Kissimmee’s Nicky Nieves goes for back-to-back Team USA Paralympic volleyball gold

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  • Kissimmee’s Nicky Nieves (16) will help lead the Team USA volleyball team at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo next month. SUBMITTED PHOTO
    Kissimmee’s Nicky Nieves (16) will help lead the Team USA volleyball team at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo next month. SUBMITTED PHOTO
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Kissimmee’s Nicky Nieves has the rare chance to become a double Olympic gold medalist next month in Tokyo.

Nieves, born without a left hand — but also born without limitations — is part of the Team USA sitting volleyball program, and will compete in the Summer Paralympics which start Aug. 22, shortly after the traditional Olympics are held.

Sitting volleyball is what you likely picture — all players are seated on the floor, which accommodates athletes with amputations legs. The net is closer to the floor.

Nieves, 31, has already made a name in the traditional game. She starred as a player — she was the county’s Co-Player of the 2008 — at Gateway High School, then went on to play at Queens College in her native New York.

It was in her senior season there when she joined Team USA. Volleyball became part of the Paralympics in 2004, and Nieves helped the Americans claim their first gold in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. She also been on U.S. silver-medal ParaVolley World Championships in 2014 and 2018.

“The seated game is played on a smaller court, so it requires quicker reaction time,” she said. “Playing that version has really helped me hone in on my IQ of the game. You have to learn how to place your hits and use the other side’s blockers to your advantage.”

Just like everyone else, Nieves had to adjust her schedule since the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the Olympics back a year. Normally she’s in town assisting her old high school coach, Ettie Singleton, with the St. Cloud High varsity program. She’s spent most of 2021 working with the team in Oklahoma City, and the trip to Tokyo will last into September, meaning she’ll miss the first few weeks of the high school season.

“It’s been a weird and stressful year, but it’s gone by quick. Last year was something nobody had a plan for,” Nieves said. “I really dedicated myself to training this year, to keeping in shape. Getting pushed back didn’t mean there was nothing to do.”

Singleton calls Nieves “one of my best coaches.”

“I’m so proud of her, and the kids love being around her,” Singleton said. “She’s a real role model, and she has a contagious bubbly personality. And everything she’s done, she’s done on her own, I just gave her the push many years ago. I had her bring her gold medal to school one day; the kids get to see what all the hard work gets you.”

Nieves has spent some time back in St. Cloud this year, but leaves for Tokyo Aug. 15. Pool play begins Aug. 23. After spending 10 years with Team USA, she said she still doesn’t take it for granted.

“It’s still surreal putting on those colors. It’s a sign all the work I’ve done has not been in vain. I keep thinking of the small percentage of players and athletes who make it to this point.”

Nieves said the team expects to get every other country’s attention and best game. It’s seen some of Europe’s best teams — the Russians are expected to be America’s biggest challenge in Tokyo — at an exhibition tournament last month in the Netherlands.

“The rest of the world wants to take on the U.S.A. to begin with. Now double it that we’re the defending gold medalists,” she said.

And she makes a point to give back what the sport has given to her. During the summer, Nicky works at a camp called Nuability Athletics, teaching sports to children ages 5 to 18 with physical disabilities. Since 2018, she’s run a non-profit called Limitless People (www.limitlesspeopleinc.org), with a goal to bring sports like volleyball to people of all ages regardless of backgrounds or physical abilities — things that could create limits.

“Volleyball should be for all, and sometimes the circumstances just don’t allow it; That’s where Limitless steps in,” she said. “I am passionate about this sport. This sport has opened countless doors of opportunity for me, helped me gain self confidence as a limb different individual, and has helped those around me.

“If I can impact just one life, give at least one individual a good time, a little confidence in the sport and in self, and a memory to last a lifetime, I know I am fulfilling my purpose.”