Miss-Delectable
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AuburnPub.com - Undeniable talent
Communication.
It's the foundation of team sports.
And it comes in many forms.
It can be a rub of the cap to relay a sign in baseball. It can be a fist thrown in the air to call out a play in basketball. It can be a Tiger Woods' fist pump after a long putt.
Or, simplest of all, it can be a wave of the arms - the international way to say “I'm open!”
In all sports, body language is often packed with greater meaning than words.
Ty Miller stands out.
He's a leader, a team captain and an all-American.
He's also deaf.
The Moravia native is a standout athlete for the New York State School for the Deaf (NYSSD). Although he's surrounded by other deaf students on the Rome campus, Miller does anything but blend in.
“Ty is a leader and not just on this team,” said Jeremy Roberts, the NYSSD boys soccer coach. “You walk around these halls and you'll see he's a leader of this school, too.”
Miller has been attending NYSSD since he was 6 years old. He's now a senior and one of the best athletes at the school.
On the soccer field, Miller plays forward and was voted all-league in the North Country Athletic Conference.
But his accolades weren't limited to local honors.
Miller was named to the 2007 Deaf Digest All-American Second Team for soccer.
He is joined in distinction by a teammate, goalie Irick Carter, and both find themselves on a list of the best deaf soccer players in the country.
Other all-Americans hail from such places such as Kentucky, New Jersey and Michigan.
“I feel happy that I'm an all-American,” signed Miller. “My skills have improved and I feel like I'm in better shape.”
Of course he'd have to be, for a person who's always on the move. If Miller could be in multiple places at once, he would be.
While he has a full kitchen in his on-campus suite - Miller claims he enjoys cooking but Roberts doesn't seem convinced - the busy athlete rarely has time to use it.
He has numerous activities to keep him busy - soccer and basketball for the school, football and softball recreationally
There's always something to keep him busy.
On campus, he's everyone's big brother. He is stopped nearly everywhere he goes. The younger students have questions. His peers have gossip. Professors have reminders.
One student, of elementary age, stopped Miller just prior to warm-ups for a home varsity basketball game against the Scranton School for the Deaf.
The young admirer signed enthusiastically, and in return, got a chuckle and a nod from Miller.
“He said 'Stay out of foul trouble,'” signed Miller.
Everyone wants him to succeed.
This was Roberts' first season as the varsity soccer coach at NYSSD.
And it was quite a success.
The Trojans finished their campaign 3-7-1, played four overtime games, and qualified for the conference tournament for the first time in five years.
“What you need to know is in the past, they'd lost games 5-0, 9-0, 8-0,” Roberts said. “But this year there was a culture change. We played four OT games. We had three one-goal games. It just changed a lot. We're more focused on good team offense and good team defense - not just one-on-one. We're more focused on skills, not just kicking the ball.”
Miller finished the season with a team-high four goals, including a game-winner in overtime.
He credits his development as a soccer player to the new attitude in practice instilled by Coach Roberts.
“Coach is teaching us skills,” Miller signed. “We're focused on defense and passing. Before we were just a kickball team. Now, we control our feet.”
The results were enjoyed, but the process by which they were attained was not easy.
Roberts had only coached hearing kids before.
And by Miller's own admission, “it's hard to coach deaf kids.”
It was a learning process for both sides.
“I'm a yeller, so it was a bit of an adjustment for me,” Roberts said.
“If a kid has the ball, he's not going to be looking at you on the sideline. They're either looking at the ball or their defender, so they can't see what the coach is signing on the sideline.”
To make coaching more effective, NYSSD plays 15-minute quarters, instead of the traditional 45-minute halves.
This allows for more instruction and of course, more one-on-one time between coaches and players.
There are also three hearing players on the soccer team. Roberts puts these kids in positions on the field where they can control the team and get people's attention.
And that's the biggest issue.
“Communication is harder in soccer,” Roberts said.
“It's harder to get the kids' attention. Compared to basketball - you can see the coach when you're running down the floor. Soccer is more spread out. It's more difficult to see the eyes.”
The hearing players are from the Rome community and often without question, are embraced by their deaf teammates. Integrating hearing players with players with hearing loss provides a unique opportunity.
“Having hearing players helps facilitate communication,” said NYSSD athletic director Gordon Baker. “Hearing kids build friendships - they might invite a deaf kid over for dinner. And the great thing is, hearing kids learn to sign and deaf kids are forced to speak.”
While Miller has mountains of accolades in soccer, he prefers basketball because “it's more fun with the team and friends.”
Miller is a shooter who routinely scores between 15 and 20 points per game. One look at an NYSSD game, and you'll instantly know where the team's energy derives from.
Miller is everywhere on the court - pressuring on defense, helping teammates off the floor and crashing the boards.
He's aggressive, in everything he does.
And he's not shy about his desire to win.
“I don't care if we're playing against deaf kids or hearing kids, I like playing and beating both,” Miller signed.
Aside from the reverberation of hardwood and the occasional referee's whistle, it's the quietest you'll ever see a basketball game.
The crowd cheers when the home team scores but it's not a frenzy. Most of the interactions are between friends and family as they sign encouragement from the bleachers.
On this particular day, NYSSD is entertaining another deaf school, the Scranton School for Deaf.
The play is no different from that of any other high school hoops game - the players are intense, they're talented and they want to win.
Oh, and don't think just because they're deaf, there's no trash talk on the court.
It's basketball. And these kids play with emotion.
Especially Miller, who on this day, takes the loss quite hard.
His remaining games are limited - he'll leave NYSSD after the school year and return to Moravia where he plans to get into carpentry.
But until then, he'll continue to be a normal high schooler - he texts friends, goes to the movies, goes sledding.
But his athletic abilities are anything but normal.
Miller is gifted - both on the soccer field and on the basketball court.
And, although the Trojans lost on this given day, Miller did celebrate one small victory.
He stayed out of foul trouble.
There's at least one kid that will be happy.
Communication.
It's the foundation of team sports.
And it comes in many forms.
It can be a rub of the cap to relay a sign in baseball. It can be a fist thrown in the air to call out a play in basketball. It can be a Tiger Woods' fist pump after a long putt.
Or, simplest of all, it can be a wave of the arms - the international way to say “I'm open!”
In all sports, body language is often packed with greater meaning than words.
Ty Miller stands out.
He's a leader, a team captain and an all-American.
He's also deaf.
The Moravia native is a standout athlete for the New York State School for the Deaf (NYSSD). Although he's surrounded by other deaf students on the Rome campus, Miller does anything but blend in.
“Ty is a leader and not just on this team,” said Jeremy Roberts, the NYSSD boys soccer coach. “You walk around these halls and you'll see he's a leader of this school, too.”
Miller has been attending NYSSD since he was 6 years old. He's now a senior and one of the best athletes at the school.
On the soccer field, Miller plays forward and was voted all-league in the North Country Athletic Conference.
But his accolades weren't limited to local honors.
Miller was named to the 2007 Deaf Digest All-American Second Team for soccer.
He is joined in distinction by a teammate, goalie Irick Carter, and both find themselves on a list of the best deaf soccer players in the country.
Other all-Americans hail from such places such as Kentucky, New Jersey and Michigan.
“I feel happy that I'm an all-American,” signed Miller. “My skills have improved and I feel like I'm in better shape.”
Of course he'd have to be, for a person who's always on the move. If Miller could be in multiple places at once, he would be.
While he has a full kitchen in his on-campus suite - Miller claims he enjoys cooking but Roberts doesn't seem convinced - the busy athlete rarely has time to use it.
He has numerous activities to keep him busy - soccer and basketball for the school, football and softball recreationally
There's always something to keep him busy.
On campus, he's everyone's big brother. He is stopped nearly everywhere he goes. The younger students have questions. His peers have gossip. Professors have reminders.
One student, of elementary age, stopped Miller just prior to warm-ups for a home varsity basketball game against the Scranton School for the Deaf.
The young admirer signed enthusiastically, and in return, got a chuckle and a nod from Miller.
“He said 'Stay out of foul trouble,'” signed Miller.
Everyone wants him to succeed.
This was Roberts' first season as the varsity soccer coach at NYSSD.
And it was quite a success.
The Trojans finished their campaign 3-7-1, played four overtime games, and qualified for the conference tournament for the first time in five years.
“What you need to know is in the past, they'd lost games 5-0, 9-0, 8-0,” Roberts said. “But this year there was a culture change. We played four OT games. We had three one-goal games. It just changed a lot. We're more focused on good team offense and good team defense - not just one-on-one. We're more focused on skills, not just kicking the ball.”
Miller finished the season with a team-high four goals, including a game-winner in overtime.
He credits his development as a soccer player to the new attitude in practice instilled by Coach Roberts.
“Coach is teaching us skills,” Miller signed. “We're focused on defense and passing. Before we were just a kickball team. Now, we control our feet.”
The results were enjoyed, but the process by which they were attained was not easy.
Roberts had only coached hearing kids before.
And by Miller's own admission, “it's hard to coach deaf kids.”
It was a learning process for both sides.
“I'm a yeller, so it was a bit of an adjustment for me,” Roberts said.
“If a kid has the ball, he's not going to be looking at you on the sideline. They're either looking at the ball or their defender, so they can't see what the coach is signing on the sideline.”
To make coaching more effective, NYSSD plays 15-minute quarters, instead of the traditional 45-minute halves.
This allows for more instruction and of course, more one-on-one time between coaches and players.
There are also three hearing players on the soccer team. Roberts puts these kids in positions on the field where they can control the team and get people's attention.
And that's the biggest issue.
“Communication is harder in soccer,” Roberts said.
“It's harder to get the kids' attention. Compared to basketball - you can see the coach when you're running down the floor. Soccer is more spread out. It's more difficult to see the eyes.”
The hearing players are from the Rome community and often without question, are embraced by their deaf teammates. Integrating hearing players with players with hearing loss provides a unique opportunity.
“Having hearing players helps facilitate communication,” said NYSSD athletic director Gordon Baker. “Hearing kids build friendships - they might invite a deaf kid over for dinner. And the great thing is, hearing kids learn to sign and deaf kids are forced to speak.”
While Miller has mountains of accolades in soccer, he prefers basketball because “it's more fun with the team and friends.”
Miller is a shooter who routinely scores between 15 and 20 points per game. One look at an NYSSD game, and you'll instantly know where the team's energy derives from.
Miller is everywhere on the court - pressuring on defense, helping teammates off the floor and crashing the boards.
He's aggressive, in everything he does.
And he's not shy about his desire to win.
“I don't care if we're playing against deaf kids or hearing kids, I like playing and beating both,” Miller signed.
Aside from the reverberation of hardwood and the occasional referee's whistle, it's the quietest you'll ever see a basketball game.
The crowd cheers when the home team scores but it's not a frenzy. Most of the interactions are between friends and family as they sign encouragement from the bleachers.
On this particular day, NYSSD is entertaining another deaf school, the Scranton School for Deaf.
The play is no different from that of any other high school hoops game - the players are intense, they're talented and they want to win.
Oh, and don't think just because they're deaf, there's no trash talk on the court.
It's basketball. And these kids play with emotion.
Especially Miller, who on this day, takes the loss quite hard.
His remaining games are limited - he'll leave NYSSD after the school year and return to Moravia where he plans to get into carpentry.
But until then, he'll continue to be a normal high schooler - he texts friends, goes to the movies, goes sledding.
But his athletic abilities are anything but normal.
Miller is gifted - both on the soccer field and on the basketball court.
And, although the Trojans lost on this given day, Miller did celebrate one small victory.
He stayed out of foul trouble.
There's at least one kid that will be happy.