Miss-Delectable
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Champion's Kiser Inspiring Team - My Valley Sports - All Local - All Sports - All The Time
Mackenzie Kiser's teammates glow when talking about their starting center.
"I've seen her progress a lot," says Champion junior Haley McAllister. "She's become such a high level player."
"She's intense," says junior Lindsay Swipas. "If she gets the ball she is going to take it to the hoop."
"She's aggressive," says sophomore Jordyn Skaggs. "She does what she can to win. But she's also a great teammate."
But it takes a lot more work than most for Kiser to be a great teammate.
"It gets frustrating when you don't know what the plays are or you don't know what's going on," says Mackenzie Kiser. "Then you feel like it's your fault sometimes."
If Kiser is guilty of anything it's succeeding. She's completely deaf in her left ear. In her right ear she wears a hearing aid. That gives Kiser the ability to hear up to fifty percent of what a healthy ear can, but that's just in one ear.
"It's not a disability. You can't hear but you can do anything else. You can be whoever you want to be. You can be whatever you want to be," says Kiser. "That's how I view myself as a deaf person."
Kiser lives out that belief. She takes all mainstream classes at Champion high school, carrying a 3.8 gpa. On the court she started both her freshman and sophomore years. This season she averaged 10 points and 11 rebounds per game. She also started as a freshman on the varsity softball team.
"When the game is going fast," says Kiser. "I think it's taught us to get along more and work together."
"It's helped me communicate with everyone else," says Swipas. "I'm more understanding that we really need to talk to each other and be good teammates."
Kiser's father, Chad, is the boys head basketball coach at LaBrae. That perspective has allowed him to better understand communication barriers Mackenzie overcomes every time down the floor.
"She feels strongly that she is a deaf child. She's proud of that," says the elder Kiser. "She doesn't try to put it behind her or hide it and say just because I'm speaking and can hear a little bit that I'm not deaf. She's proud of what she is."
"My deaf friends I just tell them 'Who cares what anybody else thinks about you. Be who you are,'" says Mackenzie, "If you have confidence in yourself you can overcome it."
That mindset has proved valuable on the court, where Kiser finds a few advantages to being hearing impaired.
"When I go to the foul line. The student section is always trying to distract me and make all these noises," says Kiser. "I just turn off my hearing aid and it's like I can't hear you, it really doesn't matter so what's the point in trying."
So while Kiser may choose to not hear you, you can bet you'll be hearing a great deal from her in the future.
Mackenzie Kiser's teammates glow when talking about their starting center.
"I've seen her progress a lot," says Champion junior Haley McAllister. "She's become such a high level player."
"She's intense," says junior Lindsay Swipas. "If she gets the ball she is going to take it to the hoop."
"She's aggressive," says sophomore Jordyn Skaggs. "She does what she can to win. But she's also a great teammate."
But it takes a lot more work than most for Kiser to be a great teammate.
"It gets frustrating when you don't know what the plays are or you don't know what's going on," says Mackenzie Kiser. "Then you feel like it's your fault sometimes."
If Kiser is guilty of anything it's succeeding. She's completely deaf in her left ear. In her right ear she wears a hearing aid. That gives Kiser the ability to hear up to fifty percent of what a healthy ear can, but that's just in one ear.
"It's not a disability. You can't hear but you can do anything else. You can be whoever you want to be. You can be whatever you want to be," says Kiser. "That's how I view myself as a deaf person."
Kiser lives out that belief. She takes all mainstream classes at Champion high school, carrying a 3.8 gpa. On the court she started both her freshman and sophomore years. This season she averaged 10 points and 11 rebounds per game. She also started as a freshman on the varsity softball team.
"When the game is going fast," says Kiser. "I think it's taught us to get along more and work together."
"It's helped me communicate with everyone else," says Swipas. "I'm more understanding that we really need to talk to each other and be good teammates."
Kiser's father, Chad, is the boys head basketball coach at LaBrae. That perspective has allowed him to better understand communication barriers Mackenzie overcomes every time down the floor.
"She feels strongly that she is a deaf child. She's proud of that," says the elder Kiser. "She doesn't try to put it behind her or hide it and say just because I'm speaking and can hear a little bit that I'm not deaf. She's proud of what she is."
"My deaf friends I just tell them 'Who cares what anybody else thinks about you. Be who you are,'" says Mackenzie, "If you have confidence in yourself you can overcome it."
That mindset has proved valuable on the court, where Kiser finds a few advantages to being hearing impaired.
"When I go to the foul line. The student section is always trying to distract me and make all these noises," says Kiser. "I just turn off my hearing aid and it's like I can't hear you, it really doesn't matter so what's the point in trying."
So while Kiser may choose to not hear you, you can bet you'll be hearing a great deal from her in the future.