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Padecky: Keeton won't hear of it | PressDemocrat.com | The Press Democrat | Santa Rosa, CA
Kalen Rosselli, Santa Rosa's quarterback, calls the play in the huddle but his wide receiver, Nick Keeton, doesn't hear the words. Keeton, also a starting cornerback, can't hear what defense is called. He is the team's punter and placekicker, but every time he kicks Keeton never hears the thump of the football on his foot.
Keeton is deaf on a field full of noise, for a football field is a sound machine, spitting out grunts and commands and screams and whistles and cheers and boos and public address announcers, all of it moving the game along, revealing the ebb and flow of fortunes. One only has to hear a football game, not even see it, to know who is winning. Keeton, 17, doesn't have that luxury.
He was born deaf and wears hearing aids. But Keeton can't wear his hearing aids during a game. The sweat from playing would destroy the electronics. He could receive a cochlear implant, a prosthetic device that would most likely improve his hearing. But there's a high risk of brain injury because football is a contact sport.
So Keeton has refused the implant for one simple reason.
“I want to play football,” said the 5-foot-11, 165-pound junior.
And Keeton plays it, by necessity, on a different level than the rest of his teammates. He can't glide through a play, take it off. He can't depend on his natural athletic ability. He must be obsessed with alertness, intelligence, instinct ... and a sign-language interpreter. Six signers are employed by the Sonoma County public school system to help the hearing impaired. One is always with Keeton on the sidelines during practice and games.
Around his left forearm Keeton wears a tape listing either the offensive or defensive plays. Each play has a number. Before the start of each offensive play, Keeton looks to the sideline to see what number head coach Tony Keefer is signaling to quarterback Kalen Rosselli.
Before the defense sets up, Keeton watches defensive coordinator Randy Menke flash the signal to middle linebacker Jaden Rosselli. One would need to do a double-take to determine Keeton isn't just another high school football player.
Not that it was always so.
“In middle school some people who I knew were deaf were shocked to think that deaf people can play football with hearing people,” Keeton said.
Yes, he admits, when he first began Pop Warner football, Keeton had to play a little harder to prove to coaches and teammates he belonged. It is a mind-set, he also admitted, he maintains to this day.
“I still want to prove to hearing people I can play,” said Keeton, communicating Tuesday through signer Jennifer Lopes.
While it may appear he might be at a disadvantage on a football field, Keeton sees the field as one of the places he can go toe-to-toe with those who hear, without apology and without hesitation. Football, like most sports, is a meritocracy. Those who play well play a lot. Football is the great leveler. It does not discriminate. It's one of the things Keeton loves about the sport.
So with a certain glee and enthusiasm, Keeton runs full speed into someone ... in silence. As a cornerback he can't wait for the referee's whistle to signal the end of the play because he can't hear that whistle.
So he adopts a mind-set that is the standard textbook definition for any football player, high school, college or pro.
“I never stop running and hitting,” said the junior, “until my player is on the ground.”
That attitude comes with a certain risk, however. Keeton could hurt someone after the play has been called dead. Before each game Keefer alerts the game officials to Keeton's impairment, to give Keeton a reasonable benefit of the doubt.
But there still are times Keeton can't see around him, notice the play is over, and teenage zest, as it is wont to do, is in full churn. It is those moments Keeton needs a little reminding.
“My captain was bawling me out,” said Keeton of Panther running back Jaden Rosselli after one late-hit play, “but I didn't understand the problem ... Yes, I would feel bad (if I injured a player) and it's not my fault.”
His play may be the great equalizer and he may have all the respect he needs from his teammates, but he can't hide his deafness. It creates images, hasty conclusions as it were, that Keeton must deal with on and off the field.
“So where did you get the fat lip?” I asked Keeton Tuesday. His bottom right lip is swollen. I assumed he got it from playing against Windsor last Saturday.
“It's a birthmark,” Keeton signed.
Oops. My bad.
“Most people think I got it in a fight with someone,” he added.
Oops. Their bad.
Yes, appearances are deceiving and humbling and beg to be contradicted.
Nick Keeton may be deaf, may have a swollen lip that looks like he got it in a fight and may be playing a sport that is not kind and generous to the hearing impaired. So what, Keeton shrugs. He's not out to be anyone's hero.
“I don't want to be arrogant but I am proud of what I am doing,” he said.
Proud, indeed. The way Nick Keeton looks at it, his being deaf is only a disability to other people.
“Nick wants to prove he can play football like anyone else,” Keefer said. “He is in fact adamant that he wants to be treated like everyone else. He wants no special favors. And I make sure he doesn't get any.”
Keeton, watching Lopes interpret Keefer's remark, smiled. He responded quickly to Lopes with his hands.
I didn't need to know sign language to know what he said.
“Thank you,” Nick Keeton said.
Kalen Rosselli, Santa Rosa's quarterback, calls the play in the huddle but his wide receiver, Nick Keeton, doesn't hear the words. Keeton, also a starting cornerback, can't hear what defense is called. He is the team's punter and placekicker, but every time he kicks Keeton never hears the thump of the football on his foot.
Keeton is deaf on a field full of noise, for a football field is a sound machine, spitting out grunts and commands and screams and whistles and cheers and boos and public address announcers, all of it moving the game along, revealing the ebb and flow of fortunes. One only has to hear a football game, not even see it, to know who is winning. Keeton, 17, doesn't have that luxury.
He was born deaf and wears hearing aids. But Keeton can't wear his hearing aids during a game. The sweat from playing would destroy the electronics. He could receive a cochlear implant, a prosthetic device that would most likely improve his hearing. But there's a high risk of brain injury because football is a contact sport.
So Keeton has refused the implant for one simple reason.
“I want to play football,” said the 5-foot-11, 165-pound junior.
And Keeton plays it, by necessity, on a different level than the rest of his teammates. He can't glide through a play, take it off. He can't depend on his natural athletic ability. He must be obsessed with alertness, intelligence, instinct ... and a sign-language interpreter. Six signers are employed by the Sonoma County public school system to help the hearing impaired. One is always with Keeton on the sidelines during practice and games.
Around his left forearm Keeton wears a tape listing either the offensive or defensive plays. Each play has a number. Before the start of each offensive play, Keeton looks to the sideline to see what number head coach Tony Keefer is signaling to quarterback Kalen Rosselli.
Before the defense sets up, Keeton watches defensive coordinator Randy Menke flash the signal to middle linebacker Jaden Rosselli. One would need to do a double-take to determine Keeton isn't just another high school football player.
Not that it was always so.
“In middle school some people who I knew were deaf were shocked to think that deaf people can play football with hearing people,” Keeton said.
Yes, he admits, when he first began Pop Warner football, Keeton had to play a little harder to prove to coaches and teammates he belonged. It is a mind-set, he also admitted, he maintains to this day.
“I still want to prove to hearing people I can play,” said Keeton, communicating Tuesday through signer Jennifer Lopes.
While it may appear he might be at a disadvantage on a football field, Keeton sees the field as one of the places he can go toe-to-toe with those who hear, without apology and without hesitation. Football, like most sports, is a meritocracy. Those who play well play a lot. Football is the great leveler. It does not discriminate. It's one of the things Keeton loves about the sport.
So with a certain glee and enthusiasm, Keeton runs full speed into someone ... in silence. As a cornerback he can't wait for the referee's whistle to signal the end of the play because he can't hear that whistle.
So he adopts a mind-set that is the standard textbook definition for any football player, high school, college or pro.
“I never stop running and hitting,” said the junior, “until my player is on the ground.”
That attitude comes with a certain risk, however. Keeton could hurt someone after the play has been called dead. Before each game Keefer alerts the game officials to Keeton's impairment, to give Keeton a reasonable benefit of the doubt.
But there still are times Keeton can't see around him, notice the play is over, and teenage zest, as it is wont to do, is in full churn. It is those moments Keeton needs a little reminding.
“My captain was bawling me out,” said Keeton of Panther running back Jaden Rosselli after one late-hit play, “but I didn't understand the problem ... Yes, I would feel bad (if I injured a player) and it's not my fault.”
His play may be the great equalizer and he may have all the respect he needs from his teammates, but he can't hide his deafness. It creates images, hasty conclusions as it were, that Keeton must deal with on and off the field.
“So where did you get the fat lip?” I asked Keeton Tuesday. His bottom right lip is swollen. I assumed he got it from playing against Windsor last Saturday.
“It's a birthmark,” Keeton signed.
Oops. My bad.
“Most people think I got it in a fight with someone,” he added.
Oops. Their bad.
Yes, appearances are deceiving and humbling and beg to be contradicted.
Nick Keeton may be deaf, may have a swollen lip that looks like he got it in a fight and may be playing a sport that is not kind and generous to the hearing impaired. So what, Keeton shrugs. He's not out to be anyone's hero.
“I don't want to be arrogant but I am proud of what I am doing,” he said.
Proud, indeed. The way Nick Keeton looks at it, his being deaf is only a disability to other people.
“Nick wants to prove he can play football like anyone else,” Keefer said. “He is in fact adamant that he wants to be treated like everyone else. He wants no special favors. And I make sure he doesn't get any.”
Keeton, watching Lopes interpret Keefer's remark, smiled. He responded quickly to Lopes with his hands.
I didn't need to know sign language to know what he said.
“Thank you,” Nick Keeton said.
