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Highlands Pierce brushes obstacles aside | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/16/2010
Pierce Phillips is a junior at Highland who is enjoying an extremely busy winter. Along with being inducted into the National Honor Society, he has been playing ice hockey for Gloucester Township Hockey Association and is in the batting cage, getting prepared for the coming baseball season. An all-around athlete, he is also a black belt in karate.
Next week, he will also be attending the Highland junior prom.
Phillips is living the typical life of an active teenage with but with one difference - he is deaf.
While no one should downplay the potential difficulties that someone in Phillips' position faces, what should not be overlooked has been how Pierce and his family have been able to overcome any obstacles that have come their way.
And make no mistake, this has been a total dedicated family effort.
His immediate family includes his father, Steve, mother, Patty, and 9-year-old sister, Kelly.
Pierce's parents suspected within the first few months after he was born that there was a hearing disability. When he was a year old, tests revealed that he was deaf.
Patty Phillips quit her job as an office manager, went back to school to learn sign language, became certified, and now works as an interpreter.
Steve Phillips, self-employed as a general contractor, also learned how to sign. The family became so proficient at signing that Kelly knew sign language before she could talk.
While Steve Phillips does well in sign language, he's no match for his wife. Patty Phillips is to sign language what Peyton Manning is to playing quarterback.
"When we found out that Pierce was deaf, we just wanted to do all we could to help him," Patty said. "I think it's something any parent would do."
Well, not any parent.
Steve Phillips concedes that he and his wife have come across families of a deaf child where one or sometimes both parents fail to learn sign language.
"I've seen it, and it's sad," Steve Phillips said.
Pierce Phillips stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 170 pounds. He is an athlete with tremendous potential. Pierce likes playing hockey, but loves baseball.
"I hope to play baseball in college," Pierce said while sitting with the family in their Gloucester Township home last week.
Although he is more comfortable signing and is assisted by a sign interpreter in school and during some sports activities, Pierce also engages in conversation.
He was brought up to the varsity baseball team partway through last season and saw action as a second baseman and a pitcher.
"Pierce's baseball skills and baseball savvy are second to none," Highland coach D.J. Gore said. "Plus, you won't find a better kid."
During the summer, he played for Gloucester Township American Legion and ended up starting at third base. He was a 16-year-old in a league of 19-and-under players and more than held his own.
"There is a sixth sense that he understands you better than you think," said his American Legion coach, Bruno Catrambone. "Coaching him was one of the most rewarding situations I ever dealt with, and I have been coaching over 20 years."
Both Gore and Catrambone said that Pierce has the ability to play in college, and that is his goal.
His parents said they would look for a college that can accommodate his situation.
At Highland, he is assigned an interpreter, Jeanette Walden, who attends classes with him and has been with Pierce since the sixth grade. Walden and another interpreter split the duties of attending his baseball practices. During the summer, when there is no interpreter, his parents perform sign-language duties at his American Legion games.
"He has always been very bright and he has a witty sense of humor," Walden said. "As people get to know him, he is a person you can't help not to love because he is very outgoing in his own way."
What has helped is the positive environment at Highland.
"The demeanor of the whole school has been very welcoming," Walden said. "Everybody I come in contact with is very willing to see what we need to be successful."
Again, Pierce is like most other youngsters. He's a big football fan.
"I like the Eagles," he said.
His mother is a Cowboys fan, probably the only sore subject in the family.
Even in a sport such as hockey, Pierce has been able to prosper and can often sense when the official has made a call.
"He kind of goes with the flow and watches what is going on," said Andy Trapani, former president of the Gloucester Township Hockey Association and a referee. "He has never had a problem with offsides."
Pierce hasn't had many problems with anything, despite the obstacles. He seems embarrassed at the attention and doesn't think what he does is a big deal.
It's simply a way of life to him.
And an inspiration to the rest of us.
Pierce Phillips is a junior at Highland who is enjoying an extremely busy winter. Along with being inducted into the National Honor Society, he has been playing ice hockey for Gloucester Township Hockey Association and is in the batting cage, getting prepared for the coming baseball season. An all-around athlete, he is also a black belt in karate.
Next week, he will also be attending the Highland junior prom.
Phillips is living the typical life of an active teenage with but with one difference - he is deaf.
While no one should downplay the potential difficulties that someone in Phillips' position faces, what should not be overlooked has been how Pierce and his family have been able to overcome any obstacles that have come their way.
And make no mistake, this has been a total dedicated family effort.
His immediate family includes his father, Steve, mother, Patty, and 9-year-old sister, Kelly.
Pierce's parents suspected within the first few months after he was born that there was a hearing disability. When he was a year old, tests revealed that he was deaf.
Patty Phillips quit her job as an office manager, went back to school to learn sign language, became certified, and now works as an interpreter.
Steve Phillips, self-employed as a general contractor, also learned how to sign. The family became so proficient at signing that Kelly knew sign language before she could talk.
While Steve Phillips does well in sign language, he's no match for his wife. Patty Phillips is to sign language what Peyton Manning is to playing quarterback.
"When we found out that Pierce was deaf, we just wanted to do all we could to help him," Patty said. "I think it's something any parent would do."
Well, not any parent.
Steve Phillips concedes that he and his wife have come across families of a deaf child where one or sometimes both parents fail to learn sign language.
"I've seen it, and it's sad," Steve Phillips said.
Pierce Phillips stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 170 pounds. He is an athlete with tremendous potential. Pierce likes playing hockey, but loves baseball.
"I hope to play baseball in college," Pierce said while sitting with the family in their Gloucester Township home last week.
Although he is more comfortable signing and is assisted by a sign interpreter in school and during some sports activities, Pierce also engages in conversation.
He was brought up to the varsity baseball team partway through last season and saw action as a second baseman and a pitcher.
"Pierce's baseball skills and baseball savvy are second to none," Highland coach D.J. Gore said. "Plus, you won't find a better kid."
During the summer, he played for Gloucester Township American Legion and ended up starting at third base. He was a 16-year-old in a league of 19-and-under players and more than held his own.
"There is a sixth sense that he understands you better than you think," said his American Legion coach, Bruno Catrambone. "Coaching him was one of the most rewarding situations I ever dealt with, and I have been coaching over 20 years."
Both Gore and Catrambone said that Pierce has the ability to play in college, and that is his goal.
His parents said they would look for a college that can accommodate his situation.
At Highland, he is assigned an interpreter, Jeanette Walden, who attends classes with him and has been with Pierce since the sixth grade. Walden and another interpreter split the duties of attending his baseball practices. During the summer, when there is no interpreter, his parents perform sign-language duties at his American Legion games.
"He has always been very bright and he has a witty sense of humor," Walden said. "As people get to know him, he is a person you can't help not to love because he is very outgoing in his own way."
What has helped is the positive environment at Highland.
"The demeanor of the whole school has been very welcoming," Walden said. "Everybody I come in contact with is very willing to see what we need to be successful."
Again, Pierce is like most other youngsters. He's a big football fan.
"I like the Eagles," he said.
His mother is a Cowboys fan, probably the only sore subject in the family.
Even in a sport such as hockey, Pierce has been able to prosper and can often sense when the official has made a call.
"He kind of goes with the flow and watches what is going on," said Andy Trapani, former president of the Gloucester Township Hockey Association and a referee. "He has never had a problem with offsides."
Pierce hasn't had many problems with anything, despite the obstacles. He seems embarrassed at the attention and doesn't think what he does is a big deal.
It's simply a way of life to him.
And an inspiration to the rest of us.