NOTE: For every ticket purchased through THIS LINK to the New England Revolution vs. New York City FC match on April 19 at Gillette Stadium, $5 will be donated to New England Amputee Soccer.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – When Kelvin Jimenez lost his leg in a boating accident on January 3, 2021, he thought he would never kick a soccer ball again. An athlete all his life, soccer was more than just a sport to him – it was his identity, his purpose.

And just like that, it was gone.

“It’s like I was living, but just going through the motions. I was missing a huge part of my life, which was soccer. If you know me, I played seven days a week and I traveled all over the United States. Soccer consumed my life,” he said of his life pre-accident. “It was everything, and then you take that away and I was destroyed. It felt like I had a hole in my heart.”

Amid the darkness, he was shown a light. It was while going through treatment at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Charlestown, Mass., that his doctor told him about amputee soccer.

“They gave me the website to go research and I was like, ‘Soccer on crutches?’ It’s something you’ve never heard of in your life and then you’re like, ‘Woah.’ It’s a whole new world. Because if somebody gives you an opportunity to play the sport you love, you won’t think twice,” he said.

That’s when the name Nico Calabria first started buzzing in Jimenez’s ears. Everywhere he went, he heard the name. Calabria, a co-founder of the New England Amputee Soccer Association and captain of the United States Amputee Team, is someone Jimenez credits with quite literally saving his life.

Jimenez reached out to Calabria, hoping to just learn more about the sport. Calabria invited him to train with the team, but importantly never pressured him, waiting patiently for the moment Jimenez felt ready to get back onto the pitch.

“I would say, ‘Yes, I think I’m ready,’ but then I wouldn’t go. It was just a mental battle, coping with the life-changing situation I was in,” Jimenez explained.

Then, one otherwise unremarkable afternoon while driving for Lyft, Jimenez received a sign that he simply could not ignore.

“I picked up a group of about five people,” he recalled. “We’re talking back and forth, when one of them says to his friend, ‘Hey, it was so cool that your roommate came out with us to the concert. He was on one leg and crushing it on the dance floor. He threw his crutches and was busting a move.’ And I was like, ‘Sorry, I don’t mean to be nosy, but any chance their name is Nico Calabria?’”

In what felt like an undeniable twist of fate, Jimenez discovered that he was driving Calabria’s roommate. To him, it was the sign he had been waiting for.

“That was it,” Jimenez said. “I took it as destiny and from that day on Revolution Amputee Soccer has made such an impact on my life. It made me realize that this sport is something bigger than us.”

Jimenez describes that first practice as nerve-wracking for multiple reasons. Not only was he initially clueless about the mechanics of playing soccer on crutches, it was also his first time wearing shorts since his accident. To make matters even more complicated, the lifetime goalkeeper had to make the switch to playing in the field, taking the pitch as a defender. (In amputee soccer, field players must be without a lower limb, while goalkeepers must be without an upper limb.)

“It was a lot of mental battles,” he recalled. “I had to learn to move on crutches and I was a righty, but I lost my right leg, so I had to transition to my left foot. It’s probably one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done, just learning it all over again. Then the fitness level is just insane. Whoever thinks moving on crutches is easy, is in for a surprise.”

With that first training session as a springboard, Jimenez went on to not only represent the Revolution, but also his country, receiving a call-up to represent the United States Amputee Team in 2023. It was an honor he deems beyond explanation.

A first-generation American, Jimenez grew up alongside eight siblings. His mother came to America from El Salvador, not knowing any English, but in search of opportunity.

“Representing the country that you were born in is something so special,” he said. “It’s given my family everything. (This country) gave my family a second opportunity at life and changed the whole dynamic of our history. So, when that national anthem comes on and you’re wearing those colors, it’s special.”

But, somewhat surprisingly, the opportunity to wear the red, white, and blue actually takes second place to his proudest accomplishment in amputee soccer. A born-and-raised New Englander, Jimenez grew up a Revolution fan, dreaming of one day playing at Gillette Stadium. Now, with a Revolution jersey on his back, that dream has become a reality – multiple times.

“That was the coolest thing ever,” he said of playing in conjunction with Revolution first team games for the first time. “Because I was fulfilling my dream, just in a little bit of a different way, you could say. But God gave me this opportunity to fulfill my dream.”

Last year’s game against Metro NY Amputee Soccer (sporting New York City FC's colors) – the first-ever full amputee soccer match at a major U.S. stadium – was special for another reason. Jimenez’s mother, who had spent years working two jobs and rarely had the chance to attend his games, was finally in the stands. When the final whistle blew, she was there, waiting with open arms for a tearful embrace.

The New England Amputee Soccer Association started with just two players in 2018 and has since grown to a full squad of athletes, clinching a title in the first-ever U.S. Amputee Soccer Cup in 2023. With 13 regional teams across the United States, the sport is growing rapidly. For Jimenez, it’s that opportunity to provide representation for those with limb differences and being a role model for young athletes which makes it all so meaningful.

“Representation is everything,” he explained. “It gives kids hope. It gives us adults so much hope. It shows the young kids that they don’t have to be exempt, they can play the sport that they love. I think that’s a huge reason why this sport has grown so much, because we are supporting the youth. We’re setting something up for the next generation.”

With a new season for the Revolution Amputee Team on the horizon, Jimenez hopes to continue witnessing the sport’s growth and expand the league’s impact on youth.

“This sport is bigger than us,” he reiterated. “It’s about representation, it’s not just about ourselves. It’s about the little kid out there who looks up to us.”

The Revs Amputee Team will play their first game of the year at Gillette Stadium on April 19, following the Revolution first team’s clash with NYCFC. Fans are encouraged to attend.

“I don’t recommend that Revs fans miss this. Stick around after the game,” Jimenez said. “I promise you, you won't be disappointed. It's an amazing sport. You will be mind-blown if you watch what these athletes can do, on crutches, on one leg. To me, who plays it every day, I never fail to get amazed.”

With every ticket purchased for the April 19 game through THIS LINK, $5 will be donated to New England Amputee Soccer.