The U.S. Men’s Cerebral Palsy National Team is already making history this week as it competes in the first National Team games held at the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center, which officially opened earlier this month. The team is facing Scotland in two international challenge matches on May 21 and May 22 as part of the 2026 ADAPTandTHRIVE Invitational, presented by Haleon.
The occasion also marks a personal milestone for head coach Stuart Sharp. After leading the USA to a 7-1 win in the opening match, Sharp will manage his 100th contest with the team on Friday.
“I’d be lying if I said I knew I’d be reaching 100 caps,” Sharp said. “To have my wife and kids on the touchline is important to me. We have the added privilege of our opponent being Scotland, a team that I started. So, it’s a fitting moment, and I hope having it at ADAPTandThrive helps inspire by having local kids, coaches, parents and spectators there.”
The Scotland native has been at the helm of the U.S. Men’s Cerebral Palsy National Team since 2014 and has served as Senior Technical Director of the Extended National Team Program since 2022. During his tenure, he has compiled a 51W-38L-10D record while helping the team hold a steady sixth-place world ranking.
Sharp previously held the position of National Development Manager (Disability) for the Scottish Football Association in addition to being head coach of the Scottish CP National Team from 2005-2011. He also serves as the Head of Technical Development and Chair of the World Coaches Technical Committee for the International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football.
He said he jumped at the opportunity to lead the U.S. Men’s CP National Team and within two months – with limited staff and resources at the time – had prepared the team for its first two international matches against England.
“I was desperate to get back on the sideline again,” Sharp recalled. “I hadn’t done enough, in my opinion, on the coaching side. I wanted to see how far I could take a national team, so when U.S. Soccer came to me, it was a real opportunity at the right time in my life. After those two friendlies and my first two months on the job, I was sure I had made the right decision.”
Over the last decade, the program has steadily progressed under Sharp’s leadership. He led the CP MNT to a best-ever fourth-place finish at the 2022 IFCPF World Cup as well as back-to-back bronze medals at the 2019 and 2023 Parapan American Games.
But for Sharp, his favorite memory came last October when the United States defeated Argentina in the final of the 2025 IFCPF Copa América to secure the first major trophy in program history. What stood out most to him was not just winning the title but the reaction afterward.
“[It’s my favorite memory not because] we won it, though that was great in itself,” he said. “It was looking back on footage... pointing back on the bench when the final whistle blew. You could see the substitutes celebrating more than the players on the field. It was the epitome of the culture, the strength, the unity we’ve created over time.”
That culture is one of the aspects Sharp said he appreciates most about the team. Over the years, he has coached players from a wide range of backgrounds – including military veterans, players born with cerebral palsy and others recovering from traumatic brain injuries – each of whom, he said, shaped his perspective on life.
As he approaches his 100th match, Sharp said the milestone means less because of the number itself and more because of the relationships and experiences built along the way.
“I came in with a plan of building a high-performance environment,” Sharp said. “I wanted to take them to the highest level in world rankings, win matches. It’s cliche, but I didn’t know that it truly would have such an impact on my life. We’ve had so many highs and some lows, and I’ve met so many remarkable characters.
“Each story the players tell me, every experience that we share together has had a strong impact upon my life,” he added. “Each player has a different lens in terms of how they see the world and how the world sees them. It has made me a better person, husband and father, and I’m thankful for that.”
