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nwi.com :: news
Michigan City's first two runners got on base Tuesday in the bottom of the seventh. A warm spring breeze battled cooler rain clouds in a Region spring tradition, young kids playing ball in school colors.
Crown Point sophomore Jessica Martinez, a sophomore, walked over to classmate Kara Gulvas. The Bulldogs led 2-0, but the Wolves were on their heels.
"We were talking about who was going to cover third if they bunted," said Martinez, C.P.'s shortstop.
"Talking" is a relative word when it comes to Gulvas, the Bulldogs' third baseman.
Gulvas is deaf.
Yet she hasn't allowed her challenge to slow her down.
She also plays soccer -- as a goalkeeper -- and basketball.
And she plays all three sports quite well.
"The coolest thing you can say about Kara is she is a typical kid," said C.P. athletic director Mike Malaski, who was the Bulldogs' girls soccer coach. "She's no different than any other kid, except that she's a fierce competitor."
Interpreter Jen Lannin of the Northwest Indiana Special Education Cooperative goes to class with Gulvas all day, then spends her afternoons in the dugout, signing for Gulvas.
Gulvas watches Lannin's fingers.
Those trained digits dance.
Language crystalizes.
And everything is all right.
"As awesome as she is on the field, she's an even greater person," Lannin said. "She's an incredible young lady."
Gulvas' parents, Dave and Beth, didn't know their daughter was deaf until she was 2 1/2 years old. They were watching some family Christmas videos and noticed people saying "Kara, Kara," from behind, but she didn't turn her head. Then, they noticed how she always got in front of people speaking to watch their lips.
"She has no fear," Dave Gulvas said of Kara, who suffers 80 percent hearing loss.
"We're very proud of her," Beth said. "People think she has a setback. But her hand-eye coordination is remarkable, better than most."
C.P. junior varsity soccer coach Annie Domasica was amazed by her goalkeeper, who had nine shutouts for the 14-1-1 Bulldogs. One charging player came into the box and Gulvas took her out. Both of her hearing aids were laying on the ground, but all she cared about what the ball safely in her hands.
"She does everything you ask of her, and she does it to a level beyond what you asked," Domasica said.
First-year softball coach Brett Crutchfield was somewhat overwhelmed when he took over the program filled with young players. When he met Gulvas and Lannin, he wondered how everything would work out. Still, he's put Gulvas at shortstop twice in four games, and she's fared well, hitting almost .300.
"The fact that she's a great athlete, so aggressive, takes a little pressure off," Crutchfield said. "She's not waiting to be coached. She plays the game a little bit."
At an early practice, during bunt defense drills, she made a couple mistakes. Not waiting for someone else to take the lead, she kept saying, "Another one. Another one."
The hearing aids help Gulvas hear, but they also confuse the desired goal. During basketball practices, she could hear players, coaches and people walking through the gym. She just didn't know who said what.
"It's hard to differentiate who's saying what," Gulvas said. "I'm more visual. I grew up watching everyone."
On Tuesday, the Bulldogs got out of the jam Martinez and Gulvas were discussing, and won their second game 2-0.
But for Crutchfield, Gulvas has made an impact bigger than just boosting a team's win totals.
"Kara teaches us all that if you want something bad enough there's a way to overcome it," he said. "Hard work can overcome any obstacle."
Michigan City's first two runners got on base Tuesday in the bottom of the seventh. A warm spring breeze battled cooler rain clouds in a Region spring tradition, young kids playing ball in school colors.
Crown Point sophomore Jessica Martinez, a sophomore, walked over to classmate Kara Gulvas. The Bulldogs led 2-0, but the Wolves were on their heels.
"We were talking about who was going to cover third if they bunted," said Martinez, C.P.'s shortstop.
"Talking" is a relative word when it comes to Gulvas, the Bulldogs' third baseman.
Gulvas is deaf.
Yet she hasn't allowed her challenge to slow her down.
She also plays soccer -- as a goalkeeper -- and basketball.
And she plays all three sports quite well.
"The coolest thing you can say about Kara is she is a typical kid," said C.P. athletic director Mike Malaski, who was the Bulldogs' girls soccer coach. "She's no different than any other kid, except that she's a fierce competitor."
Interpreter Jen Lannin of the Northwest Indiana Special Education Cooperative goes to class with Gulvas all day, then spends her afternoons in the dugout, signing for Gulvas.
Gulvas watches Lannin's fingers.
Those trained digits dance.
Language crystalizes.
And everything is all right.
"As awesome as she is on the field, she's an even greater person," Lannin said. "She's an incredible young lady."
Gulvas' parents, Dave and Beth, didn't know their daughter was deaf until she was 2 1/2 years old. They were watching some family Christmas videos and noticed people saying "Kara, Kara," from behind, but she didn't turn her head. Then, they noticed how she always got in front of people speaking to watch their lips.
"She has no fear," Dave Gulvas said of Kara, who suffers 80 percent hearing loss.
"We're very proud of her," Beth said. "People think she has a setback. But her hand-eye coordination is remarkable, better than most."
C.P. junior varsity soccer coach Annie Domasica was amazed by her goalkeeper, who had nine shutouts for the 14-1-1 Bulldogs. One charging player came into the box and Gulvas took her out. Both of her hearing aids were laying on the ground, but all she cared about what the ball safely in her hands.
"She does everything you ask of her, and she does it to a level beyond what you asked," Domasica said.
First-year softball coach Brett Crutchfield was somewhat overwhelmed when he took over the program filled with young players. When he met Gulvas and Lannin, he wondered how everything would work out. Still, he's put Gulvas at shortstop twice in four games, and she's fared well, hitting almost .300.
"The fact that she's a great athlete, so aggressive, takes a little pressure off," Crutchfield said. "She's not waiting to be coached. She plays the game a little bit."
At an early practice, during bunt defense drills, she made a couple mistakes. Not waiting for someone else to take the lead, she kept saying, "Another one. Another one."
The hearing aids help Gulvas hear, but they also confuse the desired goal. During basketball practices, she could hear players, coaches and people walking through the gym. She just didn't know who said what.
"It's hard to differentiate who's saying what," Gulvas said. "I'm more visual. I grew up watching everyone."
On Tuesday, the Bulldogs got out of the jam Martinez and Gulvas were discussing, and won their second game 2-0.
But for Crutchfield, Gulvas has made an impact bigger than just boosting a team's win totals.
"Kara teaches us all that if you want something bad enough there's a way to overcome it," he said. "Hard work can overcome any obstacle."
