Chris Hagan's Blog

by Chris Hagan

Just because the students at the Louisiana School for the Deaf have a disability, they don’t let it control them. These young students and athletes are just as capable as anyone around to compete both athletically and in the classroom.

“They’re just like any other kids,” said Ben Cupit, LSD athletic director. “They don’t want you to take it easy on them just because they have a disability. They want to compete.”

Cupit said student athletes at the Louisiana School for the Deaf compete in football, basketball, volleyball, track and field, power lifting and cross country. He also said that the school takes pride in their athletic program because without it, these talented kids wouldn’t be able to participate.

“At a normal public high school or middle school, they normally wouldn’t get an opportunity to participate in sports because they probably would not have anyone to communicate with them,” Cupit said. “They’d probably be put somewhere in some special needs program and wouldn’t get the opportunity. Here, all the kids are the same. The only disability they have is their hearing. As far as track or any other sport, they can perform just like any other kid.”

Chip Sterling, LSD track and tield head coach, said being to participate in athletics is also important for the deaf athletes’ self-respect. “It gives them an avenue to compete and shows that they can compete against the hearing world in something,” said Sterling. “They’re told they’re deaf and not hearing their whole life. They get out here and compete with the hearing kids. They beat some of them, and they lose to some of them, but it shows that they can be on the same plane.”

Dr. Monita Hara, LSD School Director, said that their sporting events draw large crowds from both the deaf community and general public. “Football was not here for the past three years,” said Hara. “This year we brought football back, and the first game that we had this year, the stadium seats were completely full.”

Dr. Hara said that since students can only participate in sports once they reach the junior high or high school level, many younger students don’t have the chance to compete as soon as they would like to. “What we’ve worked out with the Southside YMCA is a nice little arrangement,” Hara said. “We have a team for the younger students that plays against the ‘Y’ teams, and that gives them a chance to practice in their sport skills and an opportunity to learn how to play a sport before they get a chance to move into the sports that we offer.”

Track athletes gather during their meet at the LA School for the Deaf.

Dr. Hara also said that the school offers several other activities for students to participate in such as talent shows, drama clubs and academic bowl competitions. She said one of the most important part about the school is the various activities that are available to the students that may not be there in a different school setting.

She also said that most of the opportunities that are made possible at the school for the deaf that aren’t available in public schools are simply because of communication issues. “Our coaches communicate directly with the students because they can communicate with American sign language,” said Hara. “So if I child participates in a sport within a public school, usually there’s an interpreter there, and there’s an intermediary there between the coach and the student. But you lose something in that translation sometimes.”

Dr. Hara said many students choose to attend the school around the age of 12 or 13 after attending a public school because they want to participate or have more interaction with their peers.

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