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Mountain Empire Baptist Coach Goes Extra Mile for Two Deaf Players | TriCities
As he called for a break during a practice last week, Zach Wagner suggested and then gestured to his Mountain Empire Baptist School players that they should drink plenty of water.
Ten of Wagner’s players, the ones who could hear him, headed to the water fountain. The other two, half-brothers Kevin Booth and Shawn Carico, stared uncomprehendingly at Wagner for a moment and then began to laugh.
Soon, everyone else was laughing, too, and it became the standing joke for the remainder of practice.
Wagner, who is learning to communicate using American Sign Language because the half-brothers are deaf, had unwittingly gestured to Booth and Carico that they should drink plenty of beer.
Talk about a message being lost in translation!
“I thought I was doing the hand motion for water, but it was actually the hand motion for beer,” a grinning Wagner recalled. “Fortunately for me, those boys are both pretty forgiving, and we could all laugh about it.
“I’ve learned a lot in a short time, but it’s obvious I still have a lot to learn.”
That’s as good a mantra as any for this Mountain Empire team, because every day is a learning experience.
Wagner has a good-sized roster for a team at a small Christian school, but only two of his players have basketball experience. Booth, a junior, and Carico, an eighth-grader, are among those who’ve never played basketball before.
In some ways, that’s great, because the boys have no preconceived notions about the game, have no bad habits and are amenable to being coached. But Wagner acknowledges that having so many novice players tests both his patience and coaching ability, because, as often as he’d like to skip beyond the fundamentals, he cannot take anything for granted.
“The brothers are very brand new, but so are many of the other kids,” he said. “But [the brothers] are very open to learning the basics, and you can see it in the way they act.
“When we first started, every time they would take a shot and miss, they would look right at me. You could see it in their eyes: They want to learn. They were really open to being trained, and that is huge. It would not have worked out otherwise.”
A ministry for the deaf
Wagner, in his first year as school administrator, said he believes Mountain Empire is one of only two Christian schools in the country that offers a program for deaf students.
In its third year, the program has 12 students, ranging from a fourth-grader to Booth, the oldest. It is taught by Catherine Metcalf, who has been involved in deaf ministry since she was a teenager. The small stipend she receives for her services is funded by a grant and through the generosity of several local donors.
“There is definitely a huge need for this kind of program,” Wagner said. “We have a family of 12 from Elizabethton who would be here tomorrow if we could get them a ride. A lot of youngsters like this are home-schooled. But this is a huge help. We allow anyone to come, no matter what their religion is.”
Metcalf gets a lot of help from her two sons, Andrew and Michael, both of whom grew up using sign language, even though no one in their immediate family is deaf. Andrew is a freshman at Belle Meadows Bible College in Bristol, Va. Michael is a sophomore at Mountain Empire and a member of the basketball team.
Wagner relies heavily on the Metcalf boys, too. Andrew Metcalf is at every practice and game to translate the coach’s instructions for Booth and Carico. Michael Metcalf helps, too, even as he is learning the game himself.
“It has been a fun experience to work with these guys,” Andrew Metcalf said.
Learning the fundamentals
Mountain Empire fielded a basketball team last season, but, with the school’s enrollment down from 160 to 100 students [in K-12], Wagner was uncertain whether he’d have enough players for a team this season. He recruited every boy in the school, from the seventh grade on up, including Booth and Carico. The response was enthusiastic.
Booth had some previous team sports experience, with baseball and briefly with football. Neither half-brother had played basketball.
“They were eager but kind of scared,” Wagner said. “I asked the two boys who played on the team last season, and they were willing to try to help. Turns out, Kevin [Booth] is a pretty good player. He’s become a valuable asset for us.”
Quickly grasping the fundamentals of low-post play, Booth starts at forward for the Mountaineers. At a hefty 5-foot-10, he is tough to move. In Thursday’s 47-42 loss to the TEACH
Guardians, he grabbed three rebounds and put one of them back for a basket.
Carico, a guard, still has much to learn about dribbling, shooting and team play, but Wagner said he is beginning to earn more and more playing time.
“Basketball is definitely a challenge,” Booth said, speaking through Andrew Metcalf. “I like the fellowship and the chance to teach the other players sign language. It’s harder than baseball, because you have to be able to work with the other players.”
Not surprisingly, Wagner’s biggest constant challenge is communication. He devised a system of using six colored flags – much like a naval semaphore system – to signal in plays.
The system has helped everyone on the team, he said.
“My biggest fear was not only them co-existing with the other players on the team, but their safety,” the coach said. “I didn’t want them to get hurt on the court. I had to find a way to make sure everyone could play with them.”
Wagner has gotten a lot of help from his junior point guard, Andrew King, one of the team’s two returning players. Like his coach, King is learning as much sign language as he can.
“I picked up a lot just hanging around them last year,” King said. “It’s fun to be able to communicate with them, because most people don’t know sign language.”
The greatest reward
Though he’s never had a coaching challenge like this one, Wagner has embraced the task because he’s seeing gratifying results.
The half-brothers have fit right in with their teammates, to the point that they are two of the team’s biggest practical jokers. And there is nothing in watching practice or a game to suggest that they are treated any differently from or by their teammates.
“The most rewarding thing for me is seeing them get it,” Wagner said. “As a teacher and a coach, you try to teach to see the light go on in their heads. I can see that in Kevin and Shawn.
“It is not a matter of yelling at kids. It is really educating them and building them up, and making sure they understand. When it goes well, you can see the look that they have achieved something.”
As he called for a break during a practice last week, Zach Wagner suggested and then gestured to his Mountain Empire Baptist School players that they should drink plenty of water.
Ten of Wagner’s players, the ones who could hear him, headed to the water fountain. The other two, half-brothers Kevin Booth and Shawn Carico, stared uncomprehendingly at Wagner for a moment and then began to laugh.
Soon, everyone else was laughing, too, and it became the standing joke for the remainder of practice.
Wagner, who is learning to communicate using American Sign Language because the half-brothers are deaf, had unwittingly gestured to Booth and Carico that they should drink plenty of beer.
Talk about a message being lost in translation!
“I thought I was doing the hand motion for water, but it was actually the hand motion for beer,” a grinning Wagner recalled. “Fortunately for me, those boys are both pretty forgiving, and we could all laugh about it.
“I’ve learned a lot in a short time, but it’s obvious I still have a lot to learn.”
That’s as good a mantra as any for this Mountain Empire team, because every day is a learning experience.
Wagner has a good-sized roster for a team at a small Christian school, but only two of his players have basketball experience. Booth, a junior, and Carico, an eighth-grader, are among those who’ve never played basketball before.
In some ways, that’s great, because the boys have no preconceived notions about the game, have no bad habits and are amenable to being coached. But Wagner acknowledges that having so many novice players tests both his patience and coaching ability, because, as often as he’d like to skip beyond the fundamentals, he cannot take anything for granted.
“The brothers are very brand new, but so are many of the other kids,” he said. “But [the brothers] are very open to learning the basics, and you can see it in the way they act.
“When we first started, every time they would take a shot and miss, they would look right at me. You could see it in their eyes: They want to learn. They were really open to being trained, and that is huge. It would not have worked out otherwise.”
A ministry for the deaf
Wagner, in his first year as school administrator, said he believes Mountain Empire is one of only two Christian schools in the country that offers a program for deaf students.
In its third year, the program has 12 students, ranging from a fourth-grader to Booth, the oldest. It is taught by Catherine Metcalf, who has been involved in deaf ministry since she was a teenager. The small stipend she receives for her services is funded by a grant and through the generosity of several local donors.
“There is definitely a huge need for this kind of program,” Wagner said. “We have a family of 12 from Elizabethton who would be here tomorrow if we could get them a ride. A lot of youngsters like this are home-schooled. But this is a huge help. We allow anyone to come, no matter what their religion is.”
Metcalf gets a lot of help from her two sons, Andrew and Michael, both of whom grew up using sign language, even though no one in their immediate family is deaf. Andrew is a freshman at Belle Meadows Bible College in Bristol, Va. Michael is a sophomore at Mountain Empire and a member of the basketball team.
Wagner relies heavily on the Metcalf boys, too. Andrew Metcalf is at every practice and game to translate the coach’s instructions for Booth and Carico. Michael Metcalf helps, too, even as he is learning the game himself.
“It has been a fun experience to work with these guys,” Andrew Metcalf said.
Learning the fundamentals
Mountain Empire fielded a basketball team last season, but, with the school’s enrollment down from 160 to 100 students [in K-12], Wagner was uncertain whether he’d have enough players for a team this season. He recruited every boy in the school, from the seventh grade on up, including Booth and Carico. The response was enthusiastic.
Booth had some previous team sports experience, with baseball and briefly with football. Neither half-brother had played basketball.
“They were eager but kind of scared,” Wagner said. “I asked the two boys who played on the team last season, and they were willing to try to help. Turns out, Kevin [Booth] is a pretty good player. He’s become a valuable asset for us.”
Quickly grasping the fundamentals of low-post play, Booth starts at forward for the Mountaineers. At a hefty 5-foot-10, he is tough to move. In Thursday’s 47-42 loss to the TEACH
Guardians, he grabbed three rebounds and put one of them back for a basket.
Carico, a guard, still has much to learn about dribbling, shooting and team play, but Wagner said he is beginning to earn more and more playing time.
“Basketball is definitely a challenge,” Booth said, speaking through Andrew Metcalf. “I like the fellowship and the chance to teach the other players sign language. It’s harder than baseball, because you have to be able to work with the other players.”
Not surprisingly, Wagner’s biggest constant challenge is communication. He devised a system of using six colored flags – much like a naval semaphore system – to signal in plays.
The system has helped everyone on the team, he said.
“My biggest fear was not only them co-existing with the other players on the team, but their safety,” the coach said. “I didn’t want them to get hurt on the court. I had to find a way to make sure everyone could play with them.”
Wagner has gotten a lot of help from his junior point guard, Andrew King, one of the team’s two returning players. Like his coach, King is learning as much sign language as he can.
“I picked up a lot just hanging around them last year,” King said. “It’s fun to be able to communicate with them, because most people don’t know sign language.”
The greatest reward
Though he’s never had a coaching challenge like this one, Wagner has embraced the task because he’s seeing gratifying results.
The half-brothers have fit right in with their teammates, to the point that they are two of the team’s biggest practical jokers. And there is nothing in watching practice or a game to suggest that they are treated any differently from or by their teammates.
“The most rewarding thing for me is seeing them get it,” Wagner said. “As a teacher and a coach, you try to teach to see the light go on in their heads. I can see that in Kevin and Shawn.
“It is not a matter of yelling at kids. It is really educating them and building them up, and making sure they understand. When it goes well, you can see the look that they have achieved something.”