The Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, just like their London equivalent four years earlier, are bound to provide some inspiring stories.
While the spotlight might fall predominantly on athletics events, Team GB will be well-represented across the board.
Paralympic athletes come from a variety of backgrounds, and some were able-bodied sportspeople at a younger age.
One who falls into this category is Jack Rutter, a former Birmingham City youth footballer whose professional career was ended when an assault left him with brain injuries and deafness in one ear.
Rutter struggled with mental illness after the attack forced him to give up on his dream of playing professionally, but has found a new lease of life through paralympic sport. In just a few years he has emerged as one of the world’s most accomplished cerebral palsy footballers, and will captain the British 7-a-side football team in Brazil.
Rutter tells us that he has no memory of the attack which caused his injuries, explaining:
“I literally remember stepping out of my car on the night and there being a puddle, so I remember sort of stepping in a puddle and being like “Oops”– and that’s the last thing I remember.
“I just remember foggy bits of memory in hospital after that. From what I’ve been told I had a normal night with my friends, had some fun.
“At the end of the night I went to speak to a friend and got caught up in something, nothing to do with me or anything like that, and someone took it upon themselves to punch me in the back of the head and that’s what lead to me being knocked out, falling, hitting my head on the curb and all the injuries I’ve suffered.”
While he was discharged from hospital not long after the attack, he soon learned that it had affected his balance in a way that manifestly hindered his ability to play football.
Heading the ball was where he noticed the most fundamental change – it was causing ringing in his ears and significant head pains, something which continued for a period of months after he returned to the pitch.
In addition, he recalls, deafness in one ear meant he was unable to hear calls from team-mates which represented a key element of the game. At this stage in his career he was in his late teens, part of a Birmingham City youth setup which also included future Premier League regulars Jack Butland and Nathan Redmond, and before the assault he had been playing against the likes of Danny Welbeck, Jack Wilshere and Daniel Sturridge.
“As you can imagine those physical impairments were demoralising and affected me a lot, not just physically but mentally as well,” he says.
“ So I retired from professional football and that’s been the biggest challenge.
“Over seven years of hard work and being given a chance to play Paralympic football I found a new confidence and new motivation. It’s compensated pretty well now for what I had before and I feel very lucky and proud for that.”
Ultimately he was forced to hang up his boots, and admits he was at a low point mentally before he found a route back into the game through Paralympic sport.
“I suffered from mental illness because I didn’t know where my life was going and if I’d had the opportunity to play a lot earlier it would have helped deal with those pressures and all those horrible feelings I had from a very early stage after my injuries,” he explains.
“I’m very keen to keep on doing my bit and keep promoting the sport…I really enjoy trying to inspire a generation of people, not just with disabilities but other people as well, to make sure they realise if they really have a belief in life, and they have a dream, they can achieve it.”
Paralympic football is vastly different to the professional game in many aspects – for starters, it’s seven-a-side, with no offside rule – but Rutter recognises that the fundamentals remain.
“It’s the same thing really, football,” he says.
“You’ve gotta stick the ball in the back of the net and stop them scoring in your goal. We work hard, we train hard, so all those qualities are the same in professional football and Paralympic football.”
The captaincy has meant a lot to him, a “massive honour” which he says “has helped me grow up a lot”.
“It’s helped me realise how important it is to think about my body language and how you help other players and how you communicate with other players – that’s something I’ve taken in a lot more since I’ve joined Paralympic football.
The #USA and #ENG players are making their way to pitch 1 here @StGeorgesPark #CPFWC pic.twitter.com/2nQMI59pn4
— CPFWC England 2015 (@CPEngland2015) June 26, 2015
Rutter is one of the more experienced and accomplished players to have travelled to Rio, and that’s before you consider his background in a professional club’s youth setup.
In last year’s Cerebral Palsy Football World Championships, held in England, Rutter scored eight times as the hosts finished fifth of 15 teams.
With three Scottish players and one Northern Irishman joining 10 English players in the Paralympic squad, he says it’s “easily the best squad we’ve had,” and the captain has taken it upon himself to set an example for the younger players in the setup.
“Yes I see myself as a leader on the pitch – that’s not just by scoring a few goals, but helping the younger players, helping people deal with those pressure situations because I’ve been involved in pressure situations from a very young age,” Rutter explains.
The squad members come from a mix of backgrounds – some were born with cerebral palsy while others have suffered brain injuries later in life – but it is clear that each one of them has come through a lot of challenges to even get on the plane to Rio.
“We’ve all faced different challenges and to see the skills of everyone involved is amazing.”
“They’re all unbelievable athletes for the way they’ve compensated. Every member of the team is a real inspiration and should be proud of what they’ve achieved and will hopefully go onto achieve in Rio.
“I’m very proud to be captain of these great lads.”
The players make their way from the tunnel #ENG #ROI #CPFWC pic.twitter.com/Ip50uEmWEk
— CPFWC England 2015 (@CPEngland2015) June 27, 2015
Great Britain have been drawn in Group B for the Rio games, providing a chance for revenge against a Ukraine team that beat them 1-0 at the World Championships.
With reigning world champions Russia not taking part in any sport at the Paralympics, the field is wide open and getting through a group which also includes Ireland and hosts Brazil (against who they open their campaign on September 8) would give Team GB as good a chance as anyone of taking a medal.
Part of the reason for Great Britain’s strength can be traced back to the 2012 games, and the breadth of coverage from Channel 4 in London that year.
The broadcaster will provide coverage live from Rio, and Rutter hopes the greater awareness can help bring more new players to cerebral palsy football – just as it did for him four years ago.
“I didn’t know about the sport until just before the London 2012 games, the buzz around the Paralympics was huge and I think Channel 4 had a huge part to play in that with the awareness they gave.
“If I’d had known about it sooner I would have got into my recovery a lot, lot quicker after my head injury and after I retired from professional football in 2010. I could have started playing 7-a-side football instead.
“That would have helped aid my recovery so, so much – not just physically but mentally as well.”
The involvement of the FA during last year’s World Championships helped squad members feel as though they were “almost professionals,” he says, and there is a real hope that a successful campaign in Rio can help continue the momentum from last summer’s competition.
A large proportion of the squad in Rio are relatively new to Cerebral Palsy football, and increased coverage – not to mention increased success – can only help when it comes to welcoming players into the fold who might otherwise not have even known they had this avenue open to them.
*All images courtesy of Channel 4.
On the latest GAA Hour we look back at Mayo-Tipperary and chat to Andy Moran about his incredible, never-ending career. Listen below or subscribe here on iTunes.
