Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,160
- Reaction score
- 7
Deaf soccer team overcomes obstacles | pnj.com | Pensacola News Journal
Ken McDonald did everything possible to help his soccer team advance in a world championship event.
That included laundry duty.
"We did not receive a single cent from anybody," said McDonald, a Pensacola resident, who coached the U.S. men's team into the semifinals of the inaugural Deaf Football World Cup Tournament last month in Patras, Greece.
"I had to wash our uniforms in my hotel bath and hang them off the balcony after our games,'' he said. "It's just ridiculous."
Along with the hardship, however, there were special memories.
McDonald's U.S. team was part of a 16-team field in the tournament. England and Italy, two of the richest and most powerful soccer nations in the world, received around $100,000 from sponsors.
"England had five full time coaches and a medical staff with them," said McDonald, who won a gold medal at the 2005 Deaf Olympics in Australia as the women's assistant coach. "They even employed a full time Kit-man to wash uniforms. They had a budget of $20,000 for the tournament just for uniforms."
The lack of financial support didn't stop the U.S. team from making an impact in the tournament.
The Americans knocked off Italy before losing to Turkey in a shootout in the semi-finals. Joining McDonald on his coaching staff were wife, Terri, the team manager, and Jackie Jones, an interpretter, who aided communication using her skill with hand signals. The players on the team reside across the U.S.
"We just had more heart and desire to win," McDonald said. "I think Italy was shocked that we brought that much effort. It took them by surprise."
The team defeated Italy once before in the 2001 Deaf Olympics group stage. Italy went to capture the Gold medal.
"Knocking off Italy was an incredible feeling," said team member Mike Lawson, in an e-mail interview. "It was a huge victory for our team."
Lawson, a 24-year-old center mid-fielder, is a second year student at the Masters Program in Deaf Education at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester, NY.
"If we had more financial support, I feel we would have gone further. We would pick the top 20 players regardless of their money status."
It wasn't just the laundry bill the team had to foot themselves. Getting to the tournament was a difficult task. The average cost of the trip was $5,000 per player.
"We had to buy our own plane tickets to Pensacola for training camp in addition to paying for the hotel and food," said Josh Reiher, in an e-mail interview.
"I believe there are many players out there who would love to have the chance to show their skills but can't afford to do so."
With the players spread across the country, and no financial support, McDonald had only a few days out of the year to get his team together to practice.
"We have had six weekends together, in the three years we have been preparing for this World Cup," said McDonald. "Imagine how far we would have gone if we could have practiced regularly."
Josh Reiher, the co-captain of the team along with Lawson, said it was frustrating not to be able to build the team chemistry that other clubs normally have.
"If we had more (financial) support, we'd be able to spend much more time together as a team," said Reiher, who will be starting medical school in the fall at the University of Wisconsin. "Many of the other squads in the world cup train together for several weeks leading up to a major tournament."
"It's very difficult to establish a solid team chemistry with such limited experience together."
Despite all the excuses to fail, the United States surprised everybody but themselves with their success on the pitch.
"Everyone on the team had two things in common," said Lawson. "A hearing loss and a passion for soccer."
McDonald and his team are aiming for a gold medal in September when they compete in the 2008 Deaf Summer Olympics in Taipeh, Taiwan.
Ken McDonald did everything possible to help his soccer team advance in a world championship event.
That included laundry duty.
"We did not receive a single cent from anybody," said McDonald, a Pensacola resident, who coached the U.S. men's team into the semifinals of the inaugural Deaf Football World Cup Tournament last month in Patras, Greece.
"I had to wash our uniforms in my hotel bath and hang them off the balcony after our games,'' he said. "It's just ridiculous."
Along with the hardship, however, there were special memories.
McDonald's U.S. team was part of a 16-team field in the tournament. England and Italy, two of the richest and most powerful soccer nations in the world, received around $100,000 from sponsors.
"England had five full time coaches and a medical staff with them," said McDonald, who won a gold medal at the 2005 Deaf Olympics in Australia as the women's assistant coach. "They even employed a full time Kit-man to wash uniforms. They had a budget of $20,000 for the tournament just for uniforms."
The lack of financial support didn't stop the U.S. team from making an impact in the tournament.
The Americans knocked off Italy before losing to Turkey in a shootout in the semi-finals. Joining McDonald on his coaching staff were wife, Terri, the team manager, and Jackie Jones, an interpretter, who aided communication using her skill with hand signals. The players on the team reside across the U.S.
"We just had more heart and desire to win," McDonald said. "I think Italy was shocked that we brought that much effort. It took them by surprise."
The team defeated Italy once before in the 2001 Deaf Olympics group stage. Italy went to capture the Gold medal.
"Knocking off Italy was an incredible feeling," said team member Mike Lawson, in an e-mail interview. "It was a huge victory for our team."
Lawson, a 24-year-old center mid-fielder, is a second year student at the Masters Program in Deaf Education at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester, NY.
"If we had more financial support, I feel we would have gone further. We would pick the top 20 players regardless of their money status."
It wasn't just the laundry bill the team had to foot themselves. Getting to the tournament was a difficult task. The average cost of the trip was $5,000 per player.
"We had to buy our own plane tickets to Pensacola for training camp in addition to paying for the hotel and food," said Josh Reiher, in an e-mail interview.
"I believe there are many players out there who would love to have the chance to show their skills but can't afford to do so."
With the players spread across the country, and no financial support, McDonald had only a few days out of the year to get his team together to practice.
"We have had six weekends together, in the three years we have been preparing for this World Cup," said McDonald. "Imagine how far we would have gone if we could have practiced regularly."
Josh Reiher, the co-captain of the team along with Lawson, said it was frustrating not to be able to build the team chemistry that other clubs normally have.
"If we had more (financial) support, we'd be able to spend much more time together as a team," said Reiher, who will be starting medical school in the fall at the University of Wisconsin. "Many of the other squads in the world cup train together for several weeks leading up to a major tournament."
"It's very difficult to establish a solid team chemistry with such limited experience together."
Despite all the excuses to fail, the United States surprised everybody but themselves with their success on the pitch.
"Everyone on the team had two things in common," said Lawson. "A hearing loss and a passion for soccer."
McDonald and his team are aiming for a gold medal in September when they compete in the 2008 Deaf Summer Olympics in Taipeh, Taiwan.