A group of eight women are making history as part of the first-ever U.S. Women’s National Amputee Soccer team. Among them is Katie Bondy, who is also a science teacher from Hilliard, Ohio. Rodney Dunigan reported on the story for FOX28 Columbus.
Katie was born with spina bifida and scoliosis, but she never let it deter her from playing sports growing up. “I’m very fortunate that my parents never labeled me when I was younger as a disabled child, it was always she just has challenges,” Katie said.
When Katie became a below knee amputee in May 2022, she began playing amputee soccer as part of her rehabilitation and quickly grew to love the game.
In September the team will head to Poland to represent the U.S. in international competition. During the tournament they will compete against teams representing Poland, England, Japan, and Costa Rica.
Although each team member has their own journey, collectively they are bonded through shared experiences of what it means to live life as an amputee. “I feel like my story can help a lot of people come out of that depression stage or that stage of ‘I can’t’,” said teammate Laquinta Haynes. “Because you can! This life for me is a lot better than the life before I got an amputation. I was just living to live then, now I’m living to LIVE.” Through the opportunity to represent their country, the teammates hope to inspire others in the limb loss community to keep moving forward towards their goals.