Paralympic Volleyball has Cedar Rapids connection

Last week the Women's Paralympics National Sitting Volleyball team won the Dutch Tournament by defeating every team they competed against including Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Brazil, Canada, and the Netherlands, which was held in Assen, Netherlands. The Assistant Coach is Michelle Goodall of Cedar Rapids, who was the Women's Volleyball Coach for 20 years at Kennedy High School. She now divides her time between Cedar Rapids and their Training Headquarters in Oklahoma City.

The USA Women's National Paralympic Volleyball Team is ranked number 1 in the World after winning the Gold Medal at Rio and Tokyo, and this tournament was the first one held this year.

Coach Goodall has stated that she first became interested in the Paralympics because of her nephew, Drew Wall, who courageously battled osteosarcoma and yet was determined to compete in golf at Kennedy with his prosthetic leg. Athletes who have physical limitations and compete at such high levels as the Paralympics are to be looked up to and helped to reach their full potential, and she wanted to be a part of such a program.

Check out more about this amazing program at USA Volleyball website under the Paralympics.

Coral Dye

Cedar Rapids