US Women’s Deaf National Team takes stage in historic soccer game

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The U.S. Women’s Deaf National Team faces off with Australia in the first-ever nationally televised deaf soccer competition. Local stars hope this elevates the sport

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — The sounds of soccer are slightly different sounds at this practice.

“For me, I’m profoundly deaf in both ears so I don’t hear a single thing with my devices off,” midfielder Holly Hunter said.

We first met Hunter in the fall of 2021 when she was playing for the Colorado Buffaloes. With her college teams, she’s permitted to use her cochlear implants to perfect her hearing. However, all deaf national team members must remove any hearing aids prior to competitions.

“With my hearing team, I hear everything, everyone’s yelling, everyone’s calling for the ball,” Hunter said. “With this team, I don’t hear anything, I just have to be super aware and it really helps with my awareness and just make sure I’m scanning around and trying to find my teammates.”

Some members use American Sign Language. Others, like Hunter, don’t use it at all. It’s an inclusive group that understands different abilities and communication styles.

“It’s just a spectrum. It’s interesting to communicate on the field. I find myself doing jumping jacks on the field trying to get the ball, some people are trying to show at their feet,” Hunter said. “We all have different ways of communicating but we make it work.”

1991 World Cup champion Amy Griffin has been the head coach of the U.S. Women’s Deaf National Team since 2015. It’s been a learning process for her to communicate with the team, but one that she enjoys immensely.

“This team is a microcosm of how I wish the world would behave,” Griffin said. “Everyone just meets each other where they are and makes it work.”

Mia White grew up in Littleton, Colorado. While she’s already fulfilled some dreams of playing professionally overseas, representing her country in her home state is something she never dreamed possible.

“I’m humbled to be on this team and play on my home turf, and to have people in my community actually watch us play live is incredible,” she said.

White hopes the elevated profile of deaf soccer on this nationally televised stage will inspire others to get out of their comfort zone.

“It’s exciting, I feel humbled, I feel blessed to be having this experience in conjunction with my team and I think it’s a great opportunity to spread awareness and visibility of this community of deaf communities around the world,” White said.

Seventeen players from the squad that helped the USA claim the 2023 DIFA World Deaf Football Championship are on the roster for USA-Australia, presented by Volkswagen, live at 2 p.m. ET / noon MT. As part of the historic occasion, the match will be broadcast live in English on truTV and Max, and in Spanish via the Telemundo App, Telemundo YouTube, and network social media channels. In the day’s second game, the USWNT will face Korea Republic in head coach Emma Hayes’ managerial debut with the United States at 5 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. MT (TNT, truTV, Universo, Max and Peacock).