UVA School of Law alumnus Matt Simpson is competing in the Paralympics for a third time as a U.S. goalball player. (Photo by Koki Nagahama, Getty Images)
One repeated scene in the tumultuous life of Matt Simpson involves the 34-year-old Paralympian holding family workouts in front of his home.
While Simpson tries to lift heavy weights in the garage, his two oldest children – 3-year-old Nellie and 2-year-old Sammy – often do their best to “spot” him.
“I have to yell at them to not come too close,” he said.
And when Simpson tries to get in some cardio in the driveway, Nellie and Sammy are by his side, imitating Dad’s every move.
"They pretend to jump rope,” he said.
Simpson, a University of Virginia School of Law alumnus, wouldn’t have it any other way as he begins his third Paralympics this week in Paris. Simpson plays goalball – a sport designed specifically for athletes with impaired vision – for Team USA.
Simpson, background, discovered goalball when he was 10. He’s gone on to be a part of a silver medal-winning team and a fourth-place team at the Paralympics. (Photo by Naomi Baker, Getty Images)
A silver medalist at the Rio Games in 2016 and part of the fourth-place team in Tokyo in 2021, Simpson, who is blind, is in France with perhaps less sleep than previous Paralympics, but with far more perspective.
Simpson and his wife, Tricia, welcomed their third child, John, eight months ago. That came at a time when Simpson, who received his UVA law degree in 2020, was a clerk for a federal judge in Louisville. The Simpsons have since moved back to Washington, where Matt has begun a second stint with the Sidley Austin law firm.
The day job takes a break now, of course, as he chases gold across the Atlantic Ocean.
“Our life is beyond chaotic,” Simpson said, “but somehow it continues to keep going. It’s a true blessing.”
Being a husband, father, lawyer and world-class athlete all at once isn’t easy, but neither was being the only blind student in a law school of 900-plus students. Simpson has long operated with an intense competitive drive that fuels all his pursuits.
When he was at UVA, his goal was to become not a good blind law student, but a “good law student who happens to be blind.”
Simpson and his former guide dog, Lacrosse, were a popular duo when Simpson attended the UVA School of Law. Simpson received his degree in 2020 and is now a lawyer in Washington. (University Communications photo)
“My No. 1 rule is to never feel sorry for yourself and never make excuses,” Simpson said. “Because if you’re doing that, you’re already failing.”
With that mindset still intact – and with the overwhelming support of his wife – he’s managed to not only successfully juggle his variety of roles, but to gain energy from each of them.
“I think I would be a worse lawyer if I quit playing goalball,” he said, “and I’m certainly a better father and husband because I’m driven by all these things. The only difference now is I have to be careful and thoughtful about how I spend my time.”
Goalball is played with a ball that contains bells, utilizing players’ hand-ear coordination. Participants, who compete in teams of three, are blindfolded to ensure that partially sighted players won’t have an advantage over players with no vision. The indoor court is 59 feet long and 30 feet wide and features two goals at each end, spanning the width of the court.
Matches are fast and tense.
We must score goals quickly and defend shots with our bodies.
Each team has six players, with three members playing at any one time.
Athletes have a varying degree of vision impairment.
In our sport, we all wear blackout eye masks to equalize the level of vision between all players.
Each match has two 12-minute halves.
The 9-meter goal spans the width of the court. And the court lines are slightly raised so we can feel our positions.
The ball has bells inside, and the crowd must be silent so we can hear where the ball is.
In an attacking position, we can bounce or spin the ball past our opponents to score.
For a throw to count, the ball must touch the floor on the team area first and then on the neutral area.
A bad throw or fault is punished by a penalty. This player must defend the goal alone.
Goalball requires toughness because the only way to defend the goal is by blocking the ball with our bodies.
If our block is successful, we have 10 seconds to return the attack.
The team that scores the most points or leads by 10 goals wins!
Cheer us on at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Simpson, a Georgia native, discovered the sport at 10 and has worked to advance to its highest level. The second-oldest member of this year’s six-man U.S. roster, he’s been resourceful in his efforts to hone his craft when not practicing with the team at its training center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
In addition to gaining strength in his garage weight room, he’s used his backyard and basement as space to work on his throwing and diving skills.
“I just kind of get creative and cobble it together,” Simpson said. “When I get access to a gym, that’s super helpful. But all I’m really trying to do is just get as many repetitions as possible.”
At one point in Simpson’s goalball career, he prepared for the Paralympics as a resident athlete at the sparkling U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
In 2024, training has looked less regimented, but his experience has been a lot more fun.
“My garage weight room and backyard throwing and basement diving, these are all a little bit different,” Simpson said, “but it’s much better to have the family cheering me on and participating as we go.”
University News Associate University Communications
fpa5up@virginia.edu (434) 924-6856
November 21, 2024
