Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,160
- Reaction score
- 7
Estep headed to Pan Am Sports Games for the Deaf » Sports » The Montgomery Herald, Montgomery, W.Va.
Joe Estep has achieved a long-held dream and is on the cusp of taking that dream one step further.
The former Valley High School basketball player (1997-2001) has earned a spot on USA Deaf Basketball men’s national team headed to the fifth Pan American Sports Games for the Deaf in Uberlandia, Brazil Nov. 19-27.
“I am very excited,” Estep said recently about his inclusion on the national team. “It has been a goal of mine for many years.
“I first learned about the Deaflympics, Deaf World Games and so on while I was playing for Gallaudet University (2001-2003). Ever since learning about it, it’s been one of my goals to wear the uniform at least once in my life.
“I went to Washington, D.C. in 2008 to try out for the Deaflympics that were to be held in China in 2009. The very first day of tryouts, I dislocated my shoulder. I played through the pain the rest of the weekend but it wasn’t enough to make the team. That was the first time I had ever been cut from a team in my entire life and it really ate away at me the past three years. So to finally make the team, not only was I excited but I was just truly relieved that I had finally accomplished my goal after all these years.”
“When I was seven years old, I had an ear infection and then got chicken pox at the same time. Somehow, it damaged my ears,” Estep recalls. “We didn’t even know it at first. My mom first realized something was wrong when I kept asking her to repeat things. Over the years, it steadily declined.”
He remains only partially deaf. “I can speak and hear somewhat in person, but I depend greatly on ASL (American Sign Language) these days,” Estep said. “When I first went to Gallaudet University, where I attended college for four years, I didn’t have much interest in learning the ASL. I mostly hung out with other hard of hearing kids and communicated verbally.
“I guess the big thing that changed everything for me was when I moved to Illinois where my wife’s family is. They are completely deaf and use ASL all the time. After living out here around them and working at Illinois School for the Deaf, it has really helped me pick things up. I now use ASL everyday to communicate.”
“In high school, Joby Groom and Benny Hopkins helped me to really begin learning how to play the game but I just wasn’t there yet skill-wise,” Estep said, referring to his high school days. “I owe a lot to John McGinnis. If it wasn’t for his help in the weight room, I’d never been able to stand my ground in the paint against the bigger competition I faced after leaving high school. The strength and toughness he helped me develop during those years has benefited me greatly.
“In fact, it was Coach McGinnis that mentioned to me that I could probably play college ball for Gallaudet (a Washington, DC-based university for the deaf and hard of hearing). It had never crossed my mind before.”
He faced some communication barriers in his high school years.
“In the early years, it was difficult but I had great teammates at Valley that helped me on the court so I would almost always know what’s going on. Someone would usually let the refs know that I was hearing impaired prior to the game. I didn’t think much of it back then because I thought that was the best it could get for me,” he said.
“Then at Gallaudet, we used signs for every single play. It was so much easier not having to ask someone for help and instantly being able to know exactly what to do. I no longer had to worry about getting lost in plays and could just focus on playing the game.”
The 6-foot-2 Estep plays power forward and center for his current team, the Austin Deaf Toros. He was a member of the 2009 United States of America Deaf Basketball national champions, the Indy Hawks.
“That (his size) was one of the other challenges at making the team,” he said. “Most guys at these positions for USA are usually 6-6 or taller. In fact, the other three post players that we have on the team right now are all 6-6 to 6-9. So I’m pretty short compared to them.”
He played for two years under James DeStefano in the Capital Athletic Conference at the NCAA Division III level. “(That) helped my knowledge of the game tremendously. We played in (a competitive conference) that produced the 2001 national champions, Catholic University. However, I lacked the confidence that I needed. After leaving the team, I began playing in the USADB and other city leagues for the Maryland Deaf Club. Since then, I’ve played in the USADB for eight years and over those years I found the confidence that I had been lacking.”
Estep, 28, and his wife, Jennifer, live in Jacksonville, Ill. with their two sons, Joey and Jase.
He is the son of Shannon and Pam Estep of Kimberly. His father is fire chief for the Armstrong Creek Fire Department. “I appreciate them both more than they will ever know. Without them, I would have never had the opportunities in life that I have had.”
His grandparents are Harold and Pansy Estep of Kimberly and Jean Hundley of Hughes Creek.
Estep and his fellow players must raise funds to pay for the cost of airfare and board for their November trip. USADB is a non-profit organization and has 501 (c) (3) status.
Those wishing to make a tax-deductible contribution to support him should make their check payable to: USADB - International and send the donation, with Estep’s name attached, to: David Hamilton, 9434 Newbridge Dr., Riverside, CA 92508
Joe Estep has achieved a long-held dream and is on the cusp of taking that dream one step further.
The former Valley High School basketball player (1997-2001) has earned a spot on USA Deaf Basketball men’s national team headed to the fifth Pan American Sports Games for the Deaf in Uberlandia, Brazil Nov. 19-27.
“I am very excited,” Estep said recently about his inclusion on the national team. “It has been a goal of mine for many years.
“I first learned about the Deaflympics, Deaf World Games and so on while I was playing for Gallaudet University (2001-2003). Ever since learning about it, it’s been one of my goals to wear the uniform at least once in my life.
“I went to Washington, D.C. in 2008 to try out for the Deaflympics that were to be held in China in 2009. The very first day of tryouts, I dislocated my shoulder. I played through the pain the rest of the weekend but it wasn’t enough to make the team. That was the first time I had ever been cut from a team in my entire life and it really ate away at me the past three years. So to finally make the team, not only was I excited but I was just truly relieved that I had finally accomplished my goal after all these years.”
“When I was seven years old, I had an ear infection and then got chicken pox at the same time. Somehow, it damaged my ears,” Estep recalls. “We didn’t even know it at first. My mom first realized something was wrong when I kept asking her to repeat things. Over the years, it steadily declined.”
He remains only partially deaf. “I can speak and hear somewhat in person, but I depend greatly on ASL (American Sign Language) these days,” Estep said. “When I first went to Gallaudet University, where I attended college for four years, I didn’t have much interest in learning the ASL. I mostly hung out with other hard of hearing kids and communicated verbally.
“I guess the big thing that changed everything for me was when I moved to Illinois where my wife’s family is. They are completely deaf and use ASL all the time. After living out here around them and working at Illinois School for the Deaf, it has really helped me pick things up. I now use ASL everyday to communicate.”
“In high school, Joby Groom and Benny Hopkins helped me to really begin learning how to play the game but I just wasn’t there yet skill-wise,” Estep said, referring to his high school days. “I owe a lot to John McGinnis. If it wasn’t for his help in the weight room, I’d never been able to stand my ground in the paint against the bigger competition I faced after leaving high school. The strength and toughness he helped me develop during those years has benefited me greatly.
“In fact, it was Coach McGinnis that mentioned to me that I could probably play college ball for Gallaudet (a Washington, DC-based university for the deaf and hard of hearing). It had never crossed my mind before.”
He faced some communication barriers in his high school years.
“In the early years, it was difficult but I had great teammates at Valley that helped me on the court so I would almost always know what’s going on. Someone would usually let the refs know that I was hearing impaired prior to the game. I didn’t think much of it back then because I thought that was the best it could get for me,” he said.
“Then at Gallaudet, we used signs for every single play. It was so much easier not having to ask someone for help and instantly being able to know exactly what to do. I no longer had to worry about getting lost in plays and could just focus on playing the game.”
The 6-foot-2 Estep plays power forward and center for his current team, the Austin Deaf Toros. He was a member of the 2009 United States of America Deaf Basketball national champions, the Indy Hawks.
“That (his size) was one of the other challenges at making the team,” he said. “Most guys at these positions for USA are usually 6-6 or taller. In fact, the other three post players that we have on the team right now are all 6-6 to 6-9. So I’m pretty short compared to them.”
He played for two years under James DeStefano in the Capital Athletic Conference at the NCAA Division III level. “(That) helped my knowledge of the game tremendously. We played in (a competitive conference) that produced the 2001 national champions, Catholic University. However, I lacked the confidence that I needed. After leaving the team, I began playing in the USADB and other city leagues for the Maryland Deaf Club. Since then, I’ve played in the USADB for eight years and over those years I found the confidence that I had been lacking.”
Estep, 28, and his wife, Jennifer, live in Jacksonville, Ill. with their two sons, Joey and Jase.
He is the son of Shannon and Pam Estep of Kimberly. His father is fire chief for the Armstrong Creek Fire Department. “I appreciate them both more than they will ever know. Without them, I would have never had the opportunities in life that I have had.”
His grandparents are Harold and Pansy Estep of Kimberly and Jean Hundley of Hughes Creek.
Estep and his fellow players must raise funds to pay for the cost of airfare and board for their November trip. USADB is a non-profit organization and has 501 (c) (3) status.
Those wishing to make a tax-deductible contribution to support him should make their check payable to: USADB - International and send the donation, with Estep’s name attached, to: David Hamilton, 9434 Newbridge Dr., Riverside, CA 92508