Loudoun soccer player refused to let seizures stop him, now plays for US Paralympic team
LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — As a young boy, Nick Mayhugh always thought something wasn’t right.
During his freshman year of high school, he suffered a grand mal seizure.
His days playing soccer expected to be over, but that never happened.
Nick is a natural goal scorer on the pitch.
“I mean there is no other feeling like it,” says Nick.
The Purcellville native shines on the biggest stage as a member of the U.S. Paralympic men’s soccer team.
“I knew what I was capable of,” says Nick. “I knew I could play at the highest level.”
Defying the odds. Nick was born with cerebral palsy, it went undetected until he was 14-year-old.
Doctors told him his soccer career was over.
“I think the word stubborn works at first, “ says his brother Thomas Mayhugh. “But obviously, he just has no quit in him.”
The 23-year-old has been on a mission.
Patriot high school, then Radford University and now at the national level. He’s been successful at ever stop.
“I mean every time I step on the pitch, it’s just kind of an escape from reality,” says Nick. “I get to play the game that I love.”
With his platform, Nick hopes to inspire others. He calls it paying it forward.
“I mean that beats scoring a goal, that beats any type of medal,” says Nick. “Just knowing that I’m the one that kind of motivated them to continue playing or to not give up is the biggest thing to me.”
Nick Mayhugh, making a difference on and off the field.
