Norwin grad on track to make U.S. goalball squad for Paralympic Games
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The packed arena will be filled for the biggest tournament of Calahan Young’s career, and everyone watching will be on the edge of their seats to find out who scores next.
The only catch is the players won’t witness any goals or diving saves.
That’s because they are all legally blind and wearing black-out goggles.
Young, a 2013 Norwin graduate, has dreamed of this moment for years. He is a favorite to be one of the six athletes chosen for the USA men’s goalball team, which will compete this summer at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.
“We always joke that goalball is the coolest sport that people have never heard of,” Young said. “It offers me the fullest opportunity to compete at the highest level possible and to represent our country and hopefully compete to win gold.”
Young grew up loving sports.
He played baseball until locating pop-ups became nearly impossible. He continued with basketball until it was not a viable option. He stopped playing football in his sophomore year of high school.
“There was so much going on with different defenses coming at you, and goalball was the sport I found,” he said.
Goalball is played on the same size court as volleyball, 18 meters long and 9 meters wide. With three players on the court for each team, the objective is to score in each other’s 1.3 meter-high goals, which span the width of the court. The goalball contains bells that players listen for to defend shots.
Young’s potential in the sport wasn’t obvious to Wendy Fagan, his youth coach for VIP Sports, which is now called Envision Blind Sports in Mercer.
“He was 12, immature and just trying to find his way in the world, and I watched him grow up into an amazing young man,” Fagan said. “Looking back at those early years makes me smile and laugh. I’ve only ever said it once or twice that I thought someone had the potential to be in the Paralympics, and Cal wasn’t one of them. You couldn’t have predicted it.”
Young hit growth spurts every year and led VIP Sports to back-to-back national high school championships in 2012 and 2013, earning MVP honors in his senior year. He also helped Slippery Rock’s team to championships in 2015 and ’17.
He moved in 2017 to Fort Wayne, Ind., where the Goalball Center of Excellence is located, to pursue the Paralympics.
“The work he has put in and his dedication to balance life, training and (his Master’s) is amazing,” Fagan said. “It’s an immense amount of commitment to get to this level, and he put it all on the line. I just beam thinking about it.”
USA men’s goalball coach Keith Young (no relation) said Calahan Young went from trying to make the team to being a potential starter in major tournaments.
Standing 6-foot-7, Young has earned the nickname “Two Meters” from some South American players who are awestruck by his size. Covering nearly three meters when combined with his arms outstretched on diving saves, his size plays in his favor on defense.
After packing on 15 pounds of muscle in the last six months, he’s also a threat to score any time he throws.
“He has a great quick pitch, can throw hard-angle shots, and he’s one of the best cut-gap throwers in the USA,” Keith Young said. “He’s always had velocity, but now it really packs a punch.”
Should Calahan Young earn a spot on the team — he said the key is to not get injured — it will be the pinnacle of his career.
“There are 70 countries competing at a high level of goalball, and we’ve got a seat at the table for the top team in the world,” Calahan Young said.
“It’s not easy to qualify. You only have 10 teams going, so you really have to fight for it. We want to win the gold and show the world what we’ve got.”