Former Storm Athlete, Wesley Shade, Wins Pan American Qualifiers With US Deaf National Team
This November, former Colorado Storm 99B North player, Wesley Shade, was part of the first-ever tournament win for the US Deaf Men’s National Team (USDMNT) at the Pan American Qualifiers in Temuco, Chile. After finishing top of the qualifying group at the tournament, the team has now received an automatic bid the 2020 Deaf World Cup in South Korea and the 2021 Deaflympics. Congrats to Wesley and the entire team on a successful tournament! We can’t wait to see them in action in 2020 and 2021!
The Pan American Qualifiers kicked of November 11th, with the USDMNT playing national rivals Mexico. The US stormed out to an early lead of 3-0, which was enough for them to hold onto a 3-2 win after a solid second half performance by Mexico and a red card for the US. We were ecstatic to see Welsey take the field for his first international appearance vs Mexico and, after a strong showing, get the start and play the full 90 in the team’s next match vs Chile. Welsey picked up an assist against Chile, as the US dominated their opponents 4-0. They then flew past Brazil with a 3-0 win, setting up a great final match up between the only other undefeated team in the tournament, Argentina.
The two teams were well matched, which made for a tense tournament final. After going back-and-forth as well as seeing a number of close chances for both sides, the US got their goal going up 1-0. They were able to hold that lead and at the final whistle, erupted onto the field celebrating their first-ever international tournament win!
We are so proud to see Welsey represent the United States on the international stage. The support and thought that has been put into US Deaf Soccer program is inspiring to see, as this is a team that had never won a tournament competing with the very best in the world. We look forward to watching the team and Wesley at more international tournaments soon!
Contributors:Aaron Nagel has been the Executive Director of the Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club since 2016. Prior to CRYSC, Aaron was the Executive Director for Skyline Soccer Association for eight years, another Denver area youth soccer club. Aaron grew up in North Dakota and studied business, communications, and audio engineering at North Dakota State University and Minnesota State University-Moorhead. Aaron later went on to earn a master’s degree in public administration with an emphasis in nonprofit administration. Additionally, Aaron is a Certified Nonprofit Professional, Certified Parks and Recreation Professional, Certified Volunteer Administrator, and Certified Youth Sports Administrator. Outside the work he loves, Aaron is married to Jenny, and they share four children, Elias, Henley, Palmer, and Lennon, all who play soccer for CRYSC and have played for Coach Dad at some point. Aaron and his family love Colorado and are avid hikers, campers, skiers/snowboarders, whitewater rafters, and climbers.
Ben Martisius grew up in Monroe, Louisiana where he played soccer through high school, and attended Louisiana State University to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Mass Communications. Prior to graduating, he completed a minor in German during a year abroad in Innsbruck, Austria at the Universität Innsbruck. In 2014, Ben moved to Denver, Colorado to attend graduate school at the University of Denver and earn his Master's degree in Strategic Communications. While in school, he took a communications role with the university's alumni advancement team, and has since worked for a local gym as a Marketing Specialist, and multiple clients as the Digital Marketing Specialist for Domoto Brands, LLC. In 2018, he was hired by Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club as the Communications Manager and found a perfect role for merging his passion for Marketing and Communications with soccer. After two years of overseeing communications at the Club, he was promoted to the Director of Marketing and Communications. In his personal life, Ben likes to go snowboarding, enjoy the outdoors during the summer, play guitar, bass guitar, or piano, watch or play soccer, and spend time with friends and family. He's also passionate about travel and wants to see as much of the world and experience as many cultures as possible.