Dave was a coach for many different sports for 40+ years. He coached basketball, track, wrestling, baseball, and soccer.
Have you ever coached a player who was hard of hearing?
“Yes I have coached a few. I coached track at a school for the deaf and I have coached players with impairments in baseball and wrestling.”
How have you handled situations where communication barriers have been present? Mostly in matches/competitions.
“Something I’ve learned is that there is really nothing you can do. You just have to make awareness and hope that your player can overcome things.”
What are some challenges you have come across during your career?
“Having a hard of hearing player definitely changes things a little. And when training a player, it’s hard to close the gap between being really good and having potential to be really good.”
Can you give some examples please?
“ When I coached wrestling it is common to see coaches yelling things at their players during a match, things like tips of what to do, but some of these kids can’t hear you so you just can’t talk to them. That can really take away from the player and makes them have to work harder than others in a way.”
“ Something else I saw in baseball is when there was a fly ball, we couldn’t call a player off if someone else was running for it. This can be very dangerous and your players can collide and get hurt.”
“ When I coached track I couldn’t put a very talented player in the first lane for relays because I had to worry if they would hear the start. That definitely took away from that player because everyone wants to be that player in the first lane that gets their team a good start but I just couldn’t put him there because I wasn’t sure if he’d start when he should or not.”
Can you share any success stories or examples of a player you have coached that improved in performance
“ Not that I would take any great deal of credit but one of my players got a UCLA scholarship. He definitely improved and was able to overcome issues but even then, he had a lot of doors already open for him due to his father having played in college.”
Have you received any special training related to coaching individuals with hearing challenges?
“ That kind of thing would be part of basic training and you go over things in a general way but you just have to recognize it when you are dealing with a player like that.”
How do you stay informed about advancements or practices in that field?
“The internet. You can really find anything there.”
Another note from Dave
“Think about how little hearing impaired athletes you see. Some people (players) see it as a closed door and they just give up”