In 2005, Christos Nicholas returned home to Boyds from Melbourne, Australia knowing that he likely had completed his final Olympic run with the U.S. Deaf Soccer men’s national team.
After all, Nicholas was 40 years old at the time and sat on the bench for a majority of the matches.
The realization that Nicholas, now 47, was finished with his professional playing career — which lasted roughly 20 years — led to him, as he put it, to “moping around the house.”
Maria, his wife of 16 years, then suggested he look into coaching.
Nicholas became hooked.
“It’s hard with a deaf coach, but I try to make it easy for the players. I want them to feel comfortable with me,” Nicholas said.
Nicholas has been the varsity boys soccer coach at Poolesville High School since 2007. He also has coached the junior varsity team at Damascus for two seasons and youth teams at various levels, including his own children, Nicholas, Theodora, Spiros and Loukas.
In his first season at Poolesville, the Falcons reached the state championship. This fall, however, Poolesville is in the bottom half of the division.
Nicholas was born deaf.
He began playing soccer at a young age to release some of his energy. As Nicholas grew, so too did his understanding of how to play without being able to hear well.
The task presents obvious challenges such as not knowing when a teammate is calling for the ball, not realizing when an opponent is sneaking up on you or making a run and not being able to understand directions from the coach.
With time, Nicholas, who works as a database engineer at Lockheed Martin, overcame the issues.
“I had an advantage over a lot of players that they didn’t have in the fact that I could read every players’ expression and face on the field. I could tell what they were planning. I would shock my teammates, especially on free kicks,” Nicholas said. “I could tell what [the opponents] were saying because I could lip read, so I’d know what post they were shooting for.
“My teammates loved having me on the team.”
Nicholas has an extremely toned physique. He graduated from John F. Kennedy in 1982 before attending Montgomery College, where he played soccer.
It wasn’t until he was contacted by Dr. Martin Mintor, the soccer coach at Gallaudet University and coach of the deaf national team, that he first experienced playing in a deaf soccer match.
Nicholas, an eventual three year co-captain and Hall of Fame football kicker, thrived at Gallaudet, not only athletically, but academically.
“I was struggling in the classroom [before that],” Nicholas said. “It was hard for me to follow the teacher. I had challenges as a deaf student. Even though I spoke well and could converse with people, it was a constant struggle. [The programs at Gallaudet] made it so much easier for me.”
After double majoring in physics from Gallaudet and earning an electrical engineering degree from George Washington University, Nicholas maintained a steady spot on the national team, traveling the world every four years. His family traveled to Bulgaria, Denmark, Italy and Australia as Nicholas became the team’s most experienced player.
Among the more memorable matches Nicholas recalls are a 0-0 draw against powerhouse France in 1993 and a 1-1 tie against Greece in 1997.
In addition to playing, Nicholas served as the founder and former president of the USA Deaf Soccer Association, where he helped create a deaf women’s national team.
“Internationally, when we were traveling, I was even more impressed with his communication skills,” said Maria Nicholas. “Everyone wanted to talk to him and he was handling that position with grace.
“Those were special times. They were special for him to achieve such a goal and be in the Olympics for so long.”
Despite so much playing and coaching success, things aren’t perfect all the time.
“It’s a project. Every year it’s a project. The [players] respond very well, but there are days when I’m tired and I don’t speak very well and I have to repeat things,” Nicholas said.
One of his current players at Poolesville, Andrew Wills, agreed it can be difficult for him to understand Nicholas at times, but that the team has a visual system in place for when they do and don’t get the point.
“It makes things difficult sometimes, just communicating,” Wills said. “But we roll with it. He speaks well, but it’s hard to communicate well. He reads bodies a lot and is really good that way.”
Maria Nicholas, who called Nicholas one of the most helpful people she’s ever met, doesn’t see her husband stepping away from coaching anytime soon. He continues to play in adult leagues on occasion and their house is right next to the Maryland SoccerPlex.
“I learned to work hard [from a young age] and not to depend on people to help me out,” Nicholas said. “My parents and wife have been very good to me and helping me remain independent. As a result, my social skills have been very good.”
And, if his career accolades and positive impact on others are any indication, many other aspects of his life have been as well.
ncammarota@gazette.net
