Kevin Hensley (soccer)

Kevin Hensley (born May 24, 1992) is an American Paralympic soccer player. Hensley started playing soccer when he was very young, and went on to play for Tennessee Boys State Teams and varsity soccer for Collierville High School. When he was 14 years old, he had a freak stroke while playing soccer that left him with paralysis on the right side of his body. This adversely impacted his academic ability and ability to play soccer. He eventually went into coaching on the soccer side.

Kevin Hensley
Personal information
Nationality United States
Born (1992-05-24) May 24, 1992
Memphis, Tennessee
EducationCarson-Newman University
Height1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)
Weight185 lb (84 kg)
Sport
SportSoccer / Cerebral palsy soccer
College teamCarson-Newman University
Now coachingLobos 06 Elite
Medal record
Paralympic 7-a-side football
America's Cup
2014 Men's
Updated on 18 June 2016.

Despite the medical issues, new USPNT head coach Stuart Sharp invited him to play for the US Paralympic National Team in April 2014. He went on to participate in several national team training camps, friendlies and tournaments. He won bronze with the team at the 2014 America's Cup, and was the 2015 U.S. Soccer's Young Disabled Player of the Year. Hensley was with the team through 2016 Summer Paralympics qualifying events and training camps.

Personal

Hensley was born on May 24, 1992,[1][2][3] and is from Memphis, Tennessee.[4][5] He went to Collierville High School in Collierville, Tennessee, and then attended Carson-Newman University.[2][6] He has partial paralysis on his right side as a result of a stroke when he was 14 years old. Ensuing medical issues have also resulted in memory problems that adversely impacted his academic ability.[6]

Soccer

Hensley played able-bodied soccer when he was younger. His grandmother was one of his biggest fans.[6] Clubs he played for as a youngster included Lobos 91, MidSouth FC 92, FC Alliance 92 U8 to U20, and Tennessee ODP 92 boys State Team U13 to U17.[3] On December 23, 2006, while playing the sport when he was a 14-year-old, he had a freak stroke following a header that left him with paralysis on the right side of his body.[2][6][7]

Despite the stroke, Hensley went through rehabilitation and played varsity soccer in high school for Collierville High School Varsity. He got All State honors in 2009 and 2010. He was offered a scholarship to play soccer for Carson-Newman University in 2011, but had a short lived playing career as a result of memory problems.[3][6][7][8][9] The year he played for Carson-Newman, they won the South Atlantic Conference Championship.[3] He continued to be involved with soccer, becoming an assistant coach for the Mid-South Football Club in 2012.[3][6][7] He earned a pair of coaching licenses including the United States Soccer Federation E Coaching License and the United States Soccer Federation National Youth License.[3]

Cerebral palsy football

Hensley is a CP8 footballer,[1][2] and plays in the defense.[2][4]

Hensley had little experience with CP football. He was invited to the national team after becoming an assistant coach at the Mid-South Football Club after new head coach Stuart Sharp read about his story in a newspaper story online.[6]

In April 2014, Hensley was invited to participate in a week long national team training camp at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California. The camp was being held in preparation for the 7-a-side Football Ciutat de Barcelona in June of that year.[7][10] At the camp, he played in a pair of friendlies against England with his team losing both games 2-1 and 3–2. Hensley scored a goal in the second game that made the game 2 - 2 before England answered back.[7] He was part of the United States team that participated in the 2014 Americas Cup. Hensley scored his team's second goal in the bronze medal match against Canada on the way to the team's 3 - 0 victory.[2][11]

Hensley was the 2015 U.S. Soccer's Young Disabled Player of the Year,[4][12][13][14][15] winning the award the first time he was nominated.[14][16][17] He was nominated alongside teammate Adam Ballou and US national amputee football team players Nicolai Calabria and Noah Grove.[17][18][19][20] He participated in every national team training camp in 2015, and captained the squad during a number of tournaments in the year.[14][16]

In March 2015, Hensley was part of the 14 man roster that participated in the Povoa de Varzim, Portugal hosted Footie 7 – Povoa 2015 tournament.[21] The competition was a warmup for the World Championships that were held in England in June 2015.[21] He was invited to a national team training camp that took place from April 29 to May 6, 2015 in Carson, California. This camp was in preparation for the 2015 Cerebral Palsy Football World Championships in June of that year in England.[22] At the World Championships, he scored important goals that allowed the United States to qualify for the Rio Games.[2][14][16] Participating at that competition, he scored a goal in the US's game 3–0 victory against Venezuela.[23][24] At that competition, he stayed on the bench in the team's 10 - 0 loss to England.[25] It was his first World Championships as a member of the national team.[26]

Hensley captained the 14 man squad that represented the United States at the 2015 Parapan American Games in Toronto.[5] There, the United States played Canada, Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil.[5][27] They finished third in their group. Through the Wish of a Lifetime program, his grandmother who was living in an assisted living care center was able to go to Toronto to watch Hensley compete in two games.[6]

Hensley took part in a national team training camp in Chula Vista, California in early March 2016.[4][28] He was part of the United States Paralympic National Team that took part in the 2016 Pre Paralympic Tournament in Salou, Spain.[1] The United States finished 6th after beating Argentina in one placement match 4 - 3 and losing to Ireland 4 - 1. The goals scored in the match against Argentina were the first the USA scored in the tournament, before putting up one more in their match against Ireland.[29][30][31] The tournament featured 7 of the 8 teams participating in Rio. It was the last major preparation event ahead of the Rio Games for all teams participating.[32]

References
  1. "United States — Roster" (PDF). IFCPF. IFCPF. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  2. "Kevin Hensley". US Olympic Committee. 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  3. "Kevin Hensley". MidSouth FC. Memphis Soccer Education Inc. 2016. Archived from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  4. "U.S. PARALYMPIC TEAM HEADS TO CHULA VISTA FOR TRAINING CAMP". U.S. Soccer. U.S. Soccer. March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  5. Allen, Nancy B. (August 27, 2015). "Team USA star right here in Memphis!". WREG. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  6. Crowl, Jonathan (October 21, 2014). "Dream Come True: Grandmother Watches Grandson Play For U.S. Paralympic Team". The Post Game. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  7. Morgan, Marlon W. (February 16, 2014). "Collierville native lands spot on U.S. Paralympic Soccer Team". Commercial Appeal. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  8. "MEN'S SOCCER". CARSON-NEWMAN ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT. 2011. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  9. "COLLIERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL DRAGON SOCCER AWARDS & HONORS". COLLIERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL. 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  10. "U.S. Paralympic national team roster". Soccer America Daily. April 22, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  11. "Brazil crowned Americas Cup champions". International Paralympic Committee. October 1, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  12. "BRADLEY NAMED U.S. SOCCER MALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR". BeinSports. December 23, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  13. ESPN Staff (December 18, 2015). "Red Bulls' Matt Miazga named U.S. Young Male Player of the Year". ESPN. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  14. "Pugh, Miazga, Hensley Voted 2015 U.S. Soccer Young Female, Young Male and Disabled Player of the Year". The Sport Campus. December 19, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  15. "The Toronto FC midfielder captured the honor for the first time after three previous nominations". Goal. December 22, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  16. "Pugh, Miazga, Hensley voted U.S. Soccer Young Players of the Year". Soccer Wire. December 18, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  17. "Nominees announced for 2015 USA Soccer Young Male, Young Female and Disabled Player of the Year". The Sport Campus. December 12, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  18. "Nominees for U.S. Soccer Young Male, Female and Disabled Player of the Year". Soccer Wire. December 12, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  19. "YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR". Big Apple Soccer. December 11, 2015. Archived from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  20. "New York Red Bulls' Matt Miazga nominated for US Soccer Young Male Player of the Year". MLS Soccer. December 11, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  21. "KEITH JOHNSON – US PARALYMPIC NATIONAL TEAM". Rush Soccer. September 1, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  22. Woitalla, Mike (April 27, 2015). "U.S. Paralympic team prepping for world championship". Soccer America Daily. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  23. Morgan, Liam. "Brazil thrash Scotland to begin Cerebral Palsy Football World Championships campaign in style". InsideTheGames. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  24. Reid, Jamie (June 17, 2015). "CP roundup: Wins for USA, Brazil, Canada and Netherlands". The FA. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  25. Reid, Jamie (June 26, 2015). "England booked an intriguing final Cerebral Palsy World Championships fixture against the Republic of Ireland, after a commanding 10-0 victory against USA". The FA. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  26. U.S. Soccer (June 16, 2015). "U.S. Paralympic National Team heads to cerebral palsy football world championships". U.S. Soccer. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  27. "USPNT ROSTER FOR THE 2015 PARAPAN AMERICAN GAMES". Soccer Nation. August 6, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  28. Halligan, Amy (March 2016). "Camp. US Soccer paralympic National Team" (PDF). US Olympic Committee. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  29. "Ireland — USA". IFCPF. IFCPF. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  30. "USA — Argentina". IFCPF. IFCPF. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  31. "Argentina — Ireland". IFCPF. IFCPF. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  32. "Schedule". IFCPF. IFCPF. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
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