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U.S. blind soccer team based in Colorado Springs kicks off new sport during L.A. Paralympics

Blind soccer camp at Colorado Springs camp
KRDO

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - American athletes are already off to an impressive start at the Paralympics, with lots of local athletes competing for a medal this weekend, but even with the focus on Tokyo, the work doesn't stop here in Colorado Springs. There's one United States athletic association kicking off a new sport, one they hope to dominate when the Paralympics are on home soil in just a few years.

From the outside looking in, a soccer camp at SoccerHaus off Garden of the Gods Road appears to be like any other soccer camp. But once you see the eye masks, you realize these players can't see.

"We have to communicate, we have to learn how to move on the field with those walls around us that are very scary and also with our teammates and defenders coming at us, so it's a lot of new skills," says Charles Catherine.

Catherine is one of nine visually impaired athletes from around the country who came to Colorado Springs for this camp, put on by the United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA), based here in Olympic City, USA.

Catherine grew up playing soccer for fun, but because he was born low-sighted, he never played on a team. He lost his vision about a decade ago and is now looking to be part of a new U.S. sport.

"Our goal is to be able to bring this as a recreational sport across the United States while also thinking through high performance and development so that we can field a team in LA in seven years," says USABA CEO, Molly Quinn.

Quinn says blind soccer is popular around the world, and it has become one of the fastest-growing Paralympic Sports.

It's a game played with five athletes on each team, with a ball that rattles so that players can hear where it is. Athletes rely heavily on communication too, with offensive and defensive players talking and using special cues so that they can try and avoid running into each other on the field. There's also a coach near the goal telling players where the posts are and when to shoot.

"Creating a brand new sport in a country from scratch is a very exciting but very daunting there's a lot of work we have to do," says USABA Program and Finance director, Kevin Brousard.

And Brousard is a good person to be paving the way for blind soccer in the U.S., given his past experiences as a visually impaired athlete. He's a three-time world champion in shot put and discus, and a judo national champion.

"It is a very rewarding job, as a person who's been blind since birth and growing up being bullied a lot because of my disability the focus was on the things that I couldn't do and it was all about me being blind," says Brousard. "And then I found sports and I found the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes and they really helped change the trajectory of the things I could do and excel as an athlete and the things that came with that, the confidence-building, the work ethics that has really been ingrained in every aspect of my life. When I get up every morning and go into work I know I can have that same impact on others."

The work begins now, training and forming a competitive national team, with more camps like this one in the future. And while medals are an important goal down the road, these athletes say the blind soccer program gives them confidence. It's a sport that stretches well past the field.

"Go beyond that apprehension, that fear of hitting another player or hitting the wall or missing the ball -- those are skills that actually translate in our everyday life," says Catherine. "I know after a camp like this where it is so intense for a few days when I go home I just feel much better, I feel like a Jedi, I'm not afraid in the streets as much and it is a great feeling."

The blind soccer developmental camp wraps up Friday evening with a scrimmage.

U.S. men’s goalball team walking out to play in Tokyo (Photo: USABA)

Another sport to keep a close eye on as you follow the Paralympics this weekend and next week is goalball. It's a sport similar to soccer but played on a smaller field. Blind athletes try and throw the ball into the opposing team's net.

The U.S. women's team is undefeated so far in Tokyo. The U.S. men's team pulled off a huge upset beating Brazil, which is ranked first. The Americans are off to a great start in Tokyo as they continue to chase medals.

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Brynn Carman

Brynn is an anchor on Good Morning Colorado. Learn more about Brynn here.

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