Staffordshire Stars

Bittersweet ending to stellar year for Ben

GOALKEEPER Ben Fry pulled off an incredible save to help his team win the league and cup double ... but has now been told he should not play football again.

 

Fry, from Dresden, was a key member of the North Staffordshire Special Olympics football team who dominated the North West Disability League Division C in 2011.

 

But the team's season hung in the balance when they took on championship rivals Everton in May with both sides needing to win.

 

With the scores at 1-1, Everton broke clear and fired a shot to the right of Fry, who had already taken an early dive towards his left.

 

His dad, Tony Fry, takes up the story: "He was going backwards the other way, but somehow twisted, almost in mid-air, and pushed the ball up and over with his right hand.

 

"It was split-second stuff, but helped send us on the way to a 3-1 win and the title."

 

Rock solid North Staffs, who only conceded three goals throughout their league campaign, also won the League Cup with a 4-2 success over Preston.

 

However, a dark cloud was to follow for 28-year-old Ben, who has suffered from a bad back for the past nine years.

 

Damage to his vertebrae meant he was advised to stop playing football altogether in the summer, leaving him to instead focus on swimming.

 

Tony added: "It's a real shame, but he has been told that if he gets knocked over again it could do some real damage.

 

"He's been receiving treatment for a long time, but that never stopped him enjoying his football.

 

"He has loved playing in goal for the past seven years.

 

"He's very disappointed of course, but it was a wonderful way to bow out by helping his team win the league and cup."

 

Former Aynsley Special School student Ben, who has learning difficulties, took pride in the last season before he had to hang up his gloves.

 

He said: "It was great to win the double.

"We all had a lot of fun, and the defence was brilliant. I loved diving about.

"I can't describe exactly how I made the save at Everton, but I knew it must have been good from everyone's reaction."

 

Ben has been nominated in the disability category of TheSentinel/City of Stoke-on-Trent Sports Personality of the Year awards by his brother, Matt.

Matt, a fund-raiser for the North Staffs Special Olympics team, said: "Ben had a fantastic year playing football as his team competed throughout the year in the North West Disability Football League.

 

"He only let in three goals in helping the team with the C Division and also played amazing in helping the them also win the League Cup."

 

Tony added: "Ben loves his swimming but he has loved football even more ever since he first started playing. It was great to see him do so well."

 

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Special group still going strong after 30 years

MORE than 100 athletes with learning difficulties have been given a platform to play the sports they love by volunteers at North Staffordshire Special Olympics.

 

It was a landmark year for the Potteries-based club, which was formed in 1981 and joined forces with Stoke Dolphins in 1995.

 

Football, athletics, swimming, basketball, badminton and kayaking are now available for the 117 members of all abilities to try out or compete in across the city every week.

 

Chairman Tony Fry said: "It is a remarkable achievement to have been going for 30 years and we are still going from strength to strength.

 

"The committee and the coaches and the volunteers do a sterling job providing an outlet for people to enjoy sport which would otherwise not be open to them."

 

Over the past 12 months, North Staffs hosted competitions for the West Midlands special Olympics region, with tournaments for badminton, athletics and football.

More than 1,000 athletes visited Stoke-on-Trent to take part in the events, and plans are afoot to extend the scale of the events in 2012.

 

Fry said: "We work with 13 or 14 other groups across the region and we are always looking to improve what we offer. We ran the badminton competition over one day last year, but this time we hope to make it go over the whole weekend. If we can we will also start a basketball tournament.

 

"It is going to be a busy and exciting year, just like always with the North Staffs Special Olympics."

 

The group won hundreds of medals across all disciplines during 2011, as well as a handful of team honours.

 

In football, the club won the North West Disability Football League Division C league and cup double, beating Preston on their own turf to lift the cup.

 

The kayaking arm of the club, which is run in conjunction with Trentham Canoe Club, could also grow over the next few months.

 

Fry said: "We want more people to come and try the water at Trentham so we are thinking about ways we can make that happen.

 

"We just keep going and trying to provide something which all our members can enjoy. It is wonderful to see how the club is thriving."

 

The group has been nominated in the Sport in the Community section of The Sentinel/City of Stoke Sports Personality of the Year awards by fund-raiser Matt Fry.

 

Matt, Tony's son, said: "There are 117 athletes with disabilities now who use the team for sport and recreation.

 

"They have represented North Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent at competitions across the country throughout the year, as well as in the three competitions we held."

 

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