LIKE a lot of teenagers, Sabian Panozzo enjoys playing sport with his friends.
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But the 14-year-old from Horsham has to deal with cerebral palsy.
Although he has a disability, that hasn’t served as a barrier for Sabian. Next month, he will represent Victoria at the National Cerebral Palsy Football Championships in Sydney.
“This will be my first time playing for Victoria,” Sabian said. “I did some training last year but I had surgery on my Achilles tendon so I was out for 16 weeks.”
Having cerebral palsy and playing soccer brings with it certain challenges for Sabian.
“It’s just the slower movement and less power that I struggle with,” he said.
“The whole team has cerebral palsy. It’s cool meeting everyone else with the same thing. We are just all friends now.
“We will be playing in Sydney against other state teams, and the competition is a chance for people to get scouted for the Pararoos. There are two Pararoos players in my team.”
The Pararoos is the Australian national soccer team, featuring players who have cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury or symptoms acquired from stroke.
Sabian’s mother, Leanne Panozzo, said soccer had played an important role for her son. He has played for the Horsham and District Soccer Club in the under-15s this year.
“At a local level all the boys here in Horsham have embraced him and he has really fit in,” she said.
“The chance to train in Melbourne has really helped him take his soccer to a new level. Since he was younger he has had ongoing trips to hospital, but now it is more a yearly check-up.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help cover the costs – all the competitors pay their own way.
The national championships Sabian will be competing at isn’t a junior event – some of the players he will come up against are in their mid-20s.
“Some of them are 25 and most people I will be playing against will be in their 20s,” he said.
“I’m probably the youngest in my team. Sometimes they can be faster or stronger but I try and beat them with my speed, that’s all I try to do.”
The players in the teams are graded based on the severity of their disability.
“The coaches looked at us and saw how we were doing and have been really good,” Sabian said.
“We get assessed on our disability too. If you are ranked a one you struggle the most and number three is the least. I’m graded as a number two.
“The thing is I don’t know what it’s like to play soccer without a disability, so for me it’s just normal. I’d probably play twice as good without a disability.”
