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Meet Team USA
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Dan Broome - Anaheim Hills, CA
Team Captain and Player/Coach
Active in high school athletics, Dan enjoyed participating in cross
country and lettered once in tennis and three times in soccer. Dan lost
his leg in an industrial accident while working a summer job before
college. Frustrated by trying to play soccer with a prosthesis, he began
playing amputee soccer on crutches. It has been a passion since he began
in 1986.
He also continues to participate regularly in other sports including
softball, tennis and cycling. Dan is an estimator and project manager for a leading Southern California grading contractor, and an active member of
his church.
He is blessed with a lovely wife of 12 years, Susan, and three
wonderful boys, Ben, 9, Andy, 6, and Nick, 4.
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Ignacio (Nacho) Medrano - Sun Valley, CA
Co-Captain, Player/Coach
Ignacio has been playing soccer since the age of seven. At the age of
18 he'd been selected to play with a Los Angeles, California Select team, and three times had the honor to play in the L.A. Coliseum.
Ignacio, "Nacho" to his teammates, lost his leg to cancer in 1991. Though his
passion for the game would never die, he thought his soccer playing days were over.
But he was was invited to play goalie for an indoor team with his former high school teammates. He thought they were just being nice, but they persisted, and he was grateful for the opportunity to play again.
Then in 1998, amputee soccer gave him what he never expected. He was
again able to play the game he loved as a field player. He's been a member of the US National team, playing in both the 1998 Amputee Soccer World Cup in Manchester, England; and in the First Open European Championships held
in Kiev, Ukraine, in 1999.
Nacho says he' he'll play amputee soccer until he is either too old or dead. He lives in Southern California with his wife Alexis and enjoys his
career as an office equipment field technician.
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Farah Aden - Seattle WA
United States Amputee Soccer Team's latest addition. Farah is 17 years old and lives at home with his parents and four brothers and five sisters.
He was born in Somalia and at age 12 while playing a soccer game he was
caught in cross fire from two warring factions and was shot in his leg.
That night they had to leave their family home when the soldiers came and
beat his grandmother with the butt of their rifles, paralyzing her for
life. After moving to Kenya, in 1995, he and his family moved to America.
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Steve Betz - Yorba Linda CA
Steve is another one of our newest members to the team. Steve has been trying to connect with the United States Amputee Soccer Team for three
years.
He finally got his chance at the National Team training camp in
Orange County California last August. After the training camp Steve got to go out on the field as a goal keeper during an exhibition game during half time at the WAVES game.
Steve is looking forward to international competition in this years Amputee Soccer World Championship 2000
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Chuck Brown - Los Angeles CA
Chuck is a long time member of the US Team, and is a strong
competitor.
Chuck is an intimidating force on the field and is always
there when he is asked to perform.
He plans to become a prosthtist, and to help others.
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Don Ersland - Renton WA
Don, an engineer, recently retired from the Boeing airplane company.
He how lives with his wife Anne, in Renton Wa. He had polio as a child and
had his leg removed in 1983.
At 57 he is now the oldest amputee soccer player in the universe and
would gladly retire if some replacement were found (just kidding).
The Uzbekistan
ian team wants to nominate Don for president. Nickname:
"Cowboy".
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Thomas Feller - Mountlake Terrace, WA
Thomas played three years of winning club ball as a defender before
losing his leg in an auto accident in 1973 in Canada. The leg was only
broken, but the cast stopped the flow of blood to his leg.
Tom lives in Mountlake Terrace, WA. with his wife Jeannie and new
daughter Helen Louise. He is a technician with Hanger Prosthetics. Thomas and his wife have been strong supporters of amputee soccer.
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Asmelash (Auzzie) Haile - Seattle, WA
Auzzie came to the US in 1985 from the small African country of
Eritrea after losing his leg to cannon fire near the Merib River. He had
fought for independence from Ethiopia for seven years. He now works for
the Seattle Housing Authority but spends much time traveling to Eritrean
community gatherings in both the US and Europe providing entertainment as
a vocalist in traditional music. He lives in Seattle with his wife Negasti
and their three children. They named their first son Merib.
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Rick Hofmann - Wilmington, DE
Rick began playing in what he calls "the stone age of American soccer" at a small Pennsylvania College in 1963. He came home safe after a year and a half in Vietnam, then lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident in North Carolina 25-years later.
Rick discovered amputee soccer three years ago and "fell in love with
the game." He formed the American Amputee Soccer Association based in
the Philadelphia area, and has been very actively involved with the US
National team.
He is Deputy Vice President, Development, of the
International Amputee Football (as soccer is called in the rest of the
world) Federation; Deputy Commissioner for Soccer, International Sport
Organization for the Disabled, and, as an offshoot of his career as a
communications professional, publishes both http://www.ampsoccer.org/ and http://www.activeamp.org/.
Rick plays with the Philadelphia regional team, and may participate
with the international team as an "in-case-of-emergency-only" defenseman.
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Fadl (Fuddle) Khalil - Edmonds, WA Fadl moved to the US from Lebanon when he was 20 years old, after he lost his left leg during the Lebanese Civil War in 1975.
He was hired by Boeing as electrical design engineer after graduating from college in 1981m, and is now a lead avionics engineer at Boeing.
As one of the Seattle Amputee soccer founders, he transformed the game from "hockey like" to soccer by teaching his amputee team members the
rules of soccer. He is still active in other sport activities like skiing, bicycling, kayaking, fishing and hiking on crutches.
Fadl live sin edmionds with his wife, Shelley, their two girls (Nadina, 12 and Amera, 10) and their son (Ramzee, 7).
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Mark Lazenby - Orange County CA
Mark joined amputee soccer shortly after having his leg amputated. He travelled to traveled to Tashkent in 1991 for one of the first-ever international amp soccer championships.
Mark returned to the game play for the United States Amputee Soccer Team in 2000, the 20th anniversary of Amputee Soccer. Mark
is married and has a daughter. He has his own business that keeps him
hopping.
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Jim Loudon - Philadelphia, PA
Jim and his wife Marybeth "Don't-you-dare-call-me-Mrs.-Loudon" Helfrich
were married in Kathmandu, Nepal and live in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, to
the bewilderment of the Royal Mail.
Their son, Brandon (equipment wrangler for Team USA), lists introducing the backwards baseball cap to Kiev at last year's tournament as a major life
achievement.
Jim lost his hand in an industrial accident in 1972. He is an
independent software engineer specializing in computer networking and data
communications.
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Dave Marshall - Philadelphia, PA
Dave was a .300+ hitter and was destined for a career in major league
baseball with the Philadelphia Phillies when he was hit by a car on his
three day-old motorcycle. During his recovery Dave became he first person
ever to be fitted for and to wear a polypropylene - plastic -prosthesis.
Dave turned his personal misfortune into benefit for others. He became a prosthetist himself and now builds limbs for others.
Still active in sports Dave is a Babe Ruth league and Little league
umpire in his home town of Bensalem, Pa. He discovered amputee soccer
three years ago.
The 46-year-old defenseman has been a member of the USA
national team in the 1998 Amputee Soccer World Cup in Manchester, England;
and in the First Open European Championships, Kiev, Ukraine, 1999. For
Dave's full story go to Active Amp - Marshall.
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Vishwa Pillay - Shoreline, WA
Vishwa immigrated to the US from Fiji in 1977. Ten years later, while
on the job, his hand was caught in a shredding machine. He endured 30 long minutes of horror while frantic efforts were made to dismantle the machine - but at last, at his own insistence, the hand was cut off to finally free him.
Vishwa now works at a somewhat safer job at the county assessors
office. He lives in Shoreline with his wife Roshni and their three
children.
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Ed Rosenthal - Snohomish, WA
Ed. is the President and
CEO of Next Generation Technologies, Inc., technology consultancy
specializing in computer access for people with disabilities.
His wife Jill is currently a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology.
In addition to playing soccer Ed. enjoys kayaking, hiking, and
exercising at the local gym. He plans to play amputee soccer competitively
for many years to come.
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Robert Spotswood - Birmingham, AL
Robert was a soccer star. A team leader, outstanding scorer, and
member of the Alabama State Select team. But "a couple of beers" and a bad
turn in the road left broke nearly every bone in the then 16-year-old's
body and left him an above the knee amputee.
Last year, one year and one day after his accident Robert
took the field in an American National Team uniform in the first Open
European Amputee Soccer championships in Kiev Ukraine, and scored his
first international goal in that tournament.
Robert is a full time student, but devotes part of his time to
addressing high school groups on the obvious dangers of drinking and
driving. For the full story on 'America's Remarkable Rookie please see Active Amp - Spottswood
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Steve Wilber - Kent, WA
Steve and his wife Eilene both work at the VA hospital in Seattle. He's
is a scheduling coordinator and she's nurse.
Steve's been participated in amputee soccer for 15 years. He's used his camera to promote soccer and other sports for the disabled, and has many great pictures of disabled athletes in his portfolio.
One of two Vietnam Vets on the team, Steve spent many dangerous months on the Mekong River with only one relatively minor injury. Then, ironically, lost his leg in the US when hit by a drunk driver while on his motorcycle.
Steve and Eilene live in Kent, with their new daughter Nicole.
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Kevin Wilson - Bremerton WA
Kevin, has bene married to his lovely wife Leslie for seven yeatrs. They have
three of their own children (one a 10-year old that they adopted last year)
and 5 foster children. Kevin is a full-time stay at home Dad.
Kevin lost his leg when he was 17 years-old cleaning a rifle.
He's been involved with Amputee Soccer and Team USAble ever since. He
enjoys mountain biking, boating (knee boarding and tubing), soccer, and
other outdoor events.
He is extremely active and has tested athletic
"legs" for his local prosthetic company to ensure they meet endurance
standards.
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