When Kevin Fitzpatrick saw the Instagram post saying he’d been nominated for U.S. Soccer’s 2024 Male Deaf Player of the Year, he didn’t believe it. One of three finalists for the award, Fitzpatrick needed to rally online fan votes. Of course, he turned to his younger sister, Kathleen.
But when Fitzpatrick, a 5-foot-10 defender from Hopatcong, learned he had won the award, Kathleen was kept in the dark. He called his parents, Karen and Glenn, and a few friends. But the Internet cheerleading which had helped Kevin Fitzpatrick earn the fan vote had to be tamped down.
At least, until Wednesday, when the honor was officially announced.
“I was very shocked that I was nominated,” said Fitzpatrick, who has made 20 international appearances with the Deaf national team. “I guess I was oblivious to it all. … I am in disbelief that I won. My team is full of great players, and the other two guys who were nominated with me are phenomenal.”
Fitzpatrick, who now lives in South Carolina, was selected ahead of forward Chris Bourdon and midfielder Raul Silva, all members of the U.S. team that won a bronze medal at the Deaf Pan-American Games in Brazil last November.Fitzpatrick started all three matches in Brazil, helping the United States post two shutouts and qualify for the 2025 Deaflympics and 2026 World Deaf Football Championship. He was selected by a committee of extended national team coaches, support staff, and the U.S. Soccer Athlete Council and Board of Directors, as well as that fan vote.
“On the field, he is an excellent one-on-one defender, dominant in aerial battles, and has an immense presence,” national team coach David Kunitz said via email. “Off the field, Kevin is a tremendous role model and teammate.”
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The genes for hearing loss run in the Fitzpatrick family, though Kevin wasn’t formally diagnosed until age 2. In addition to Kevin and Kathleen, their father Glenn, and an uncle, aunt, and cousin are all hard of hearing. Though Kevin and Kathleen use hearing aids, Glenn Fitzpatrick has a cochlear implant.
Kevin and Kathleen took advantage of the Lake Drive Program in Mountain Lakes, which provides educational services for deaf and hard-of-hearing kids as young as 3. Though Kevin attended Mountain Lakes High School, he simultaneously played soccer and was a sprinter at Hopatcong.
He had started playing soccer at age 4, running up and down the field during his sister Kristen’s travel practice. He played with the Hopatcong Hawks rec program, then with the Green Machine under-9 team when he was only 7.
Fitzpatrick always used hearing aids on the field, and verbally called out to teammates like anyone else did. However, with the Deaf national team, no assistive devices are allowed during matches.
To communicate during games, players use sign language or gestures, as well as interpreters.
“It’s definitely a different experience, playing with and without (hearing aids),” said Fitzpatrick, who is working for a cousin’s construction company near Charleston, South Carolina. “It’s been such a life-changer for me, the feeling of being part of a family of likeness. I’d never played with teammates who had the same hearing loss as I had. It was definitely an eye opener of how we all can be the same.”
After graduating from Mountain Lakes in 2013, Fitzpatrick went on to Sussex County Community College, then played three seasons at Gallaudet University, the first U.S. school dedicated to the education of Deaf students. He studied sociology, with an eye toward bridging the gap between local police departments and the Deaf and hard of hearing community.
Fitzpatrick was called into his first national team camp in 2017, his first season at Gallaudet.
Fitzpatrick earned his first cap at the 2019 Deaf Pan-American Games in Chile. He and Gallaudet assistant coach James Rummo of Butler, another Lake Drive alumnus were part of the Deaf national team’s first tournament championship.
Fitzpatrick is keeping his skills sharp playing in local soccer leagues around Charleston. He expects to have a couple of U.S. Soccer training camps before the Deaflympics in mid-November in Tokyo.
“For me, personally, it doesn’t change anything. I couldn’t have done it alone,” he said of his new honor. “I don’t really play to be Player of the Year. It’s more of a team thing for me. To have an award like this is unreal.”

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