Wow! In an exciting bronze-medal match, the King Cobras pulled away late from the New York Empire to secure an 11-7 victory. The Cobras were comprised of Richard Ah-Siu, Dylan Pleasants, Nathan Purcell, Antonio Rozier and Daryl Walker. Watch the 3rd-place match here (coverage starts at 3:27:14), and check out our interview with athlete Richard Ah-Siu below:
Hello, I am Richard Ah-Siu, a member of the Seattle King Cobras and number five. Our team consists of head coach Ben Mariano, Antonio Rozier, Nathan Purcell, Daryl Walker, Dylan Pleasants and myself. I would love the opportunity to speak on our experiences of the 2023 national goalball tournaments, which we took home the bronze medal.
- What were some of the challenges that you dealt with this weekend?
One of the challenges that we faced was just getting there. From the work and preparation, to the flight, commute, getting to sleep on time, and calming all the nerves down before the ball drops the next day.
Another challenge was not starting the way that we wanted to. When the team gets into ruts, it could spread quickly, so the importance of getting to the next play is probably one of the most important things. The quicker you move on, the better. All Cobras have been training on how to warm up, cool down, and to get ready for the next game.
Although there are lot of up sides to the tournament, this is one of the things I wanted to share: Challenges will always be there, but the objective is to fight through it.
- What were some of the high points ?
Two of the high points of the weekend at the tournament definitely were after losing a match. It lit a fuse underneath us to face adversity and to win four games back to back. In the elite bracket at nationals, no game is easy for you… But somehow, someway through trusting one another, it felt pretty easy. The other upside of the tournament has to be the medal ceremony. When King Cobra athletes and coaching staff received medals, we knew that hard work pays off.
- How does the team feel about their performance?
The Cobras feel great. I believe that we are all more anxious knowing that the gold medal was just one match away. We are all galvanizing and more excited to get back. I was one of those guys that said, “OK, I’m gonna take a week off.” Two days later, I find myself in the gym and everyone is on the same page. As a whole, the desired outcome, with hard work and dedication, is just one game away. Our team is very unique, our camaraderie is there, chemistry is there and more than anything else, the trust in one another is there.
- What’s next in store for the King Cobras?
The gold medal is the next step for us. We want to take the gold home, baby.
Also, I wanted to take some time to thank all those that helped us throughout this process from Seattle Adaptive Sports and athletic trainer, Amber. To all of the volunteers that came out every practice throughout this year and just everybody that has supported the Seattle King Cobras. Thank you!