Experiencing a deaf football team
Saturday afternoon I went to Dugger to cover the school’s homecoming game with Indiana School For the Deaf. I had little knowledge of the visiting Orioles going in but I quickly became fascinated by them. The players and coaches were communicating via sign language. If a player missed what a coach said, another player would make sure everyone knew what the call was.
Football is not a sport that you think would be easy for those hearing impaired. Helmets and facemasks limit your vision to a degree. Important communication between players must take place just seconds before the snap.
The referees did not go easy on them. With no audible snap count, it is easy for a lineman to commit a false start penalty and that occurred multiple times for the Indiana School for the Deaf Saturday. The players can not hear a whistle to end a play either as it was tough to tell for them when a play was over several times.
I went over to their sideline to see how they operated. Most of their coaches were deaf too as I think only one was not. He was important to help communicate with referees.
Despite all the challenges being deaf causes on a football field the Orioles were a solid team. They were more physical than Dugger, more experienced and communicated better as a team. That is not a slight at Dugger Union, more so on how impressive the Indiana School for the Deaf team was. You could tell many on their team had been playing the sport together for a long time. They were a team that relied on one another as you have to do so in order to overcome the disadvantage they faced. The result was a 42-0 victory. They are 3-3 this season with only two bad performances this season.
The Orioles found a way to overcome their disadvantage. I hope it inspires others to overcome the disadvantages they have as well.
Nathan is the Sports Editor for the Greene County Daily World and can be reached at npacegcdw@gmail.com. His “Low Budget Sports Show airs weekly on Facebook Live.”
Posting a comment requires free registration:
- If you already have an account, follow this link to login
- Otherwise, follow this link to register