Community Champions: UTEP assistant soccer coach, Kate Ward, nominated for ESPY award
EL PASO, Texas - A UTEP assistant soccer coach has been nominated for an ESPY award.
Kate Ward was named a finalist for the ESPY for Best Athlete With A Disability in Women’s Sports.
Ward is hard of hearing, but she doesn't let her disability get in the way of her love of soccer.
She'll soon be entering her 4th season as an assistant coach at UTEP.
At age 6, Ward lost all of her ability to hear, but she received a cochlear implant that allowed her to regain some of her hearing.
The implant stimulates hearing, but not in the same way that everyone else is able to hear.
Ward is a member of the United States Deaf Soccer Women’s National Team.
She's been a part of the national team ever since she was 15 years old.
Earlier this year, Ward won her fifth career gold medal when the U.S. took top honors at the Deaflympics in Brazil.
Now she finds herself nominated for an ESPY award.
She hopes her nomination will bring attention to the deaf community and how other deaf athletes have learned to adapt in the world of soccer.
Other finalists for the ESPY in that category are cross country skier, cyclist and biathlete Oksana Masters, swimmer Jessica Long and snowboarder Brenna Huckaby.
The ESPY Awards are Wednesday and will air at 7 p.m. on ABC.
For all her accomplishments, ABC-7 is naming Kate Ward this week's Community Champion.
Community Champions is sponsored by Albertsons and the El Paso Community Foundation.
