By Nick Gasparro
Chula Vista, CA – The Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center is excited to be hosting U.S. Soccer’s second annual Adapt and Thrive Invitational! The camp includes the Federations five disability National Teams, which will be training simultaneously from March 1-8 at the CVEATC. 80 elite athletes from across the country were selected for this unique training camp, along with 85 staff members. During their stay at the CVEATC, U.S. Soccer will have access to our soccer fields, field hockey pitch, sports therapy building, dining services (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), and overnight stay in our dormitories.
The Teams participating in the second annual Adapt and Thrive Invitational are U.S. Soccer’s Men’s and Women’s Cerebral Palsy (CP) National Teams, the Men’s and Women’s Deaf National Teams, and the co-ed Power Soccer National Team. These five teams are preparing for top level international tournaments which are set for later in the year. The Down Syndrome Sports of America soccer program will also be training alongside the U.S. National Teams from March 5-8. U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson and U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow-Cone will also be on site to check out the action.
The Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center would like to congratulate all the players who were selected to participate in the second annual Adapt and Thrive Invitational, and wish them the best of luck as they continue their preparations for the tournaments to come in 2023.
The five rosters participating in the 2023 Adapt and Thrive Invitational are listed below:
The U.S. Power Soccer National Team features male and female athletes with disabilities that include quadriplegia, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, and cerebral palsy, among others. Played 4v4 in a gymnasium, it is the first competitive team sport developed specifically for power wheelchair users. The team has qualified for the fourth FIPFA Powerchair Football World Cup in Sydney, Australia in October. The USA won the inaugural 2007 World Cup, repeated in 2011 and took silver in 2017.
U.S. POWER SOCCER NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER:
Goalkeeper (1): Nathan Mayer (Monticello, MN)
Wings (6): Andrew Chauppetta (Bridgewater, Mass), Troy Chauppetta (Bridgewater, Mass), Andrew Cunningham (Syracuse, NY), Alexis Heer (Fishers, Ind.), Natalie Russo (Carmel, Ind.), Peyton Sefick (Syracuse, NY)
Centers (3): Jordan Dickey (Pendleton, Ind.), David Dowling (Ft. Wayne, Ind.), Riley Johnson (Saint Cloud, MN)
Strikers (2): Zach Dickey (Pendleton, Ind.), Peter Winslow (Woodbury, MN)
Head Coach: Tracy Mayer; Asst Coach: Thomas Dickey & Steve Everett
Deaf soccer is contested by Deaf and hard-of-hearing athletes. Under international criteria, players must have a hearing loss of at least 55 decibels in their better ear. All players competing in Deaf matches must remove all hearing aids before playing.
The Men’s and Women’s Deaf National Teams are preparing for the fourth World Deaf Football Championships, set for Sept. 20-Oct. 8 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The WNT have won the last two World Cups (2012, 2016), while the Men will look to build off it’s 2019 Deaf Pan American Games Gold Medal.
U.S. MEN’S DEAF NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Erik Jaspers (Saratoga Springs, Utah), Sam Lang (Fort Thomas, KY)
DEFENDERS (6): Kevin Fitzpatrick (Hopatcong, N.J.), Will Frentz (Goshen, Ky.), Arthur Goncalves (San Carlos, Calif.), Luke Haubruge (San Marcos, Calif.) Edwin Perry (Dellwood, Minn.), Tyler Stack (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Braden Anderson (Boise, Idaho), Dawson Anderson (Boise, Idaho), Christopher Bourdon (San Diego, Calif.), Brian Espanto (Tacoma, Wash.), Tate Lancaster (Overland Park, Kan.), Raul Silva (San Diego, Calif.)
FORWARDS (6): David Dircio (San Diego, Calif.), Kelly Grant (St. Louis, Mo.), Chad Johnson (Los Angeles, Calif.), JP Kanashiro (Lorton, Va.), Michael Schmid (Oberlin, Ohio), Tristan Torbett (Asheville, N.C.)
Head Coach: David Kunitz; Asst Coach: Ken Noll; GK Coach: Billy Phillips
U.S. WOMEN’S DEAF NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Payton DeGraw (Salt Lake City, Utah), Ella Sheridan (Dallas, Texas)
DEFENDERS (6): Sydney Andrews (Wichita, Kan.), Paige Beaudry (Riverview, Mich.), Gracie Fitzgerald (Georgetown, Ind.), Nicole Nunes (Santa Clara, Calif.), Mia White (Littleton, Colo.), Faith Wylie (Decatur, Texas)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Erin Cembrale (Palm Harbor, Fla.), Holly Hunter (Temecula, Calif.), Ani Khachadourian (Cary, N.C.), Nikki Koehn (Fremont, Calif.), McCall Madriago (Sacramento, Calif.), Paris Price (Fall City, Wash.), Sabina Shysh (Tucson, Ariz.), Kate Ward (Atlanta, Ga.)
FORWARDS (5): Kennedy Bean (Costa Mesa, Calif.), Emily Cressy (Fountain Valley, Calif.), Casey King (Bexley, Ohio), Sophie Post (Murray, Utah) Felicia Waldock (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Head Coach: Amy Griffin; Asst Coach: Joy Fawcett; GK Coach: Meghan Maiwald
The Men’s and Women’s CP National Team features athletes with Cerebral Palsy, Stroke or Traumatic Brain Injury. The Men’s team is preparing for 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile in November.
U.S. MEN’S CP NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Marc Estrella (Bakersfield, Calif.), Carson Lundhagen (Canton, Ga.)
DEFENDERS (4): Steven Bohlemann (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), Drew Bremer (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Josh Brunais (Stafford, Va.), Tyler Schwalm (Boston, Mass)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Chileshe Chitulangoma (Rochester, Minn.), Ben Lindau (Chicago, Ill.), Frankie Lowery (Fort Collins, Colo.), Kevin McCandlish (Chesapeake, Va.), John Sullivan (Tucson, Ariz.)
FORWARDS (5): Jacob Crumbley (Fortson, Ga.), Cameron DeLillo (Blandon, Pa.), Shea Hammond (Upper Montclair, N.J.), Gavin Kohner (Phoenix, Ariz.), Michael Ruiz (Gilroy, Calif.)
Head Coach: Stuart Sharp; Asst Coach: Ross Moffatt; GK Coach: Ian Joyce
U.S. WOMEN’S CP NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER:
DEFENDERS (4): Jordan Bruce (Albuquerque, NM), Michelle Cross (Orange County, Calif.), Emeril Gordon (Atlanta, Ga.), Joey Martin (Smyrna, Ga.)
MIDFIELDERS (4): Kristine Knief (Ankeny, Iowa), Cassidy Leake (Murrieta, Calif.), Madison Reinert (Oley, PA), Isabella Stankunas (Trappe, PA)
FORWARDS (2): Leah Glaser (Montclaire, NJ), Jesslyn Kuhnel (Panama City, Fla.)
Head Coach: Tricia Taliaferro; Asst Coach: Kevin Hensley; GK Coach: Chris Maravalli
To learn more about the second annual Adapt and Thrive Invitational at the CVEATC, follow the link bellow: