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WitH GRaNt MoRGeNfelD

by GRACE GORMLEY and ASPEN STITT

Millions of athletes around the world have disabilities, and their accomplishments are often overshadowed. It’s time to highlight these skilled athletes and celebrate everything they add to the greater athletic community.

Two weeks before Mauricio Porcayo’s graduation from Bassett High School in Avocado Heights in Southern California, he was hit by a drunk driver. Doctors were able to save Porcayo’s right leg, but his left had to be amputated below the knee. For a while after this horrible accident, Porcayo anguished that he would never be able to play soccer again, which had been his passion from a young age.

“I was at my lowest point,” Porcayo said. “Hearing the news that you’re going to get your leg amputated, you believe that’s it: there’s no more chance of you be[ing] an athlete.”

But despite these fears of never being able to participate again, Porcayo would find another opportunity to play: in the sport of amputee soccer.

“When the coaches came out from the United States Amputee Team to let me know that there’s still soccer even after amputation, it really lifted up my hopes and happiness,” he said.

In the same way that soccer is an integral part of Porcayo’s life, athletics inhabit a fundamental role in the happiness of billions of others worldwide.

Elite athletes are hailed as heroes and celebrities across the globe, and their incredible accomplishments become legends to their adoring fans.

But time and time again, a group of athletes is overlooked, not given opportunities, or passed over by media and fans alike. Disabled individuals suffer from a fundamental lack of appreciation and lauding for their athletic accomplishments, especially by the mainstream press.

According to the World Health Organization, one in six people worldwide experience a significant disability -- whether from an accident, like Porcayo, or from birth. Millions of these people are athletes.

Having a disability often means having to work harder to advance in one’s area of expertise compared to others who are able-bodied. Many of the accomplishments of athletes with disabilities are overshadowed both in and out of media in favor of giving attention to their able bodied competitors. Thus, it’s time to shine a light on the incredible accomplishments these elite athletes have achieved, discuss the ways they must adapt in order to play their sports, and share ideas on how to increase awareness and accessibility.

Porcayo’s love of soccer is shared by Nico Calabria, the 12-year captain of the United States Amputee Soccer Team. He was born with only his left leg, and has been playing amputee soccer on the world stage since he was 16. At only 13, he raised over 100,000 dollars for charity when he climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, a volcano in Tanzania that is roughly 20,000 ft high. He first began playing soccer from a young age.

“I just love soccer,” Calabria said. “I played with my friends. [I knew] this is what I want to be doing. … It definitely helped me build community and it also prepared me to be one of the best amputee soccer players in the world.”

His assertion of “best in the world” is no exaggeration. Calabria is the all-time leading goal scorer for the USA and was a Golden Boot runner up in the 2022 Amputee World Cup, meaning he was the second highest scorer in the entire tournament.

Beyond his immense skill in the sport, Calabria has a tion going on,” he said.

Currently, he is in the process of founding a team in Los Angeles, where Porcayo is a player.

“Having access to the sport is amazing,” Porcayo said. “But there still are … a lot of amputees that don’t know about the sport, and [raising awareness is] what we’re trying to do.” ty does not fit into one of the other categories, including people of short stature).

Awareness is hugely important in helping people with disabilities increase access to athletics. Many aren’t aware of organizations near them and therefore are denied these opportunities to participate.

Many of the aforementioned categories are for athletes with physical disabilities, like the soccer players Porcayo and Calabria.

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do on the course.” passion for bringing amputee soccer to others, like Porcayo.

“When [amputees] have an opportunity to play again, ... it’s a truly electrifying experience,” Calabria said. “That’s really what it’s all about: just making sure that anyone who wants to play is able to and has the resources to do so.”

Calabria first began playing in international amputee soccer matches when he was 16, but at that time, there were few opportunities for him to compete.

“Originally, it was actually quite frustrating because there wasn’t a program really going in the United States,” Calabria said. “You had to pay to play, [games] were few and far between. They were very spread out geographically and it didn’t really feel like there was much momentum building.”

Because of this, Calabria worked to advocate for the sports growth and recently, amputee soccer has started gaining momentum in the US.

“In the last four or five years, I’ve really dedicated a lot more time to it and the organization [of USA Amputee Soccer] has grown to the point where we can support athletes’ costs to play, and there’s just more regular competi-