Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,160
- Reaction score
- 7
The News Leader - www.newsleader.com - Staunton, Va.
The end of practice was eerily quiet. The 30 football players in crimson helmets, plain gray T-shirts and black athletic shorts huddled together and knelt down.
The player addressing his teammates used hand gestures. Judging by his facial expressions, he was trying to get his squad pumped up to play the No. 1 team in the nation Saturday.
Moments later, the kids rallied together with helmets high in the air, bobbing them up and down.
It was just like old times.
For one day, deaf football was back at the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, an academic institution with a proud football history. On Thursday, Alabama School for the Deaf's football team, the Silent Warriors, borrowed VSDB's practice field.
"It's a beautiful campus here," said Silent Warriors football coach Paul Kulick, who remembers playing against VSDB in his high school days.
On Saturday, the Silent Warriors will face Maryland School for the Deaf in Frederick, Md., the top-ranked deaf high school football program in the nation.
The four television monitors on the 57-passenger Van Hool travel bus featured "Gridiron Gang" and "Lord of the Rings" as the players made the nine-hour trip from Talladega, Ala., to Staunton.
While the Silent Warriors' volleyball squad prepares to compete in the Mason-Dixon volleyball tournament at VSDB this weekend, the football players grabbed their helmets for a "no pads" walkthrough. Up next is a trip to Frederick.
It's the biggest road trip of the season, and the biggest game of the season.
"Maryland's the best in the nation," said Kulick, whose Silent Warriors are a perennial top-five team.
There was a time long ago when VSDB used to be in the conversation for best deaf football teams in America. Undefeated Cardinals' teams won national championships in 1939 and 1969. VSDB also went undefeated and finished second in 1954.
Not only did VSDB beat other deaf schools, but part of the school's proud athletic history includes beating many of the local area schools in football as well.
However, multiple factors led to the school discontinuing the football program exactly 20 years ago. In other parts of the country, like Talladega, Ala., deaf football is still alive and well.
"Football's big," said team bus driver Joe Rudolph, letting out a chuckle. "Everyone loves football in Alabama. The women are as bad as the men. In Alabama, football's king."
The end of practice was eerily quiet. The 30 football players in crimson helmets, plain gray T-shirts and black athletic shorts huddled together and knelt down.
The player addressing his teammates used hand gestures. Judging by his facial expressions, he was trying to get his squad pumped up to play the No. 1 team in the nation Saturday.
Moments later, the kids rallied together with helmets high in the air, bobbing them up and down.
It was just like old times.
For one day, deaf football was back at the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, an academic institution with a proud football history. On Thursday, Alabama School for the Deaf's football team, the Silent Warriors, borrowed VSDB's practice field.
"It's a beautiful campus here," said Silent Warriors football coach Paul Kulick, who remembers playing against VSDB in his high school days.
On Saturday, the Silent Warriors will face Maryland School for the Deaf in Frederick, Md., the top-ranked deaf high school football program in the nation.
The four television monitors on the 57-passenger Van Hool travel bus featured "Gridiron Gang" and "Lord of the Rings" as the players made the nine-hour trip from Talladega, Ala., to Staunton.
While the Silent Warriors' volleyball squad prepares to compete in the Mason-Dixon volleyball tournament at VSDB this weekend, the football players grabbed their helmets for a "no pads" walkthrough. Up next is a trip to Frederick.
It's the biggest road trip of the season, and the biggest game of the season.
"Maryland's the best in the nation," said Kulick, whose Silent Warriors are a perennial top-five team.
There was a time long ago when VSDB used to be in the conversation for best deaf football teams in America. Undefeated Cardinals' teams won national championships in 1939 and 1969. VSDB also went undefeated and finished second in 1954.
Not only did VSDB beat other deaf schools, but part of the school's proud athletic history includes beating many of the local area schools in football as well.
However, multiple factors led to the school discontinuing the football program exactly 20 years ago. In other parts of the country, like Talladega, Ala., deaf football is still alive and well.
"Football's big," said team bus driver Joe Rudolph, letting out a chuckle. "Everyone loves football in Alabama. The women are as bad as the men. In Alabama, football's king."