Aug 26, 2008

Seeing is Believing

Stanford judo coach Raul Tamayo leads blind U.S. team into Paralympic Games

By Sarah Frier / Daily News Correspondent

Raul Tamayo might have gone to the Olympics back when he was competing in judo, but he couldn't afford to give up his building contractor job in order to train.

Now, as a coach, he lets his athletes stay at his house. They live and breathe the sport, without thinking about bills, meals or employment - and that's exactly how Tamayo wants it to be.

He's coaching the blind U.S. judo team in the world's second largest sporting event: the Paralympics.

"People don't really know about Raul because you have to pull these things out of him," said Ron Peck, co-founder of the Blind Judo Foundation.

Tamayo, who has also coached the Stanford team since 1994, started with judo when he was 7 years old. He got the Paralympics job in 2002 after his coach, Willy Cayhill, retired. This will be his second Paralympics.

"It's challenging, and I like the challenge," Tamayo said. "You have to be more descriptive in what you want the athletes to do."

Jordan Mouton, 19, said that Tamayo usually performs moves on his athletes to show them how.

"I feel the move, and then it's easy," said Mouton, who lost her sight due to cone-rod dystrophy, a rare genetic disorder, and will compete in the 154-pound class.

As the Paralympic Games in Beijing inch closer, the athletes train close to six hours a day, Tamayo said.

Judo competitor Greg DeWall, 29, who lives with Tamayo, shot himself and shattered his optic nerve when he attempted suicide 11 years ago. He will compete in September in the 220-pound-and-above weight class.

"I'm that kind of kid who always needs to be pushed - I need that fire lit under me," he said. "I was 'discovered' by Raul."

Tamayo can be a tough coach - he's really technical, DeWall said.

"Erik calls him 'El Nino' cause he's like a storm sometimes," said Mouton, referring to Erik Duus, a Palo Alto athlete who went to the Olympic trials. "He'll try to be mad, but then he'll just laugh. ... He went through everything we're going through."

The judo events, which take place Sept. 6-17, will use the same facilities that were used for the Olympics, with one main difference: instead of marking areas of the matt with lines, different areas will have different textures.

The U.S. has never won Olympic gold medal in judo, but they have through the Paralympics, Peck said.

DeWall said he plans to leave with a medal, and that's something his coach is eager to see.

"I know what it's like to compete," Tamayo sad. "The only way I feel like I succeed is if I see them succeed."