practice, or playing games. Our National organization, United States Power Soccer Association (USPSA), will be announcing future plans early in the new year. Given the recent distribution of vaccines, there does appear to be a glimmer of hope on the horizon, however this is currently dampened by the surge of cases in deaths around the country from COVID-19.

Thank you again for all your support!

We wish you happy holidays and a better new year in 2021.

Please stay safe, social distance, wear a mask, and wash your hands frequently.

San Jose Earthquakes forwards Steven Lenhart & Alan Gordon Join Steamrollers Practice

[slideshow_deploy id=’257′]Last Saturday, the Steamrollers practice was amped up with the energetic playing style of the San Jose Earthquakes forwards Steven Lenhart and Alan Gordon. The Steamrollers were anxious to watch these two great MLS players demonstrate their skills in the Power Wheelchairs and Lenhart and Gordon did not disappoint. They quickly adapted to the strategy of the sport, but struggled at times with maneuvering their power wheelchairs in and out of traffic on the court, which led to a couple of collisions by both players. By the end of the scrimmage, with Gordon and Lenhart on opposing teams, the players and other Earthquakes staff appeared to becoming more comfortable with their Power Wheelchairs and the sport of Power Soccer. It was a great afternoon with a lot of laughs and the Steamrollers really enjoyed the time spent with these two great guys. Check out the video put together by the Earthquakes on Lenhart’s and Gordon’s visit to the Steamrollers.

Earthquakes Bash Bros visit San Jose Steamrollers

Steamrollers Shut Out Three Opponents in February Tournament

The Steamrollers proved to be ungracious hosts in last weekend’s tournament by shutting out each of the three Power Soccer teams invited to play on their home court at the Alviso Community Youth Center.

With all six Steamrollers on hand for the tournament, each of the players contributed to the scoring bonanza through out the three games played on Saturday, February 22nd. The day started with a match against the always strong Hollister Freewheelers, but with the Steamrollers strong defensive play, and well coordinated team offensive play the game went to the Steamrollers 4-0.

The second match of the day pitted the Steamrollers against the BORP Crushers. Again the Steamrollers strong goal tending, led by Kenny Tran, and consistent strong defensive play by the other Steamrollers proved too much for the typically explosive BORP Crushers, who fell to the Steamrollers 5-0.

Last on the docket for the day was the match against the Central Valley Ghostriderz. The Steamrollers capitalized on the successes from their earlier tournaments of the day, once again demonstrating their strong defensive skills and teamwork on the offensive side of the ball. The final score was Steamrollers 7, Ghostriderz 0.

The Steamrollers success last weekend bodes well for their upcoming tournaments, as they hit the road for away tournaments in Hollister (March), and Glendale (April). The Steamrollers will be back in San Jose at their home court in the Alviso Community Youth Center to host tournaments on Saturday, May 17th.

Congratulations to all the Steamrollers, Ryan Connolly, Matthew Arensdorf, Kenny Tran, Sid Karnala, Jenny Mitchell, and Chris Faria for demonstrating excellent communication on the court, which translated to outstanding team play.

Game Results:

Steamrollers 4 v Freewheelers 0

Steamrollers 5 v Crushers 0

Steamrollers 7 v Ghostriderz 0