The First is the unapologetic, unforgiving, untold story of the U.S. Power Soccer National Team. After a shocking upset by France at the 2017 World Cup, the team struggles to rebuild a winning team to capture the gold.

Over two years, five teammates accelerate their fight for equality and recognition of their sport, face down threats to their health, confront the hurdles of living in a world designed for the non-disabled, and rise to become the leaders that the team desperately needs, as time quickly runs out.

*This film is currently in post-production

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SYNOPSIS

This is the story about power soccer. This is a sport played by disabled athletes in specialized electric wheelchairs equipped with adaptive controllers and a steel cage to maneuver the ball. Often with little mobility, the athletes are strapped into these chairs and spin using centripetal force to pound the ball into the goal. It is a high-intensity sport played with a fierceness that takes one’s breath away. They play to win.

This film follows the U.S. Power Soccer National Team’s evolution from a poorly self-funded amateur team in 2021, to a professional team absorbed and funded by the U.S. Soccer Federation in 2022. With full resources the team’s transformation is unmistakable in their drive to re-capture the 2023 World Cup title. 

The journeys of five main characters intersect on the court. Off the court, we follow them into the most personal and raw places of their lives. As a co-ed sport, we see the beginning of a love story between two of the national team athletes: Natalie and Jordan. The two break every disabled stereotype as their journey leads to their engagement, their wedding ceremony, their purchase of a home together, and their bed where they sleep next to each other every night. 

In contrast to the love story, Drew is in a continuous battle against the disease he lives with– fighting for his life on the court and fighting for his rightful place on the team. In the third act, just weeks before the World Cup in Sydney, Drew dies unexpectedly. At his funeral, his teammates mourn his loss, and vow to dedicate the upcoming World Cup to his memory. 

In Auburn, Alabama, we follow Zach’s activist work in his ceaseless fight for disability rights that culminates in him developing the first collegiate power soccer program at Auburn University. In a euphoric moment, he offers the first athletic scholarships to two power soccer recruits from Texas and California to play their sport and receive the same support as other elite athletes. 

Finally, our story arc follows the evolution of Riley, the unwilling team captain. Named to the position after the former captain retires, he is shell shocked and humorously massively resistant when this role is thrust upon him unexpectedly. The film documents his evolution from a reluctant introvert into a bonafide leader on the world stage. 

This film holds the stories of life, death, love, triumph and defeat. It is an honest portrait of an invisible class of athletes and questions what it means to be disabled in the United States. It is shot in verité style with beautifully captured images that will leave every viewer’s ideas of physical disability forever transformed.