Miss-Delectable
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Las Vegas Now | Deaf Las Vegas Football Player Overcomes the Odds
The sights and sounds of high school football are unlike anything else, but Adam Findlayson doesn't get to experience a Friday night like the rest of us.
Adam's parents were concerned about his hearing when his speech didn't develop as quickly as the other children's. Turned out, they were not over-reacting.
Adam remembers every detail of the best play he's ever made on a football field, "I got an interception last year and scored a touchdown. It was really exciting."
He will cherish that image forever, because images are all Adam has, "I am completely deaf. I can't even hear a thing."
Yet he laces it up every Friday night for Faith Lutheran -- his eyes function as his ears.
"It's relaxing. It's actually forced me to focus more, without sounds. For example, on field goal plays, I have to look at the ball and when the ball is snapped, that's when I go," he said.
Jake Kothe is Faith Lutheran's head coach. Don't ask him if he's surprised by anything Adam does. He's been seeing it on and off the field since Adam was in sixth grade -- long before he was reading the lips of opposing quarterbacks.
"He's an inspiration to not only his peers and teammates, but to the coaching staff. To not only come out and work hard and not let that be an excuse," he said.
Or as one assistant coach said, "Who cares if he can't hear? He can play," just not with his hearing aid. Adam's cochlear implant is too bulky to wear under a helmet. The device serves him well everywhere else, but out there.
Findlayson will never know the sounds of Friday night, "I never got a chance to hear other players yelling or the cheerleaders screaming or the fans scream."
If there's a silver lining to be found in that, Adam's eyes have spotted it, "I'm pretty lucky to be born deaf than blind, cause I wouldn't do any of this."
Adam has plans to play in the NFL. Short of that, he would like to play college ball at a big school from a major conference.
The sights and sounds of high school football are unlike anything else, but Adam Findlayson doesn't get to experience a Friday night like the rest of us.
Adam's parents were concerned about his hearing when his speech didn't develop as quickly as the other children's. Turned out, they were not over-reacting.
Adam remembers every detail of the best play he's ever made on a football field, "I got an interception last year and scored a touchdown. It was really exciting."
He will cherish that image forever, because images are all Adam has, "I am completely deaf. I can't even hear a thing."
Yet he laces it up every Friday night for Faith Lutheran -- his eyes function as his ears.
"It's relaxing. It's actually forced me to focus more, without sounds. For example, on field goal plays, I have to look at the ball and when the ball is snapped, that's when I go," he said.
Jake Kothe is Faith Lutheran's head coach. Don't ask him if he's surprised by anything Adam does. He's been seeing it on and off the field since Adam was in sixth grade -- long before he was reading the lips of opposing quarterbacks.
"He's an inspiration to not only his peers and teammates, but to the coaching staff. To not only come out and work hard and not let that be an excuse," he said.
Or as one assistant coach said, "Who cares if he can't hear? He can play," just not with his hearing aid. Adam's cochlear implant is too bulky to wear under a helmet. The device serves him well everywhere else, but out there.
Findlayson will never know the sounds of Friday night, "I never got a chance to hear other players yelling or the cheerleaders screaming or the fans scream."
If there's a silver lining to be found in that, Adam's eyes have spotted it, "I'm pretty lucky to be born deaf than blind, cause I wouldn't do any of this."
Adam has plans to play in the NFL. Short of that, he would like to play college ball at a big school from a major conference.