Mayer’s Mamba Mentality | Sports | Hometownsource.com |

Lifelong Monticello resident Nathan Mayer is a five-time chamption and a World Cup medalist as a USPSA athlete. Mayer has also joined the USPSA Board of Directors as the Executive Vice President. Photo taken Monday, July 11.

Nathan Mayer on the court during one of his matches. The USPSA changed balls from a large beach ball to a size 13 soccer ball around 2012. The change helped increase the speed of play and floor spacing for the athletes.

Nathan Mayer poses with his championship trophy after he won his fifth USPSA national championship, Sunday, June 26.

Nathan Mayer was diagnosed with spinal muscle atrophy (SMA) at just eight months old and was told he wouldn’t live past two.

Basically, overtime the muscles get weaker because they aren’t able to be used. The neurons in the spinal cord tell the muscles to move, but after that communication is received, the muscles are unable to act.

Well, Mayer is 24 years old now and five national titles later is one of the most accomplished athletes in the country.

A lifelong Monticello resident, Mayer’s parents noticed something was a little off with their six month old baby. At the time, SMA was a generally new disease to doctors, but they had a general idea of what was potentially affecting Mayer.

They did some testing on Mayer and two weeks after a muscle biopsy was performed, doctors diagnosed Mayer with SMA, type two.

“I was told I wouldn’t live past the age of two. My parents were told to take me home and love me the best that they could,” said Mayer. “My parents, being brand new parents, were very terrified,” added Mayer.

It was a devastating time for Mayer’s family, but to him, nothing changed. “I wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Mayer said.

A big fan of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, Mayer’s mentality is inspired by two of the greatest champions the basketball court has ever seen.

A family full of athletes, it was a tough pill to swallow as they didn’t realize what was to come. Mayer’s uncle had played professional hockey and both of his parents played sports in high school.

“I remember my dad telling my mom, we were at a hockey event for my uncle (now Monticello Moose Head Coach Eric Nelson), my dad looked at my mom and said I’ll never be able to coach my son in a sport,” said Mayer.

Mayer still did his best to be involved in sports as much as he was able. He played adapted floor hockey and t-ball. He enjoyed playing them, but it didn’t scratch his competitive itch.

“I’m super competitive. I will make anything a challenge, whether it’s sports or life or anything.

Those sports didn’t fill that void.

But that itch was finally about to get scratched.

At an adaptive t-ball tournament, someone approached Mayer and his family and invited him to try his hand at power soccer, a sport they had never heard of before.

It was love at first sight. It was the first time Mayer could play a sport completely on his own.

“With the other sports, I kind of had to have help doing certain activities. That was fine, but not really great. With power soccer, the moment I put on the guards I could do everything on my own,” said Mayer.

“It’s really important for me to be independent because I rely on others to help me throughout the day to do basic things. So once I’m on the court, I can be completely me. I can be the person that I am and not have to have any help with that,” said Mayer.

Power soccer is four versus four and is played on a basketball court, the best playing surface for their power chairs. Originally, the athletes played in their regular chairs that were equipped with a guard, but that changed in 2012. A company based out of Zimmerman, MN created a chair that was specifically designed to play soccer.

The new chair, dubbed the Strike Force, is lower to the ground and spins faster than a typical power wheelchair that features a medal guard instead of a plastic add-on.

“The chairs are an equalizer, so it all comes down to the athlete’s ability,” said Mayer.

That was the biggest deal in the world to him. He could finally compete as an athlete completely independent of anybody else.

Mayer’s first practice was in 2005. 17 years later Mayer is coming off his fifth national title. Just like his late idol Kobe Bryant, Mayer won three straight from 2010 to 2012 and is now coming off back-to-back national championships.

Around the time of his first practice, Mayer learned of the USA national team that was set to play in the inaugural Power Soccer World Cup in 2007.

It was at that moment Mayer’s goal was to make the US national team.

In 2008 Mayer’s team, the Minnesota Thunder, took fourth, in 2009 they took third and then in 2010 they won their first United States Power Soccer Association (USPSA) national title.

“It was really cool to see the progression of our team,” said Mayer. “And then we won another one in 2011 and we won in 2012. It was really cool to go back-to-back-to-back,” added Mayer.

Their first two titles took place in what was considered USPSA’s Division II. After their second straight championship in 2011 his team was elevated to the first division and was renamed the Minnesota Magic.

The USPSA has since changed from its division format to a more traditional soccer format with different leagues, called conferences, with relegation and promotion. The top conference is called the Premier conference and that’s where Mayer’s team found themselves since it debuted in 2012.

Mayer really enjoyed winning it all with the team he had grown up with.

In 2013 his team lost in the national championship. After that the team split into two and the core group was broken up.

“It wasn’t fun, but looking back at it, it was necessary for us to grow into our own game,” said Mayer.

After that 2013 season, Mayer finally became eligible to try out for Team USA (the minimum age requirement is 16). Mayer was one of three people from his Minnesota team that were eligible to join the squad.

The try out camp begins with 20 athletes. Of those 20, the top 12 are chosen to train with each other and the top eight make the final roster for the tournament.

“My game was definitely improving, but it wasn’t quite at the level for what it had to be for Team USA,” said Mayer.

So what did Mayer do? He got to work. Between June and September of 2012, Mayer trained non-stop. He had a chance to fulfill his dream and he wasn’t going to let his chance slip right by.

His family, friends and teammates doubted Mayer had what it took to make Team USA’s final roster, but that only fueled his fire even more.

“That doubt was a motivating factor the entire time. I kept that in the back of my mind that people didn’t think that I really belonged. I used that as motivation and I’ve used that my entire life. Back when I was diagnosed, I was told I wouldn’t live past the age of two. I used that doubt and uncertainty that I could do things as a motivating factor. I bring out my inner Michael Jordan,” said Mayer.

He went into the tryout feeling the best he had ever felt in his chair. He cracked the top 12.

But as Kobe Bryant would say, job’s not finished.

He wasn’t done. The goalie spot was up for grabs and nobody wanted it. Mayer had played a little goalie in the early part of his career and he took advantage of the opportunity.

“I’m very defensive minded. I consider myself more of a defensive person than offense. So I really embraced that role that nobody else wanted. If I never give up a goal, we’ll never lose a game,” said Mayer.

Spoiler alert, Mayer made the roster as the team’s starting goalie.

Due to several unfortunate circumstances, the World Cup got pushed back from 2015 to 2017. But when the time arrived, Mayer was ready.

There was a lot of pressure for Mayer and Team USA. The United States won gold in the first two World Cups in 2007 and 2011.

After being hosted in Japan and France, Mayer and Team USA got to play on home soil, Kissimmee, Florida.

Unfortunately, they fell just short winning gold once again, they lost in the championship game to France, 4-2.

“That still sticks to me to this day. I worked so hard to be the best goalie and the best athlete and to come out of nowhere to make this team. To not have that gold medal is very hard,” said Mayer.

“I have that silver medal above my desk. That way every day I see it as a reminder. It’s really kept me going. I want to be back in that final and get that redemption,” said Mayer.

In 2015 Mayer felt like he was at the top of his game, but his SMA caused a setback.

Mayer woke up one day to find his strength was completely gone. After spending the previous evening playing video games, Mayer found he was barely able to even grip his controller all of a sudden.

Trying to do what he was used to doing was extremely difficult. He wasn’t able to perform up to his standard and it was physically and mentally exhausting to Mayer.

He was able to figure something out for the World Cup, but after the tournament his body kind of let go and Mayer was on the cusp of retirement.

“But I knew in the back of my mind I didn’t want to stop playing, so I didn’t allow myself to. I kept figuring out ways to keep my arm in place and keep my arm up,” said Mayer.

Power soccer is split into two 20 minute halves and Mayer was struggling to play five minutes at a time.

In 2018 a new treatment for SMA was discovered and Mayer started to do that. The treatment stops the progression of SMA and in some cases returns strength to some of the muscles that aren’t completely gone yet.

Mayer described it as the treatment will keep any lightbulbs on and any dim bulbs might brighten up again, but won’t turn back on any bulbs that are off.

That treatment helped return some endurance to his body and Mayer eventually regained his form.

In 2019, the group that Mayer had won three national titles with reunited as the Minnesota Shockwave.

They went 26-0 and won their fourth national title.

Then COVID hit and the league was suspended until earlier this year.

Their mantra of the season was very Jordan-esque, “we’re back.”

And oh boy were they back alright.

The league restarted earlier this year and on Sunday, June 26, Mayer and the Shockwave went back-to-back for Mayer’s fifth national championship in a 1-0 win over Turnstone Flyers.

Nathan Mayer poses with his championship trophy after he won his fifth USPSA national championship, Sunday, June 26.

They outscored opponents 26-1 in the playoffs thanks in part to a new style of offense they created. They call it a motion offense and is very similar in style to an NFL offense that involves tons of pre-snap movement and they run routes like a wide receiver.

“It’s been really cool to be a part of that same group again that won championships back in the day. Being able to do that now as a member of Team USA, it’s been a really fun journey,” said Mayer.

Mayer wanted to make an impact on the sport in a different way besides being just a player, so he joined the Board of Directors and was named the Executive Vice President of the USPSA.

He had a hand in putting on the national tournament that he himself ended up winning himself.

Mayer likes to stick to a routine and listens to a pump-up playlist before games to get him in the zone. On his playlist are artists like Post Malone, DJ Khalid, T-Pain, Five Finger Death Punch, Eminem and more.

The last song he listens to before every game is the Halloween theme song by John Carpenter, which is a direct tribute to Kobe Bryant.

“I took that one from Kobe. I was a huge Kobe Bryant and MJ fan. I like to mimic their styles and mentality,” said Mayer.

Just Like Kobe and MJ, Mayer prides himself in his defense.

“I’ve been called the best defensive player in the country. The smartest player in the country. I take pride in that. I look up to athletes in my own game and in other games like basketball and hockey. I really try and know what’s going to happen before it’s happening. I’ve had to rely on that with my strength and having to be in the right spot before the play even gets there,” said Mayer.

He describes his game as cerebral, hardworking and defensive.

Power soccer is a competitive and fast-paced sport that has taken Mayer all around the world. Mayer has played power soccer in over 20 different states, has played in Brazil and is planning on going to Argentina this November and Australia in October 2023.

He’s done his best Kobe impression by winning five championships off the strength of a three-peat and now a back-to-back. Time will tell if he’s able to go full MJ by finishing off a second potential three-peat in 2023.

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