Oceanside students develop wheelchair attachment for first-grader

An Oceanside first-grader can join his classmates on the soccer pitch, thanks to some creative thinking by students at Boardman Elementary School 9E.

Tyler Lipsky, a student at Boardman, relies on his wheelchair to get around, but he found it difficult to join other kids when they played soccer because the ball rolled under his chair. Sixth-graders enrolled in the school’s Project Extra gifted and enrichment program decided to help Tyler get in the game while they competed in a national competition.

The students designed a "soccer plow," constructed from PVC pipes, pool noodles and Spiderman stickers, that attaches to Tyler’s wheelchair, giving him the opportunity to shoot or pass the ball to classmates.

"I could not use the ball right here without this," Tyler said. "It helps me move the ball."

The sixth-graders actually constructed two soccer plows for Tyler — one for phys ed, the other for recess. The soccer plows give him an opportunity to play with his friends, his teachers said, as well as a feeling of accomplishment.

"I just love being able to see him be independent and do all the things he wants to do all by himself," said Bridget Stewart, Tyler’s special education aide.

The students used plans they found in YouTube videos to construct the devices.

"We took measurements on pool noodles and PVC pipe, and we cut them to those measurements and then what we did was put the pool noodles over the pipes," sixth-grader Christian Carbonaro said.

Tyler will begin to use the soccer plow when school resumes after the holiday break in January.

"It puts a smile on his face and puts a smile on our face and for him to have fun and be included with all his friends, that makes my job even better," said adaptive phys ed teacher Jake Spielberg.

The project did not win the national competition, but sixth-grader Quinten Buffone said the class is glad it makes Tyler's life better.

"The fact that we made this and now he gets to use it and it’s affecting his life so much, it’s just a great thing," he said.