Two-time Gold
Medalists and Deaf World Cup Champions.
16-0-0 record, 68
goals scored, 8 goals against.
(2005 was when
women’s Football was added to the Deaflympics)
We are aiming for our 3rd straight Deaflympics
Gold medal this summer in the 2013 Deaflympics in Sofia, Bulgaria. The
Deaflympics is the 2nd oldest international sporting event behind
the Olympics and ahead of the Paralympics.
To compete in the Deaflympics, hearing loss must be 55
decibels or higher in the better ear. During international play, no hearing
devices are allowed (such as hearing aids and cochlear implants). The team is a
mixture of Deaf and hard of hearing athletes. Many of us are fluent in American
Sign Language (ASL). A few play/played at the professional and semi
professional level, and many play/played at the Division 1, 2, 3 college
soccer, club and high school soccer.
Despite of our success in the international level, we
receive no funding. USA Deaf Soccer Association is run by volunteers and is a
non-profit organization. We are self funded and rely on donations from family,
friends and fans. We had sponsorships over the years, but it’s minimal and
short term. We are not affiliated with United States Soccer Federation (USSF/US
Soccer), even though we have received used uniforms and training gears from
USSF in the past.
For every international event since 2005 (3), each player
had to come up with an average of $5,000 not including training camps. This is
a large burden; many of us are college students, have full time careers and
families. Any help is hugely appreciated. Donations can be made through the Pay
Pal account at www.usdeafsoccer.com. We also will have a raffle
of donated autographed items from numerous professional soccer athletes and
teams. (Details will be announced soon!) All of the proceeds will go to the
women’s team (The men’s team did not qualify for the Deaflympics). Please help
us spread the word in the soccer community, athletics community, your friends
and family. Help us promote the women’s Deaf national team, especially through
all levels of the media!
Several of our rivals such as Russia and Germany are
fully funded by their government and /or soccer federation. The athletes are
also paid a salary, along with major monetary rewards for placing in the
Deaflympics. Russians are the favorites to win the Gold medal.
The reason why we do this? For the love of the game and
the opportunity to represent our country. Even though our disability is hidden,
we’ve been overcoming barriers our entire lives. We’ve always been doing the
impossible, and we’re about to do the impossible- win the 3rd
Deaflympic Gold medal and maintain our undefeated record.
Thank you for the support, and GO USA!
If interested in sponsorship or any other type of
major help, please contact our Deaf WNT head coach at ystruble@andrew.cmu.edu.
For any other inquiries and/or direct contact with the Deaf WNT players,
contact us at usadeafsoccerwnt@gmail.com.
We are very active on social media too!
Twitter: @USDeafSoccerWNT and @USADeafSoccer
Facebook: USA Deaf Soccer WNT and USA Deaf Soccer
Association
Instagram: USADeafSoccerWNT
Nice blog. Summers come with the happiness of vacations but one gets bored of the routine. So being a soccer lover I decided to join summer soccer camps So I contacted summer soccer camps by hostmysoccercamps as they provide best schedule and rates as well.
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ReplyDeleteThis blog is an amazing inspiration. As a soccer player at the college level it is amazing and inspiring to me that this team has overcome obstacles and become so successful. I had not known much about the Deaflympics or deaf soccer until I began a project on it for a class I am taking. I am so excited that I was about to learn more about your team! I plan to add a blog about the sport and team in the near future to my blog: soccerlifegk.wordpress.com
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this post! It gets me even more excited to compete in the sport I love.
Thank you, very kind words! Love your passion and love of the game, and that's what it's all about! If you need help with the project; more information and/or interview a few members of the team contact us via usadeafsoccerwnt@gmail.com. When you blog about us, let us know so we can share your blog as well! Thank you again, you're awesome!!
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