Meet Moÿo Akinade

Today we’d like to introduce you to Moÿo Akinade.

Hi Moÿo, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
A dedication to Mental Health Awareness Month & Stroke Survivors Month: Death of an Athlete, Rebirth of a Coach, Life for the Blind

Voyage Atlanta, My name is Moyo Akinade. I write to you from Atlanta, Georgia but my journey has taken me through the likes of Canada & Nigeria. To put it simply the sport of soccer has simply made my life worth living. From birth, I have been surrounded by socthe game and I am proud of the different paths it has taken me through both high and low. My experiences have forced me to work hard on and off the field. Remaining within the confines of this sport after my playing career is over is important because I have a very spiritual connection with the sport. I feel God’s love all over me every time I train, play, coach, and watch the game. There is a small chance if you live in North Atlanta, you may have seen me training on the sidewalk. I train up and down Peachtree 2-3 times a week for 10 miles each session.

As challenging as 2020 was for the entire world, it was uniquely challenging for some young African-Americans in the United States. From covid death rates to inspirational black figures dying, the events of police brutality, and the social injustices occurring at the judicial level, it was truly an urgent time for change and still is. One of the best examples of this urgency for change was through the lense sports and the images of athletes coming together, protesting, and kneeling for justice. I have found myself since then, eager to discover different ways I know best to positively affect my community through the sport I love.

In February of 2020, The United States Paralympic soccer team invited me on as a trialist. This invitation was a huge reward for me given some of the obstacles I had faced in my personal life. The paralympics would ultimately be delayed for another year and I was not selected to the final roster due to classification complications, but training and bonding with the team allowed me to realize the potential I had for outreach beyond the field by playing soccer. Growing up in Atlanta my goal as a teenager my aspiration was to play college soccer, maybe play professional, then attain a job within the soccer market post-career; however, sometimes God has a special way of diverting our plans for a greater cause.

Why Paralympic? The turning point in my life occurred in 2015. During my senior year at Penn State University, I suffered a stroke following a soccer match that left me partially disabled with complete loss of vision to my left eye. I often undermine the severity of the event, but I could have died or gone completely blind. This was truly the scariest and most challenging moment of my life. The defining moment heavily altered my expectations–not only as an athlete but as a student. After taking time off my responsibilities to recover, I made the decision to return to school and finish my degree in Organizational Leardership (BA) with a minor in Human Geography. This accomplishment helped me realize the heights I can achieve when I work hard and ask for support. In the past several years I have faced many challenges adapting to my disability as a growing young adult now, but my dedication and passion towards soccer has helped me overcome those obstacles, making me a more resilient person in the process.

Fast forward seven years later and I am in a much better place mentally and physically. Nothing deterred me from continuing to play soccer and staying involved along the sidelines coaching at the youth and collegiate club levels. My current goal is to try my best to serve as an example and ambassador to black athletes and to disabled athletes to never give up. Although this is the first time I am publicly doing it, sharing my story gives me hope of inspiring and motivating young black athletes as well as those with disabilities and mental health struggles to believe in themselves and their capabilities, no matter the circumstance. I truly believe determination, resiliency, and perseverance prove as superior traits in the face of any obstacle. You may not see me on Atlanta United, but my passion runs deep. The risk of having another stroke after playing is low but still a possibility. None of us can escape this world unscathed and I so proud to have found something I love so much that when doing it the idea of anxiety, darkness, and death does not enter my mind.

Today I work as the soccer manager for Georgia Blind Soccer and play semi-pro soccer for Terminus FC. Georgia Blind Soccer is a new division partnered with Georgia Blind Sports and the USABA (United States Association for Blind Athletes). As we are still in the grassroots stages, our long-term goals revolve around collaborating with other blind soccer clubs across the United States to develop and roster athletes for the 2028 Summer Paralympics in Los Angeles. It will be the first-ever Blind Men’s Soccer team fielded in American history. In the future, it is my dream to be a part of the national team either as a player or on the coaching staff. Accomplishing this goal would make a sweet ending to a tumultuous and worthwhile journey that began from me learning the game of soccer in 1999.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
The achievement of a desired goal. An individual standard that one can only set for themselves that requires different perceptions as that standard changes

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.usaba.org/sports/blind-soccer/
• Instagram: instagram.com/moy.yak
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Itwaswriitten
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/itwaswriitten
• Other: https://www.gablindsports.org/

Image Credits:
USABA & Team USA for pictures with USA logo