Prospective players learn and practice skills on the pitch at Portland’s amputee soccer clinic

Soccer is a sport enjoyed around the world, but a new accessible version is growing. Amputee soccer follows many of the same rules as the original, but with a few differences. The field is smaller, teams have fewer players and, most notably, players use forearm crutches to balance, run and kick. The sport was created in Seattle in the 1980s as a way for amputee athletes to get out on the pitch. It’s been slowly gaining popularity since then, with teams and conferences across Asia, the Americas, Europe and Africa. On Jan. 13, a clinic in Portland will allow prospective players to learn the basics of the game and test out their skills.

Thuy Williams helped organize the Portland clinic, and Katie Bondy is a member of the U.S. Women’s National Amputee Soccer team. They join us to talk more about the sport and how prospective players can get involved.

This transcript was created by a computer and edited by a volunteer.

Dave Miller: This is Think Out Loud on OPB. I’m Dave Miller. We end today with amputee soccer. It’s what it sounds like: a version of soccer that’s been modified slightly so that it’s accessible for people who have one leg or in the case of goalies, one arm. It was created in Seattle in the 1980s, but it’s been gaining popularity in recent years with teams and conferences across Asia, the Americas, Europe and Africa. A clinic in Portland on January 13th will allow prospective players to learn the basics of the game and to test out their skills. Thuy Williams is on the staff of the US Women’s National Amputee soccer team. She’s helping to organize the upcoming Portland clinic. She joins us now, along with Katie Bondy, a high school science teacher from Ohio who is a player on the US Women’s National Team. Welcome to you both.

Thuy Williams: Thank you.

Katie Bondy: Hi, thank you.

Miller: Katie, when did you first start playing amputee soccer?

Bondy: I started playing amputee soccer back in January of 2023. I’m a pretty recent amputee. I had my amputation back in May of 2022.

Miller: About a year and a half ago. And within just over six months of that, that’s when you started playing?

Bondy: Correct.

Miller: When you had your amputation a year and a half ago, what did you imagine you’d be doing in terms of physical activities or organized athletics?

Bondy: I’m kind of the oddball when it comes to the amputee community. I’ve been disabled all my life. So having the amputation was actually a blessing in disguise. It helped me with having, actually, a lot less pain. The amputation with my prosthetic has actually provided me with a lot more mobility. I just had to have that waiting period of the healing to then actually be able to walk a lot better.

Miller: Thuy Williams, how did you first get involved in amputee soccer?

Williams: I actually heard about all-ability sports only last year. I speak at conferences on coaching and there was another speaker there talking about all-ability sports and things that everyone can do. So when I came home to Portland, I started looking into, do we have that here? And we don’t have much. We do have a couple small organizations that are trying to build that up. And then kind of through that, I heard about amputee soccer. I played soccer all my life so I love amputee soccer because it’s as close to regular soccer as you can get.

Miller: Can you describe the basics of the rules?

Williams: Sure. It’s basically the same rules. We don’t have offsides. Everybody on the field is on a crutch. You have to have a one inch, they call, difference in your leg. So that will make you eligible to play. And then goalies usually have one arm. So, it’s pretty much the same rules except for offsides. If the ball hits your crutch though, it is a hands ball. So that’s the big thing. So you have to be a little more agile. It’s a lot faster. People can move on those crutches. It’s amazing to watch.

Miller: I’ve watched some videos in the last couple of days and it’s extraordinary. I guess I don’t know what I was expecting. But I had never seen people on crutches move as quickly, just running down the field with a level of agility that’s more than I have with my two legs. Katie, can you describe what it’s like to play it?

Bondy: It’s just like when you watched it. So it’s kind of just playing with three limbs. So with the forearm crutches, we really have to rely on our shoulders. And because we don’t have the opposite foot to balance, it’s what we use the forearm crutches for. When we kick the ball, we can only kick the ball with the limb that we have. So we really have to focus and be able to kick the ball basically, however we can, with only one foot.

Playing is amazing. Just being able to run on crutches, it’s so much fun. With my able bodied friends, when they try to play, it’s really funny when they’re like, “Wow, like, this is actually really hard.” And I’m just like, “No, it’s just fun.” Everyone I think needs to try it.

Miller: What did it take for you to get just your upper body in shape to have it be strong enough that you could even compete at this level? It seems to require an immense amount of upper body strength.

Bondy: Well, we are very fortunate with the US Amputee Soccer Team. We have great trainers who provide us different workout plans that we can do. And with people that have amputations of the lower body, with our rehab, our physical therapists who we work with help us utilize our upper body as well.

Miller: Now, this is played without prosthetic legs, right? Even though, I assume, it is fair to say that many, if not most of the players in their everyday lives, use prosthetics?

Bondy: I would say it’s about 50/50. So I’m a below-the-knee amputee. So I use my prosthetic probably 90% of the time. But for above-the-knee or people that have part of their hip missing, actually forearm crutches or wheelchairs provide more mobility for them because the prosthetics are very cumbersome and heavy. So it kind of just depends on the person.

Miller: Thuy, I mentioned that this sport, as I understand it, started in Seattle back in the 1980s. But it really does seem to be gaining momentum right now. What’s happening around the world?

Williams: We had the first Men’s World Cup in 2022 and then we’re having the first Women’s World Cup this year in November. So it kind of sparked the imagination of people who never thought they could play a sport or could not play soccer again. We’ve had a lot of veterans that are getting involved because they lost a limb and are now like “I can do this sport.” And so it’s really catching on worldwide. People injured in wars and things like that, the numbers are increasing. And so this is a sport they can play and it takes athletic ability. It’s not just throwing a ball. It’s a lot of work and so they’re getting back into a sport and they love it.

Miller: And it’s interesting because when you’re saying that it takes a lot of work, that’s actually one of the draws for the people you’re describing. The fact that it’s hard is a feature not a bug.

Thuy, US Amputee Soccer had a clinic in Portland in August of 2023, just something like four months ago. That was the first one. What was it like?

Williams: It was awesome. We actually had way more volunteers than players, but the volunteers spent the entire day learning what amputee soccer was. And so they got a passion for it and most of them are coming back to help with this one. This one, we have a lot more athletes signed up already. We just opened sign ups and we already have quadrupled what we had last time. So we’re quite excited about this one.

Miller: What can people expect on January 13th?

Williams: So we actually have two of the people that started amputee soccer back in the eighties coming to help with this. So we’re excited about that. Ed Rosenthal was on the Men’s National Team. He’ll be doing the clinic, the sports side of it. And then “Dee” Malchow is also coming. She and Ed basically helped start the program. So both of them will be coming. Dee will be talking about her story of being an amputee and both of them will be talking about how they got into the sport.

We’ll have clinics so we’ll probably split everybody up by those that have done it before and those that are beginning. We have a lot of kids coming to this one. So we’ve got kids crutches that are being donated for the day. And so we’re just going to learn what it is, have some fun and end the day with the scrimmage.

Miller: In the back of your mind, is it possible someone’s going to show up there,

just walk onto the field, who’s actually going to join the national team and play in the World Cup next year? I mean, is that possible or is that just too much to hope for?

Williams: That’s my goal. My goal is to bring someone from Portland to play in the Women’s World Cup team this year. That would be my goal because I can work with them between now and actual tryouts in May. And I am hoping we have someone from Portland on that team.

Miller: Katie, since you got into this have you become a kind of pied piper who wants to find other people to join you?

Bondy: Absolutely. I think that amputee soccer is great. And I know that a lot of people want to have an outlet and especially be a part of a community where others understand, physically, mentally and emotionally what they’ve been through. So because I’m a recent amputee, I can talk to my other teammates and say, “I’m feeling this right now. What did you do?” And just having someone that has had that experience, tell me and say this is what they did. That community is very difficult to find. And we have that community now and being able to just broadcast that and say, “Hey, if you’re missing a limb, you know, come play soccer.” It’s also a lot of fun.

Miller: Am I right that you’ve played sports basically your whole life?

Bondy: Correct.

Miller: Have you had an experience like this where you’re on a team where you share this particular thing, being an amputee, in common?

Bondy: No, so I’ve played lacrosse in college, but I was the only one with a disability. I’ve rock climbed as the only one really with a disability when I was climbing with other people. So not being the disabled person on the team is great because in amputee soccer, everybody is disabled. For me personally, a great atmosphere to be around. Because when I was growing up I was always looked at as the disabled person. Now, I’m not.

Miller: What do you see as the barriers to joining this team? I mean, what does it take to do it? Or why might someone who is an amputee say, “It’s not for me”?

Bondy: I think the struggle right now is, or the barrier… I actually qualified for amputee soccer growing up. I had two inches of a limb difference. I just didn’t know about it. So I think the more that people know about the sport, that’s the first hurdle we need to get over, just awareness in general. Because if I knew about this when I was growing up, I’m not going to say my path would have changed, but just having that option of having a community, I probably would have taken more advantage of that as a child and adolescent and early adult and so on.

Miller: Thuy, I see you nodding here. What is your pitch to young people that you meet or just people of any age that you think would be good candidates for this sport?

Williams: Well, I know there are kids that play soccer with their prosthetic until they’re about 10 to 12. And then the sport gets too fast for them, so then they quit. We’ve got some parents that have contacted me that are so excited because their kids are gonna be able to play soccer and they’re coming to the play. And so, to be able to get out on the field, for a lot of kids and adults that love soccer and then can take it back up, is amazing. It really is.

Miller: What has this meant for you as a coach?

Williams: Well, I’m a disabled Vet so I can’t play soccer anymore. And so for me, this just excites me because, oh my gosh, I have so many Veteran friends that are like, “I can’t play anymore because I lost my leg or my arm.” They’re all so excited that they can take something up that’s not just a sport, but they could actually go to the Nationals. They could go to the World Cup for the United States playing what they love. And that to me is beyond exciting.

Miller: Katie, are you going to the World Cup in Colombia this fall?

Bondy: I hope so. I have to try out.

Miller: OK, so it’s just the same old story that, like the non-amputee soccer World Cup, you have to qualify for the team and you haven’t yet qualified?

Bondy: Correct. I mean, I’m training every day. I’m working on my crutch skills, my foot skills, and my nutrition. So here’s hoping. But I’m not gonna say, “Yes, I’m going.” I have to make the team. 100% have to make the team, but fingers crossed.

Miller: Our fingers as well. Congratulations. Best of luck to you. And thanks very much.

Bondy: Thank you. I appreciate it.

Miller: Thuy Williams, thank you as well.

Williams: Thank you.

Miller: Thuy Williams is on the staff of the US Women’s National Amputee Soccer Team. Katie Bondy is a member of the team. She is also a high school science teacher.

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