Nine-year-old Ethan Smith from Midsomer Norton has Cerebral Palsy and has to use a frame to walk. But Ethan is also a footballer, and last month, together with his team mates from Bristol Frame Football Club, he took part in a tournament at St George’s Park, Burton on Trent, the home of England Football.
Ethan Captains the team and was the envy of his school friends when he told them he played on the same pitches where Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane play and changed in the Paul Gascoigne changing room.
The Bristol team played five games; winning two, losing two and drawing one – playing teams from across the country, including a team from Northern Ireland.
All the players use frames with the majority having Cerebral Palsy and many having to undergo the SDR operation and intense physiotherapy.
Frame football is a unique version of the beautiful game that allows the children to take part against other frame users.
The Bristol club, set up by Keynsham-based disability sports coach, Nick Dewfall, is the only one of its kind in the South West and attracts players from Swindon, Yeovil, Cheddar, Taunton and South Wales, as well as Bristol, and meets every Saturday at Action Indoor Sports, Whitchurch at 10 a.m.
For more information, please contact Nick via email at: [email protected] or visit the Bristol Frame Football twitter or Facebook pages.