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Deaf Kennesaw Mountain DT makes 1st start | ajc.com
Scotty Frieman couldn’t hear the cheers from the crowd or the sounds of helmet and pads Friday night.
But he could feel them in his heart.
Or perhaps those were butterflies inside a player who has been deaf since birth, now a senior making his first start in a varsity football game.
Frieman, 5 feet 9, 245 pounds, played defensive tackle for Kennesaw Mountain Friday night against Cherokee in Canton.
“I am really excited,” Frieman said before the game through a school interpreter. “This game is going to be so amazing. I’ve been waiting for this for four years, and I’m finally going to start.”
It’s not known if another deaf player is playing, let alone starting, in the Georgia High School Association. But historically, it’s rare to find hard-of-hearing players at higher levels of the game.
Only two have made the NFL. Kenny Walker in the 1990s and Bonnie Sloan in the 1970s had brief careers.
Both were defensive linemen like Frieman, who says playing offense is more difficult because of the need to hear the quarterback’s signals and audibles.
Frieman has an interpreter on the sidelines in games and even closer during practices. When Kennesaw Mountain’s defense huddled during a timeout Friday night, Julie Shackleford was in the middle of it, interpreting for Frieman with the same animation and passion as the coach.
Frieman wears an armband with the defensive plays numbered. His position coach, Zach Reed, might touch his nose to let Frieman know to shift to noseguard and make a “T” shape for him to line up at tackle.
Frieman has never jumped offsides. That’s because he’s going on the snap of the ball, not the quarterback count.
Frieman got the start partly because Cherokee runs an option offense, and Frieman’s job was to guard against the dive — the handoff to the fullback up the middle.
“It’s assignment football; this is right up his alley,” Reed said. “He’s prepared for it. He has bided his time. If he plays smart, he can get the job done.”
According to Shackleford, Frieman is one of 25 hard-of-hearing students at Kennesaw Mountain, one of two Cobb County schools with programs for the deaf. Lassiter is the other.
One of Kennesaw Mountain’s football team managers, Eshajn Petersen, also is hard-of-hearing, as is band member Luis Gutierrez.
Frieman also is a member of Kennesaw Mountain’s wrestling team, a heavyweight.
Kennesaw Mountain is one of the few schools in Georgia to offer a course in American sign language.
“Because of that, we have a lot of hearing people wanting to hang out and communicate with the deaf in the school,” Shackleford said. “It’s not that way everywhere because of a shortage of ASL teachers.”
One of Frieman’s teammates, Jordan McCue, made Frieman the subject of an Eagle Scout project. He’s producing a DVD that’s almost complete.
“What I’ve learned from him is there’s no difference between him and someone who hears; it’s just a language barrier,” McCue said. “It’s just like a Spanish person coming here and not knowing English.”
But teammates and coaches quickly began to see Frieman as a player, one noted for his determination.
“He gets in the trenches and fights is what he does,” said head coach Scott Jones. “If you didn’t know any better and stood back and watched and focused on that kid on the field, you wouldn’t know that he’s deaf. He gets in there tooth-and-nail.”
Reed says Frieman is a inspiration.
“It has had a great impact on the team because the players have had to learn how this kid had to overcome something,” Reed said. “It wasn’t a big deal to him, so it ain’t no big deal to us, then.”
Frieman just hopes his story makes people take notice.
“People need to know that deaf people can play football and how we do it,” he said. “If you’re going to compare it to the hearing player, it’s a completely different experience. I’ve been playing since I was 6, and I’ve always been in love with it. And I’ve never given up.”
Scotty Frieman couldn’t hear the cheers from the crowd or the sounds of helmet and pads Friday night.
But he could feel them in his heart.
Or perhaps those were butterflies inside a player who has been deaf since birth, now a senior making his first start in a varsity football game.
Frieman, 5 feet 9, 245 pounds, played defensive tackle for Kennesaw Mountain Friday night against Cherokee in Canton.
“I am really excited,” Frieman said before the game through a school interpreter. “This game is going to be so amazing. I’ve been waiting for this for four years, and I’m finally going to start.”
It’s not known if another deaf player is playing, let alone starting, in the Georgia High School Association. But historically, it’s rare to find hard-of-hearing players at higher levels of the game.
Only two have made the NFL. Kenny Walker in the 1990s and Bonnie Sloan in the 1970s had brief careers.
Both were defensive linemen like Frieman, who says playing offense is more difficult because of the need to hear the quarterback’s signals and audibles.
Frieman has an interpreter on the sidelines in games and even closer during practices. When Kennesaw Mountain’s defense huddled during a timeout Friday night, Julie Shackleford was in the middle of it, interpreting for Frieman with the same animation and passion as the coach.
Frieman wears an armband with the defensive plays numbered. His position coach, Zach Reed, might touch his nose to let Frieman know to shift to noseguard and make a “T” shape for him to line up at tackle.
Frieman has never jumped offsides. That’s because he’s going on the snap of the ball, not the quarterback count.
Frieman got the start partly because Cherokee runs an option offense, and Frieman’s job was to guard against the dive — the handoff to the fullback up the middle.
“It’s assignment football; this is right up his alley,” Reed said. “He’s prepared for it. He has bided his time. If he plays smart, he can get the job done.”
According to Shackleford, Frieman is one of 25 hard-of-hearing students at Kennesaw Mountain, one of two Cobb County schools with programs for the deaf. Lassiter is the other.
One of Kennesaw Mountain’s football team managers, Eshajn Petersen, also is hard-of-hearing, as is band member Luis Gutierrez.
Frieman also is a member of Kennesaw Mountain’s wrestling team, a heavyweight.
Kennesaw Mountain is one of the few schools in Georgia to offer a course in American sign language.
“Because of that, we have a lot of hearing people wanting to hang out and communicate with the deaf in the school,” Shackleford said. “It’s not that way everywhere because of a shortage of ASL teachers.”
One of Frieman’s teammates, Jordan McCue, made Frieman the subject of an Eagle Scout project. He’s producing a DVD that’s almost complete.
“What I’ve learned from him is there’s no difference between him and someone who hears; it’s just a language barrier,” McCue said. “It’s just like a Spanish person coming here and not knowing English.”
But teammates and coaches quickly began to see Frieman as a player, one noted for his determination.
“He gets in the trenches and fights is what he does,” said head coach Scott Jones. “If you didn’t know any better and stood back and watched and focused on that kid on the field, you wouldn’t know that he’s deaf. He gets in there tooth-and-nail.”
Reed says Frieman is a inspiration.
“It has had a great impact on the team because the players have had to learn how this kid had to overcome something,” Reed said. “It wasn’t a big deal to him, so it ain’t no big deal to us, then.”
Frieman just hopes his story makes people take notice.
“People need to know that deaf people can play football and how we do it,” he said. “If you’re going to compare it to the hearing player, it’s a completely different experience. I’ve been playing since I was 6, and I’ve always been in love with it. And I’ve never given up.”
