SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — From outside the pitch, it looks like a typical five-on-five game. But when you get closer, you realize this is a different game of soccer.
Each of these athletes is blind, part of the first-ever USA Men’s Blind Soccer Team.
Molly Quinn, CEO of the United States Association of Blind Athletes, explains: “There are four field players who are blind, and they all wear blindfolds because vision loss comes in different degrees. The goalkeepers are sighted.”
One of the players is David Brown, a Paralympic gold medalist. He lost part of his vision as a baby and the rest as a teen.
“My vision was going in my right eye, and it put me in a deep depression at 13 because I was told I was never going to see the same again,” Brown says. “I was able to use sports like wrestling to help pull me out of that dark place.”
Brown took up track and field, which brought him to Chula Vista to train at the Chula Vista Elite Training Center. When he decided to retire his running shoes, he ended up lacing up soccer cleats.
But just how intense is the game?
Imagine complete darkness. All you hear is the rattling of the ball as coaches and the goalkeeper guide you into position for the next play.
“Being blind and visually impaired, I feel like that’s even more intense just because we can’t see each other,” Brown says. “And you have guys running full speed into you.”
For Brown, that’s what draws him to the game, as he and his teammates set their sights on the next Summer Paralympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
The USA team will compete this weekend against teams from Japan and England in the USA Blind International Cup.
