U.S. soccer goalie Tim Howard signs copies of his book, “The Keeper,” during a soccer clinic and fundraiser for the New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome and Associated Disorders. JENNIFER AMATO/STAFF Tim Howard is a celebrated New Jersey sports legend known not just for his athletic skills, but also for his altruistic nature.
Howard, the World Cup goalkeeper for the United States’ men’s national soccer team who plays professionally for the Everton soccer club in England, visited Rutgers University, Piscataway, on June 4 to kick off a yearlong Tourette syndrome awareness campaign.
Howard, who is a North Brunswick, Middlesex County, native, established the Tim Howard Leadership Academy with the New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome and Associated Disorders (NJCTS).
Howard has Tourette syndrome.
“I grew up here watching Rutgers soccer,” Howard said after meeting the hundreds of children who came to see him. “This is home to me. This is where I learned my trade. … I am grounded in the wonderful tradition that is New Jersey soccer.”
Howard said that as a “big kid” who was tall, he was placed in net by a coach.
“You have to be good with your feet to play at the top level,” Howard said. “I’m always talking about dreaming big because, ‘Why not?’ ”
Tourette syndrome is an inherited, neurological disorder characterized by repeated involuntary movements and uncontrollable vocal sounds called tics, according to the NJCTS website.
Howard said he “never thought for a second” that Tourette syndrome would hold him back.
“We have to go to the mall. We have to go to school. We have to do all these things ourselves,” he said. “I think that I have achieved success because of, or in spite of, Tourette’s.”
Howard said he credits Faith Rice, the executive director of NJCTS, with taking the “weight off my shoulders because I did not have to hide anymore.” “It’s time we stopped making excuses for everybody else. There is no reason we can’t live and thrive with Tourette syndrome,” the American netminder said.
Two of Howard’s young fans, Harrison Phillips, 11, and Cameron Phillips, 9, attended the clinic that was run by the Rutgers men’s soccer team.
“He kind of inspires me to be a goalie. I want to be a goalie,” Cameron said.
“[Tim] and I have Tourette’s. He’s a big supporter. Without him, a lot of things couldn’t be done,” Harrison said. “A lot of people here have Tourette’s. [It helps] to know I’m not alone and I’m not the only one.”
Their parents, Wayne Phillips and Caryn Aronson, helped institute a Tourette Syndrome Awareness Day two years ago at Merritt Elementary School in Cresskill that has expanded to almost an entire week.
Wayne Phillips said having Howard back this initiative has led to a larger reach.
“I think it is really important to have the children exposed as much as possible to make themselves and the people around them comfortable with Tourette’s,” he said. “… Being here makes them feel like they are not alone.”