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Star Local News > Sports Update > Noise Maker: Hearing-impaired Wildcat uses baseball as outlet
As is the case with any sport, baseball involves a degree of communication, be it fielding signals from a coach or corresponding with teammates for a ball in play.
Those aspects are on display in every game with the team working in sync for the betterment of attaining victory.
And for every obstacle that encompasses baseball’s communication highway, those hurdles are being cleared and conquered every day by Vines sophomore Tyler Davis, who is fresh off his first stint with the Plano Senior junior varsity baseball team.
“It’s fun to play baseball because it doesn’t matter if you can hear or if you’re deaf,” Davis said through interpreter Sam Morgan. “You can still try your best to reach your goals. Any goal you set to accomplish by the end of the season can be achieved if you’re deaf or if you’re hearing.
“It doesn’t matter.”
It might be readily noticeably behind the 75-80 miles per hour that encompass one of Davis’ pitches and clang of the aluminum bat as he belts a base hit, but Davis is hard of hearing. He doesn’t wear any hearing aids on the field – those apparatuses are in play during school, though – and communicates either in sign language, through reading lips or with the aid of Morgan, who is with Davis at all times during baseball and helps during some classes, while different interpreters will aid in others.
At home, Davis is as jovial as can be.
“He’s a jokester,” said Jemma Jacobs, Tyler’s mother. “For some people, it takes a while to see his personality, but he is very funny; he loves to dance and he’s just very jokey at the house … He’s just like the rest of my kids.”
Davis will watch TV with the sound off, but uses earphones to feel the beat of music. Sound-wise, Davis said he can hear mostly loud noises, from an airplane soaring to the whirring of a helicopter.
That wasn’t always the case though, as for the first year of his life, Davis’ speech developed at the same pace as any other child.
But at about 15-16 months old, Davis came down with a fever and what Jacobs described as an “undiagnosed virus.”
“[Davis] had a really high fever of about 104-105 for several days straight,” Jacobs said. “He was in the hospital for about a week and that’s where they think it began; that the fever burned those nerves that are in your ear and transport sounds to your brain.”
Davis’ speech stopped developing as a result. Despite her initial concern, Jacobs was reassured by doctors that Davis could still hear fine after having tests run on him. It wasn’t until a trip to a neurologist confirmed that Davis was deaf and had been lip reading to compensate.
“I was really devastated at first because I thought that he was going to have a lot of struggles ahead of him,” Jacobs said, “but it’s actually been quite the opposite.”
Finding his calling
Growing up in the 600-person confines of Pickton, Texas, and raised by Jacobs and his grandfather Joe Murray, to an extent, Davis took the rout of any upstart child and was enrolled in sports at the earliest moment possible.
Starting baseball at 5 years old, it didn’t take long for Jacobs to see her son had found an outlet.
“When he was playing, it’s like his face just lit up,” she said. “He wasn’t doing it because he felt he was good at it; it was that he was having so much fun. Ever since he was five, that’s all he’s wanted to ever since. He watches it all the time and plays all the video games; he loves the game and anything that has to do with it.”
Jacobs said Davis’ birth father hasn’t been involved much in Tyler’s life since he was roughly a year old. Without the services of a father figure, Davis relied on the tutelage of his coaches, who would spend time with him while he read their lips.
“They spent time with me one-on-one and showed me how to bat, how to pitch and how to field,” Davis said. “They made me feel like I was comfortable and if I didn’t understand, I could ask so they could explain it a different way so I could improve.”
Davis soaked in America’s pastime, but also sought to ply his craft in football, which he played in fifth through ninth grade in the consolidated school district of Como Pickton. Playing fullback and linebacker, Davis relied on lip-reading, noting that it was tough to understand plays at times and that the quarterback would have to remove his mouthpiece to make instructions easier to read.
In baseball, Davis showcased a powerful presence from the plate and developed a knack for pitching as well; never considering his inability to hear a hindrance.
Opportunity knocks
As is the case with any person, familiarity and comfortability can pay dividends.
Growing up in Pickton and immersing himself with friends, teammates and coaches, Davis said the awareness of being around the same people made the regular means of day-to-day communication easier.
“If you stay in one school for a long time and you’re with the same coaches,” he said, “it’s more familiar because they’re accustomed to the fact that I’m deaf and we find a way to communicate successfully. When you come to a new school, sometimes the coach notices that you’re deaf, but sometimes it’s harder to figure out the logistics of communicating back and forth.
“It takes time to get to know each other to communicate successfully, but the longer you’re together, the easier it becomes.”
Davis experienced that process firsthand last May when his family traded the small-town scene of Pickton for the budding populace of Frisco. Despite the scene change he endured, accommodations made the transition an amicable one for Davis.
“The transition was fairly easy because in school, it was nice to have an interpreter and new friends,” he said. “But sometimes it’s a challenge because when you meet new people, they don’t know how to communicate with you. They don’t know that people can communicate with you and for sports, it’s hard having to come in and try out.”
Having already held his own on the diamond in East Texas, Davis was given the chance to try out for the Wildcats.
It didn’t take long before the sophomore caught the eye of coaches and teammates.
“We were going through hitting drills in the cage,” said Rick Robertson, Plano varsity head coach. “We were just watching kids hit and listening to the ball hit the bat. Then all of a sudden, someone stepped in and the bat started hitting the ball.”
Davis was granted the chance to play for Plano’s junior varsity squad, where he served as a pitcher and designated hitter for the 2011 season.
Noted by Robertson for his competitive fire, Davis developed a solid breaking ball and changeup to the degree that he was granted the task of starting the Wildcats’ first district game of the season.
A matchup against Allen, Plano endured a 5-2 loss to start district play, but Davis believes the experience gained from the start was immeasurable for his confidence going forward.
“I was surprised that I was selected to start as the pitcher for our first district game,” he said. “I was happy and more focused for that game I really wanted to win so I could show people that yes, I’m deaf and it was obvious because I had an interpreter there, but they got to see that deaf players don’t have to be nervous; they can focus and play just as well as anyone else.”
Davis continued to be a regular cog in Plano’s ensemble, amassing six singles, one double, one triple and three RBIs from the plate during his inaugural run with the Wildcats. From the bump, Davis fanned 11 batters.
“I felt like my first season on JV worked out well because of my ability to communicate with my teammates,” Davis said. “And it was easier to improve because Plano is a great team to play for.”
Davis helped Plano and the program helped him.
“It’s been amazing the way that with baseball, it’s like a family for him,” Jacobs said. “The guys on the team just kind of pulled [Davis] in and made him feel like everyone else. I’m just amazed by him when I watch him play and interact with people; he has been the biggest blessing in my life.”
During games, Davis has the aid of Morgan to help facilitate, with the interpreter standing on the edge of the dugout to help communicate if need be.
“Any information that’s available to other players audibly,” Morgan said, “I make so it’s available to [Davis] visually. I stand wherever he can see me.”
While on the bump, Davis’ awareness and use of his eyes is upped significantly, paying heed to any base-runners and noting the signals issued by his catcher. If the coach’s instructions entail something specific, Davis defers to Morgan.
The Future
Now entering the grind of the offseason, Davis sets his sights on improvement with a chance at making Plano’s varsity squad available over the next two years.
“It would feel like a bigger challenge and I would be even more surprised to be selected for varsity,” Davis said. “That’s definitely a new level from where I am right now.”
Jacobs said she hoped the exposure available in a city like Plano would be carry Davis’ love for the game on for years, whether it’s by playing in college or even serving in a coaching capacity. But for whatever challenges may arise to that point, Davis is as battle-tested as they come, living as an inspiration each day he steps on the diamond.
“[Davis] has never asked for anything,” Robertson said. “He just goes out there and works. He’s such a hard worker and does a great job of communicating. We’ve been really pleased to have him. He’s such an inspiration to all of us for just how lucky we are and we feel fortunate to have him out there. He definitely pulls his weight with this team.”
“There are not words that can describe how proud I am of him,” Jacobs added. “He’s one of the most respectful children I’ve ever been around and I’ve really been blessed with him.
“A parent is supposed to teach their child, but I’ve learned so much from Tyler.”
As is the case with any sport, baseball involves a degree of communication, be it fielding signals from a coach or corresponding with teammates for a ball in play.
Those aspects are on display in every game with the team working in sync for the betterment of attaining victory.
And for every obstacle that encompasses baseball’s communication highway, those hurdles are being cleared and conquered every day by Vines sophomore Tyler Davis, who is fresh off his first stint with the Plano Senior junior varsity baseball team.
“It’s fun to play baseball because it doesn’t matter if you can hear or if you’re deaf,” Davis said through interpreter Sam Morgan. “You can still try your best to reach your goals. Any goal you set to accomplish by the end of the season can be achieved if you’re deaf or if you’re hearing.
“It doesn’t matter.”
It might be readily noticeably behind the 75-80 miles per hour that encompass one of Davis’ pitches and clang of the aluminum bat as he belts a base hit, but Davis is hard of hearing. He doesn’t wear any hearing aids on the field – those apparatuses are in play during school, though – and communicates either in sign language, through reading lips or with the aid of Morgan, who is with Davis at all times during baseball and helps during some classes, while different interpreters will aid in others.
At home, Davis is as jovial as can be.
“He’s a jokester,” said Jemma Jacobs, Tyler’s mother. “For some people, it takes a while to see his personality, but he is very funny; he loves to dance and he’s just very jokey at the house … He’s just like the rest of my kids.”
Davis will watch TV with the sound off, but uses earphones to feel the beat of music. Sound-wise, Davis said he can hear mostly loud noises, from an airplane soaring to the whirring of a helicopter.
That wasn’t always the case though, as for the first year of his life, Davis’ speech developed at the same pace as any other child.
But at about 15-16 months old, Davis came down with a fever and what Jacobs described as an “undiagnosed virus.”
“[Davis] had a really high fever of about 104-105 for several days straight,” Jacobs said. “He was in the hospital for about a week and that’s where they think it began; that the fever burned those nerves that are in your ear and transport sounds to your brain.”
Davis’ speech stopped developing as a result. Despite her initial concern, Jacobs was reassured by doctors that Davis could still hear fine after having tests run on him. It wasn’t until a trip to a neurologist confirmed that Davis was deaf and had been lip reading to compensate.
“I was really devastated at first because I thought that he was going to have a lot of struggles ahead of him,” Jacobs said, “but it’s actually been quite the opposite.”
Finding his calling
Growing up in the 600-person confines of Pickton, Texas, and raised by Jacobs and his grandfather Joe Murray, to an extent, Davis took the rout of any upstart child and was enrolled in sports at the earliest moment possible.
Starting baseball at 5 years old, it didn’t take long for Jacobs to see her son had found an outlet.
“When he was playing, it’s like his face just lit up,” she said. “He wasn’t doing it because he felt he was good at it; it was that he was having so much fun. Ever since he was five, that’s all he’s wanted to ever since. He watches it all the time and plays all the video games; he loves the game and anything that has to do with it.”
Jacobs said Davis’ birth father hasn’t been involved much in Tyler’s life since he was roughly a year old. Without the services of a father figure, Davis relied on the tutelage of his coaches, who would spend time with him while he read their lips.
“They spent time with me one-on-one and showed me how to bat, how to pitch and how to field,” Davis said. “They made me feel like I was comfortable and if I didn’t understand, I could ask so they could explain it a different way so I could improve.”
Davis soaked in America’s pastime, but also sought to ply his craft in football, which he played in fifth through ninth grade in the consolidated school district of Como Pickton. Playing fullback and linebacker, Davis relied on lip-reading, noting that it was tough to understand plays at times and that the quarterback would have to remove his mouthpiece to make instructions easier to read.
In baseball, Davis showcased a powerful presence from the plate and developed a knack for pitching as well; never considering his inability to hear a hindrance.
Opportunity knocks
As is the case with any person, familiarity and comfortability can pay dividends.
Growing up in Pickton and immersing himself with friends, teammates and coaches, Davis said the awareness of being around the same people made the regular means of day-to-day communication easier.
“If you stay in one school for a long time and you’re with the same coaches,” he said, “it’s more familiar because they’re accustomed to the fact that I’m deaf and we find a way to communicate successfully. When you come to a new school, sometimes the coach notices that you’re deaf, but sometimes it’s harder to figure out the logistics of communicating back and forth.
“It takes time to get to know each other to communicate successfully, but the longer you’re together, the easier it becomes.”
Davis experienced that process firsthand last May when his family traded the small-town scene of Pickton for the budding populace of Frisco. Despite the scene change he endured, accommodations made the transition an amicable one for Davis.
“The transition was fairly easy because in school, it was nice to have an interpreter and new friends,” he said. “But sometimes it’s a challenge because when you meet new people, they don’t know how to communicate with you. They don’t know that people can communicate with you and for sports, it’s hard having to come in and try out.”
Having already held his own on the diamond in East Texas, Davis was given the chance to try out for the Wildcats.
It didn’t take long before the sophomore caught the eye of coaches and teammates.
“We were going through hitting drills in the cage,” said Rick Robertson, Plano varsity head coach. “We were just watching kids hit and listening to the ball hit the bat. Then all of a sudden, someone stepped in and the bat started hitting the ball.”
Davis was granted the chance to play for Plano’s junior varsity squad, where he served as a pitcher and designated hitter for the 2011 season.
Noted by Robertson for his competitive fire, Davis developed a solid breaking ball and changeup to the degree that he was granted the task of starting the Wildcats’ first district game of the season.
A matchup against Allen, Plano endured a 5-2 loss to start district play, but Davis believes the experience gained from the start was immeasurable for his confidence going forward.
“I was surprised that I was selected to start as the pitcher for our first district game,” he said. “I was happy and more focused for that game I really wanted to win so I could show people that yes, I’m deaf and it was obvious because I had an interpreter there, but they got to see that deaf players don’t have to be nervous; they can focus and play just as well as anyone else.”
Davis continued to be a regular cog in Plano’s ensemble, amassing six singles, one double, one triple and three RBIs from the plate during his inaugural run with the Wildcats. From the bump, Davis fanned 11 batters.
“I felt like my first season on JV worked out well because of my ability to communicate with my teammates,” Davis said. “And it was easier to improve because Plano is a great team to play for.”
Davis helped Plano and the program helped him.
“It’s been amazing the way that with baseball, it’s like a family for him,” Jacobs said. “The guys on the team just kind of pulled [Davis] in and made him feel like everyone else. I’m just amazed by him when I watch him play and interact with people; he has been the biggest blessing in my life.”
During games, Davis has the aid of Morgan to help facilitate, with the interpreter standing on the edge of the dugout to help communicate if need be.
“Any information that’s available to other players audibly,” Morgan said, “I make so it’s available to [Davis] visually. I stand wherever he can see me.”
While on the bump, Davis’ awareness and use of his eyes is upped significantly, paying heed to any base-runners and noting the signals issued by his catcher. If the coach’s instructions entail something specific, Davis defers to Morgan.
The Future
Now entering the grind of the offseason, Davis sets his sights on improvement with a chance at making Plano’s varsity squad available over the next two years.
“It would feel like a bigger challenge and I would be even more surprised to be selected for varsity,” Davis said. “That’s definitely a new level from where I am right now.”
Jacobs said she hoped the exposure available in a city like Plano would be carry Davis’ love for the game on for years, whether it’s by playing in college or even serving in a coaching capacity. But for whatever challenges may arise to that point, Davis is as battle-tested as they come, living as an inspiration each day he steps on the diamond.
“[Davis] has never asked for anything,” Robertson said. “He just goes out there and works. He’s such a hard worker and does a great job of communicating. We’ve been really pleased to have him. He’s such an inspiration to all of us for just how lucky we are and we feel fortunate to have him out there. He definitely pulls his weight with this team.”
“There are not words that can describe how proud I am of him,” Jacobs added. “He’s one of the most respectful children I’ve ever been around and I’ve really been blessed with him.
“A parent is supposed to teach their child, but I’ve learned so much from Tyler.”