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UNC student aims to be first deaf NFL coach | Greeley Tribune
Nouri Marrakchi is looking to make noise on some of the nation’s grandest stages. Nothing would thrill him more than being a coach on the sidelines in front of 80,000 screaming football fans.
He may not be able to hear the din — Marrakchi, a junior at the University of Northern Colorado, was born deaf — but he would certainly feel the electricity and the anticipation in the air.
That’s been the draw of sports from the start for Marrakchi, who is blending his passions in college with a major in special education and a minor in coaching.
He learned as a sophomore at Legacy High School in Broomfield that his deafness didn’t hamper his coaching effectiveness one whit. Marrakchi stepped in when the local middle school wrestling team was looking for an assistant coach. He not only mentored the wrestlers on the mat, he helped improve their social and academic skills in the classroom.
“I just loved it,” he said through an interpreter. “That really started me on the path of finding my niche.”
His love of football took off when he was a boy. When the Broncos won their first Super Bowl in 1998, the 8-year-old Marrakchi slathered his face in orange and blue paint and kept slipping into his John Elway jersey.
“I’ve been there four times to the (Mile High) stadium, and it’s been great,” he said.
He thought that maybe this would be the year he’d go to the Super Bowl. A browsing session on Craigslist turned up a posting that caught his eye. It turned out the “ticket” seller was actually a Canadian sports website that wanted $3,500 for two press credentials that, supposedly, would give the buyer access to all media events, including post-game interviews.
Marrakchi was skeptical about the legitimacy of the offer, so he contacted the NFL brass, who made the website take the Craigslist posting down.
“The other day I spoke with NFL spokesman Mike Signora,” Marrakchi said. “He emailed me and said, ‘Thanks for letting me know about the fraudulent tickets. That was reported (in the media) and they got taken care of.’ ”
NFL officials might want to take note of the distinctive name Nouri Marrakchi — his father is a native Moroccan and his mother is from Minnesota — because they’ll likely see it again when he applies for a coaching job.
He remembers advice from his mom when he mentioned his dream to become the NFL’s first deaf coach: “My mom would say, ‘Shoot big,’ and that was something that seemed to inspire me.”
So, his big dream is to be the rare NFL coach without a headset — signing plays to the players on the field.
“I want others to see what we can do,” he said. “Many people look on the deaf and see what they can’t do. In my view, the only thing we can’t do is hear.”
Kenny Walker, a deaf defensive linebacker for the Broncos in the early 1990s, also inspired Marrakchi, who played third-string defense on the Legacy football team. Walker is now an assistant coach at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. Just last week, Marrakchi visited with the athletic director at Gallaudet — the world’s only university with all programs designed to accommodate the deaf — to see if he could, down the road, get a graduate assistant position on the football team.
Putting another stone in place on his path.
Marrakchi, who will graduate from UNC in 2013, plans to go to graduate school for deaf education and minor in coaching.
Until then, he’s inquiring about mentoring opportunities with the UNC football staff.
Another stepping stone.
Marrakchi, like a master strategist in the locker room, keeps things leading in the direction of teaching or coaching. Meanwhile, his enthusiasm as a fan — even as one frustrated by the NFL lockout — keeps building.
“The excitement, the energy. Watching what’s going on, anticipating what’s going to happen,” Marrakchi said of what he likes about sports. “The plays, the strategy of it, I really have a passion for that. Players do, of course, play for money. I think it’s important to have that passion first.”
If passion is the key to earning a coaching slot, expect to see Marrakchi making history someday. And, with any luck, he’ll get to a Super Bowl well before that.
“One day, if the Broncos make it again, maybe it will be possible,” he said.
Nouri Marrakchi is looking to make noise on some of the nation’s grandest stages. Nothing would thrill him more than being a coach on the sidelines in front of 80,000 screaming football fans.
He may not be able to hear the din — Marrakchi, a junior at the University of Northern Colorado, was born deaf — but he would certainly feel the electricity and the anticipation in the air.
That’s been the draw of sports from the start for Marrakchi, who is blending his passions in college with a major in special education and a minor in coaching.
He learned as a sophomore at Legacy High School in Broomfield that his deafness didn’t hamper his coaching effectiveness one whit. Marrakchi stepped in when the local middle school wrestling team was looking for an assistant coach. He not only mentored the wrestlers on the mat, he helped improve their social and academic skills in the classroom.
“I just loved it,” he said through an interpreter. “That really started me on the path of finding my niche.”
His love of football took off when he was a boy. When the Broncos won their first Super Bowl in 1998, the 8-year-old Marrakchi slathered his face in orange and blue paint and kept slipping into his John Elway jersey.
“I’ve been there four times to the (Mile High) stadium, and it’s been great,” he said.
He thought that maybe this would be the year he’d go to the Super Bowl. A browsing session on Craigslist turned up a posting that caught his eye. It turned out the “ticket” seller was actually a Canadian sports website that wanted $3,500 for two press credentials that, supposedly, would give the buyer access to all media events, including post-game interviews.
Marrakchi was skeptical about the legitimacy of the offer, so he contacted the NFL brass, who made the website take the Craigslist posting down.
“The other day I spoke with NFL spokesman Mike Signora,” Marrakchi said. “He emailed me and said, ‘Thanks for letting me know about the fraudulent tickets. That was reported (in the media) and they got taken care of.’ ”
NFL officials might want to take note of the distinctive name Nouri Marrakchi — his father is a native Moroccan and his mother is from Minnesota — because they’ll likely see it again when he applies for a coaching job.
He remembers advice from his mom when he mentioned his dream to become the NFL’s first deaf coach: “My mom would say, ‘Shoot big,’ and that was something that seemed to inspire me.”
So, his big dream is to be the rare NFL coach without a headset — signing plays to the players on the field.
“I want others to see what we can do,” he said. “Many people look on the deaf and see what they can’t do. In my view, the only thing we can’t do is hear.”
Kenny Walker, a deaf defensive linebacker for the Broncos in the early 1990s, also inspired Marrakchi, who played third-string defense on the Legacy football team. Walker is now an assistant coach at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. Just last week, Marrakchi visited with the athletic director at Gallaudet — the world’s only university with all programs designed to accommodate the deaf — to see if he could, down the road, get a graduate assistant position on the football team.
Putting another stone in place on his path.
Marrakchi, who will graduate from UNC in 2013, plans to go to graduate school for deaf education and minor in coaching.
Until then, he’s inquiring about mentoring opportunities with the UNC football staff.
Another stepping stone.
Marrakchi, like a master strategist in the locker room, keeps things leading in the direction of teaching or coaching. Meanwhile, his enthusiasm as a fan — even as one frustrated by the NFL lockout — keeps building.
“The excitement, the energy. Watching what’s going on, anticipating what’s going to happen,” Marrakchi said of what he likes about sports. “The plays, the strategy of it, I really have a passion for that. Players do, of course, play for money. I think it’s important to have that passion first.”
If passion is the key to earning a coaching slot, expect to see Marrakchi making history someday. And, with any luck, he’ll get to a Super Bowl well before that.
“One day, if the Broncos make it again, maybe it will be possible,” he said.