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Billy Maradei a silent leader for Austin Prep - BostonHerald.com
Austin Prep senior running back-defensive end Billy Maradei relies on vision when he steps on the football field.
His eyes confirm the play calls coming from quarterback Ryan Havey, pick up cadence under center and help him get a good jump off the snap on either side of the ball.
In that respect Maradei is like any other teenager who plays high school football, and yet it is in that respect that he is also unique. Maradei is completely dependent on his sense of sight, because when he steps between the white lines he steps into a world of silence.
Maradei has Mondini syndrome, an incomplete formation of the cochlea in his inner ears that prevents the organs from sending signals to the auditory nerves. Though he may be profoundly deaf, Maradei is anything but profoundly handicapped.
“I don’t think of myself as deaf, but I am,” Maradei said. “I just don’t like being considered deaf. . . . I never really thought much about (being different).”
His attitude is a testament to the efforts of his parents, long-time AP coach Bill Maradei and his wife, Mary. The parents were determined not to treat their son different than other children.
When their son was 2 years old the Maradeis were told he had functional auditory nerves and was eligible for a cochlear implant. They took the opportunity to improve his quality of life. Using electrodes to stimulate the auditory nerves, the implant allows Billy Maradei to process noises and voices well enough to understand most of what he hears, especially with the help of lip reading. An external piece of the device must be removed when he plays football, however, leaving him completely deaf.
After providing their son the ability to partially hear, the next priority was education. Work began on developing reading comprehension skills, which many deaf people struggle with, and the ability to socialize. For the former, Billy Maradei was enrolled in a series of specialized schools on the North Shore. For the latter, the elder Maradei, who has 229 career victories and three Super Bowl wins - including a Division 3A title last fall - turned to one of the most effective tools he had at his disposal: football.
“I threw him out there at 6 years old,” said Bill Maradei, referring to the Bavaro Brothers Football Camp, where he has coached since 1995. “I put a helmet on him, he can’t hear, he’s a little bit of a thing; my stomach was turning. But we just threw him in with people because we didn’t want him sitting in the corner.”
Billy Maradei responded well to school, socializing and football, and was able to move to Austin Prep in the eighth grade and excel in all three areas. As a sign of the respect he has earned for his talent and leadership, he was elected one of AP’s three captains for this season.
Havey, another captain and Maradei’s teammate since they were freshmen, was skeptical of how well a visual communication system would work when they began to play together. The QB was surprised by how easily it worked out.
“It was simple,” Havey said. “I forget that he’s deaf sometimes. He acts like everyone else. He’s just one of the football players.”
In order to help with communication, Maradei taught Havey and some other teammates the basics of sign language.
There are times when Maradei, whose younger brother Mark also plays for AP, admits to embracing his hearing impairment on the field.
“Sometimes I like it, because (when) my father screams, I’m happy to be deaf,” he said jokingly. “(He and Havey) were the only starters our sophomore year. We both got screamed at a lot. (Havey) had to listen to most of it, so I was happy to be deaf then.”
Maradei can avoid his father’s shouting, but it’s hard to avoid his glare.
“He can’t hear me when he’s playing, but he gets the message (with) the facial expressions, or reading lips,” the elder Maradei said - also jokingly. “But it’s been fun; it’s been wonderful.
“We’ve come a long way from being in that hospital, being told he’s profoundly deaf. He would be a good role model for (his achievements) and for parents not to treat (deaf children) different.”
Austin Prep senior running back-defensive end Billy Maradei relies on vision when he steps on the football field.
His eyes confirm the play calls coming from quarterback Ryan Havey, pick up cadence under center and help him get a good jump off the snap on either side of the ball.
In that respect Maradei is like any other teenager who plays high school football, and yet it is in that respect that he is also unique. Maradei is completely dependent on his sense of sight, because when he steps between the white lines he steps into a world of silence.
Maradei has Mondini syndrome, an incomplete formation of the cochlea in his inner ears that prevents the organs from sending signals to the auditory nerves. Though he may be profoundly deaf, Maradei is anything but profoundly handicapped.
“I don’t think of myself as deaf, but I am,” Maradei said. “I just don’t like being considered deaf. . . . I never really thought much about (being different).”
His attitude is a testament to the efforts of his parents, long-time AP coach Bill Maradei and his wife, Mary. The parents were determined not to treat their son different than other children.
When their son was 2 years old the Maradeis were told he had functional auditory nerves and was eligible for a cochlear implant. They took the opportunity to improve his quality of life. Using electrodes to stimulate the auditory nerves, the implant allows Billy Maradei to process noises and voices well enough to understand most of what he hears, especially with the help of lip reading. An external piece of the device must be removed when he plays football, however, leaving him completely deaf.
After providing their son the ability to partially hear, the next priority was education. Work began on developing reading comprehension skills, which many deaf people struggle with, and the ability to socialize. For the former, Billy Maradei was enrolled in a series of specialized schools on the North Shore. For the latter, the elder Maradei, who has 229 career victories and three Super Bowl wins - including a Division 3A title last fall - turned to one of the most effective tools he had at his disposal: football.
“I threw him out there at 6 years old,” said Bill Maradei, referring to the Bavaro Brothers Football Camp, where he has coached since 1995. “I put a helmet on him, he can’t hear, he’s a little bit of a thing; my stomach was turning. But we just threw him in with people because we didn’t want him sitting in the corner.”
Billy Maradei responded well to school, socializing and football, and was able to move to Austin Prep in the eighth grade and excel in all three areas. As a sign of the respect he has earned for his talent and leadership, he was elected one of AP’s three captains for this season.
Havey, another captain and Maradei’s teammate since they were freshmen, was skeptical of how well a visual communication system would work when they began to play together. The QB was surprised by how easily it worked out.
“It was simple,” Havey said. “I forget that he’s deaf sometimes. He acts like everyone else. He’s just one of the football players.”
In order to help with communication, Maradei taught Havey and some other teammates the basics of sign language.
There are times when Maradei, whose younger brother Mark also plays for AP, admits to embracing his hearing impairment on the field.
“Sometimes I like it, because (when) my father screams, I’m happy to be deaf,” he said jokingly. “(He and Havey) were the only starters our sophomore year. We both got screamed at a lot. (Havey) had to listen to most of it, so I was happy to be deaf then.”
Maradei can avoid his father’s shouting, but it’s hard to avoid his glare.
“He can’t hear me when he’s playing, but he gets the message (with) the facial expressions, or reading lips,” the elder Maradei said - also jokingly. “But it’s been fun; it’s been wonderful.
“We’ve come a long way from being in that hospital, being told he’s profoundly deaf. He would be a good role model for (his achievements) and for parents not to treat (deaf children) different.”
