Interesting Varsity Assignment

[semper_fi_72]

Received a interesting Varsity assignment this morning.

The game will be between a School for the Deaf and a Christian School.

It immediately got me thinking how important non-verbal mechanics are going to be during that game.

Does anyone have any experience with a game such as this with any special recommendations?

[IHSAUmp08]

I did a sophmore football game with a deaf official last season. It was quite a challenge, especially since we met as a crew half an hour before the game in the parking lot. He seemed to be a knowledgeable official, but communication was tough. His signaling seemed to clash with his sign language. Hopfully for you, the coaches can translate anything you may say to the players. Good luck.

[kwiggie]

Last summer one game for Babe Ruth involved a young man who was 90% deaf. I asked the coaches if they had a specific way for us to work with this during the game... they did! As pu I would flash my count to the 3b coach, who would flash the count quickly along with his normal signs to this young man "EVERY TIME". This eliminated him having to turn back and look at me and just "take a normal signal" like any other batter. In cases of a bb, I call ball four and give a discrete tap on the shoulder to him to let him know that the last pitch was a called ball, get moving son.

As far as the bu all he had to worry about was this lad knowing whether he was called out or safe on a tagforce. This player was taught to stay on the base unless he was tapped by the bu physically... if he missed the original call. These coaches told me that in the past other defensive players had made an out sign and punked him off the base... kids can be such dinks!

This was my experience and I ended up seeing this team several times last year. It was really a non issue once I got use to "The Routine" that these coaches had set up. They had set up a very smooth, discrete, and efficiant means of communication between this player and the rest of the field with very little extra having to be done by my partner or myself.

[yawetag]

Reminds me of the time I was reading the Charlotte Observer. I was looking in the Sports section to see the local high school football scores. I did a double-take when I saw the School for the Deaf and Blind beat another high school. I chuckled thinking of a team of blind players beating a fully-able team.

[Stan W.]

Received a interesting Varsity assignment this morning.

The game will be between a School for the Deaf and a Christian School.

It immediately got me thinking how important non-verbal mechanics are going to be during that game.

Does anyone have any experience with a game such as this with any special recommendations?

Send a PM to Michael S Taylor.......he has done Gaulladet University Baseball....(One of, if not the largest deaf universities)............

im sure he can assist.....

[mstaylor]

I would talk to the coaches before the game but I had to tap the catcher when I called a strike, then call and show it. The problem was the first time I worked them it was in the conference tournament and my partner broke down so I worked them solo.

Imagine trying to work a college tournament solo and then deal with a deaf school on top of it.

Any questions PM me.