Captain of U.S. Amputee Soccer Team shows people of all abilities what is possible
Nico Calabria is a professional athlete, an educator, a coach, and an advocate for people with disabilities. He was born with one leg and, at five years old, permanently ditched his prosthetic. Since then, he's used crutches. Nico is the captain of the U.S. Amputee Soccer Team and a member of the New England Amputee Soccer Team; a fierce competitor working to grow the sport. "We ultimately want to see a robust league of amputee soccer partnering with MLS franchises and NWSL franchises for both men and women," he explains. "We want to see youth programs for our kids
Nico has always loved sports. Growing up, he competed against athletes with two legs and rarely saw himself in other disabled people he met. Now, as an adult, he is a role model for kids who want to play sports and enjoy limitless opportunities. "Just having a role model who looks like you—who has a similar lived experience-is extremely powerful," he said. He cites his parents as his role models. "My dad taught me to just be empathetic and kind and hard-working," Nico said. "My mom taught me to be community-focused and that we're stronger together."
Sharing the game he loves
That power was recently on full display in the Carter Field bubble at Northeastern University. New England Amputee Soccer Association and Massachusetts Youth Soccer often team up on clinics and events. At the pan-disability clinic offered over four winter weekends, Nico worked with kids from all over Eastern Massachusetts sharing the game that he loves. He points to the bubble as a space that might not otherwise feel welcoming to people with physical and intellectual disabilities.
He and his fellow coaches could not have made it more welcoming. "I feel like I wasted a lot of time caring about not fitting in when I was younger. And I would love to see the next generation of people with disabilities feel like they fit in from the get," Nico says. He runs the young players through drills and games that help them build skills. Fifteen-year-old Alexis Scott of Chelmsford, who started playing six months ago, could tell—over the course of the clinic—her game was improving. "I love it," she explained, taking a break between drills. Now she dreams of playing professionally. "Nico has inspired me a lot to do that."
"It's more than soccer"
The joy kids feel playing may pale in comparison to the happiness their parents experience watching them. Jessica Berkhoudt, whose six-year-old son Austin became an amputee three years ago, says that playing soccer is building connections beyond the game. "It's more than soccer. It's a community. It's people who can identify with each other and relate to each other and see each other as friends. But then also, there's something about… this group of people look like me."
A year ago, she says, Austin was down. As the only student at his school with an amputation, he felt different. When his condition requires the use of crutches (as opposed to his prosthetic) he is uncomfortable. Jessica knew he needed something but wasn't sure what would engage her active, athletic boy. That something became soccer after Nico and Jovan Booker drove to the Berkhoudt's hometown of West Newbury. They spent two hours in a gym, two-on-one, showing Austin how they play and exercise. "It was the first time Austin had ever seen someone who was a leg amputee like himself," she recalls with gratitude. "When he saw them playing on the crutches, when he saw Nico, like, workout videos—jumping over tables—he was like, 'I want to do that!' She stops to offer Austin his water bottle before he runs back to the line to practice kicking goals.
The Bionic Project
Nico's efforts to make the world more inclusive also drive his work in classrooms. A former social studies and history teacher, he is now the lead educator with the Bionic Project. Its goal is to demystify physical disabilities by giving students a chance to talk and ask questions. Through conversations and play, kids learn to think more broadly about inclusion, ways in which we are all more alike than we are different, and how spaces can be designed so that everyone feels welcome.
Nico says it's a grass-roots effort to change misconceptions. "Seeing people with disabilities as folks who have assets and not just deficits," Nico said. "Which I think also empowers people with and without disabilities to be confident in who they are."
On a school visit to Dedham Country Day, the Bionic Project team leads students through an exercise to consider design elements for a new stadium. Educator Dana Ross Rogers provides visual examples of how stadiums have become more accessible over time and asks students how they would improve access today, "Could we design a stadium where everybody feels welcome and included?" The kids get to work, ultimately offering ideas to provide more signs in braille, AirPods for vision-impaired fans to hear what's happening in the game, wider parking spaces for wheelchairs, ramps to replace stairs, and graphic-based food menus so that fans who rely on sign language can point to their choice. "If we build a world with disabilities in mind," Nico explains, "then it will work for everybody."
DCD Head of School Allison Webster applauds the Bionic team for introducing the concept of universal design in a way that proves eye-opening for students. Kids don't often have opportunities to talk about disabilities and, she says, they do have questions. "With Bionic, they're having the chance to think about—what if my body was disabled in some way?" At a time when one in four American adults lives with a disability, considering how to improve accessibility across-the-board is critical. Allison says the experience in the classroom—and in a soccer game on crutches—engages students in a meaningful way. "It helps them connect to the world more fully," she said.
Professional amputee soccer at Gillette Stadium
When the game ends and the students gather in the middle of the gym with their crutches, Nico invites them to watch professional amputee soccer at Gillette. The fast-paced game is played in 80 countries around the world. The New England team's home opener against New York is April 19 immediately after the New England Revolution game. "We'd love to see you support amputee soccer and inclusion," he tells them before they raise their crutches and—on the count of three—shout, "BE BIONIC!"
Nico is also looking ahead to the World Cup qualifying matches in July (the U.S. team is currently ranked 15th) with hopes of playing in the 2026 World Cup. Whether on the pitch, the classroom, or climbing a mountain, he encourages people—by example--to redefine limits.
As an elite athlete, he pushes himself. "Having a disability doesn't preclude you from being tough. Being athletic. From wanting to compete," he said. "I'm extremely competitive and I want to show the craft I've been working on for my entire life."
Adaptive sports offer people with disabilities—and spectators—a chance to experience competition, connection, and community. "If you're having a bad day," Nico suggests, "go watch a unified basketball game. Go to the Special Olympics. It will cheer you up. It will make you feel like humanity is full of love and joy."
CLICK HERE for more information about how to watch the New England Revolution Amputee Soccer Team take on the New York Metro Amputee Soccer Team on April 19.
