A Sunday drive led Belmont native Steven Coates to curling, the sport that has become his calling.
A handful of years after his initial chance foray into curling, the 1996 Belmont High School graduate was chosen to represent Team USA at the 2027 Winter Deaflympics in Innsbruck, Austria next January. Coates will compete in the men’s team and mixed doubles events.
“It’s an honor, privilege and the unique experience of a lifetime,” Coates said. “From beginning to end, it’s been an amazing journey.”
There are strict official qualifications for U.S. Deaf Curling. Including the amount of hearing loss.
Coates lost his hearing at age three due to complications from spinal meningitis. Since then, he’s worn two behind-the-ear hearing aids, but cannot use them in curling. The game is predominantly played with hand signals, which works in the 47-year-old’s favor.
“It’s a little easier for me, actually,” said Coates, a Gardner resident who works as a senior manager in the U.S. chief data office at professional services firm PwC. “If you watch curling or are at a club, it’s loud … I don’t hear well at all in noisy, loud environments like that … So I actually quite enjoy it.”
A varsity soccer and baseball player at Belmont High School, Coates used hearing aids while playing both those sports. Starting in Little League, Coates used a specialized helmet to nullify the whistling caused by a tight batting helmet rubbing against hearing aids. In both baseball and soccer, any rain made Coates take out the hearing aids because of water damage risks.
Coates randomly discovered Petersham Curling Club while out with his wife, Dorothy, in April of 2018. He went to a “learn to curl” event, loved it, and signed up that day to become a member.
The sport is harder than it looks, Coates said. According to Coates, his first foray was humbling, but he quickly found himself hooked on the sport.
“I loved it because it’s a combination of strategy coupled with strength, cardio, and stamina,” Coates said. “It’s the excitement of the game. I never even thought I had an opportunity until we passed the club.”
Coates played a couple days a week for two years. In 2021, he stumbled across the U.S. Deaf Curling website and a call for 2023 Winter Deaflympics tryouts. Coates joined a second club to practice year-round. After a tryout in St. Paul, Minnesota, Coates made the team, but the U.S. didn’t end up attending the games that year. They instead competed in the 2025 World Deaf Curling Championships in Minneapolis. Coates and his men’s team finished one win short of medaling, fifth overall after round-robin play.
There, he met a young deaf curler and gave him his jersey. The young curler wears Coates’ jersey for every one of his own tournaments. Coates often receives photos.
“It certainly hits the emotion a little bit,” he said.
At the Deaflympics, Coates will participate in the four-member men’s team and in mixed doubles with partner Elizabeth Matthews, of Woodbury, Minnesota.
Matthews, a member of the U.S. Deaf Curling’s board as its secretary-treasurer, first connected with Coates when he reached out to the organization about getting started. Matthews, a 20-year curler, introduced him to the men’s team. In 2024, Coates asked Matthews to partner in mixed doubles.
Teaming with Coates, Matthews said, is “easy” and successful because of their shared trust and supportive camaraderie.
“He’s incredibly focused and reads the game so well, which makes communication simple,” Matthews said. “We’re also proud to be working toward representing Team USA together at the Winter Deaflympics, which is a huge motivation for both of us.”
Deaflympics athletes pay most of their own expenses. Coates established a GoFundMe to support the journey.
For the 2027 Deaflympics, Coates submitted an application for the men’s team by virtue of past success. Ditto for mixed doubles, because no other teams decided to compete for the spot.
Coates is playing five games a week to stay ready, spending time at Petersham Curling Club, Colonial Curling Club in Worcester and Broomstones Curling Club in Wayland. He also works with a strength and conditioning coach and does yoga and Pilates. Coates makes no money from curling; in fact, this all comes at a cost. What makes it worth it, he said, is the opportunity to represent his country.
“You have the U.S. flag on your back, and it means something more,” Coates said. “I played sports my whole life. I want to compete and you get to compete against the top deaf athletes.”