[nfbmi-talk] mi blind teen sports announcer

Tue May 3 15:29:20 UTC 2011

Blind teen sports announcer gets time behind mic for Whitecaps

Published: Saturday, April 30, 2011, 8:00 AM     Updated: Saturday, April 30, 2011, 9:40 AM

Dean Holzwarth | The Grand Rapids Press

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Dean Holzwarth | The Grand Rapids Press

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announce.jpgT.J. Hamilton | The Grand Rapids PressJonathan Welscott announces the West Michigan Whitecaps game Friday night at Fifth Third Park.

COMSTOCK PARK — With fluidity and unbridled enthusiasm, Jonathan Welscott has announced the names of his classmates in front of scattered groups of spectators

in Grandville Middle School’s gymnasium.

But the 14-year-old isn’t your typical announcer who calls all the action before him. That’s because he is blind.

Jonathan, an eighth-grader, has called middle school and high school games in the past two years, but his voice was heard by an entirely different audience

Friday night.

Jonathan was at Fifth Third Ballpark, and announced batters in the third inning of the West Michigan Whitecaps game against the Lansing Lugnuts, briefly

replacing Whitecaps announcer Michael Newell.

“It was really cool,” Jonathan said after the Whitecaps scored three times in the bottom of the third inning. “I guess I was the good luck charm for the

Whitecaps.

“I had no idea what it would be like, but it was a cool experience.”

Newell said he was impressed by Jonathan’s ability behind the mic. “He did a fantastic job. This was probably my last game,” he joked.

Jonathan and his twin brother, Alexander, were born 16 weeks premature and weighed 1 pound, 6 ounces each.

One major risk of premature labor is babies are often born with eye problems, and Jonathan developed a condition known as retinopathy of prematurity.

An estimated 50,000 people worldwide are blind because of the disease, which affects the retina. It is the same condition that affected singer Stevie Wonder.

“He could not open his eyes when he was born,” said Jonathan’s mother, Amy Welscott. “His retina was detached and his eyes were fused shut. Some babies

get it and some babies don’t. Doctors are not sure why this happens or how to prevent it.”

Jonathan technically wasn’t born blind, but was blind by the time he returned home after 94 days in the neonatal intensive unit at Spectrum Hospital.

Due to the disease, Jonathan also developed glaucoma and cataracts. He has had more than 20 eye surgeries since he was born.

Alexander walks with a cane and has a mild form of cerebral palsy, another result of premature birth.

Despite his struggles, Jonathan hasn’t allowed his disability to detract from his passion for sports and competition.

“Since it is hard to be involved in sports because I’m blind, this is a way for me to be involved in sports and I like doing it,” Jonathan said. “And the

kids in basketball and volleyball love it — they can’t get enough.”

Jonathan began announcing starting lineups for the seventh-grade boys basketball team last season using Braille, and has been a popular figure ever since.

“I wanted him to get involved with some of the extra-curricular activities at school,” said Jonathan’s father, Mark Welscott. “There wasn’t enough for him

to do as a manager, but we knew he loved listening to public address announcers and we knew he had an interest in that.

“I think they were a little skeptical at first, but he did such an awesome job that they asked him back (to announce for) the girls.”

What began with just announcing the national anthem and the starting lineups has morphed into telling who has scored a basket, who committed a foul or entered

the game and which team has possession of a jump ball – with the help of a spotter.

“I was real nervous starting last year, and I was thinking, ‘what am I doing?’ “ Jonathan said. “And then this year, I was like, ‘OK, I’m back for another

year.’ “

announce2.jpgT.J. Hamilton | The Grand Rapids PressJonathan Welscott reads braille as he announced Friday's game for the West Michigan Whitecaps.

Basketball officials have assisted Jonathan — often calling fouls aloud instead of simply making hand gestures to the table.

“He has a good feel for basketball, and between listening to the sounds of the game and what the officials say, he can figure out what is going on,” Amy

Welscott said. “It was quite remarkable, and there were times when I didn’t know if I had to be there as his spotter.”

Jonathan expanded his duties by announcing volleyball and a wrestling match at his school.

Then, he was asked to announce a high school freshmen football game against Rockford last fall.

Jonathan said calling football games was more complex than the other sports.

“Football, now that’s an interesting experience,” he said. “I ended up doing everything — plays, tackles and scores. That was pretty cool.”

Jonathan’s announcing abilities were recognized earlier this month when he received a national honor in an annual Braille Readers and Leaders Contest.

The National Federation of the Blind gave Jonathan a community service award. As part of the award, he won a trip to the this summer’s NFB national convention

in Orlando, Fla.

“He’s a normal, everyday teenager,” Grandville Middle School athletic director Mike Porco said. “You would never know that he is blind. It never affects

his mood or what he does. He has a great sense of humor and he’s always cracking jokes.”

Jonathan’s Braille teachers, Donna Taylor and Nancy Ozinga, have been supportive in his newfound endeavor.

“I’m so proud of him — I really am,” Taylor said. “I love helping him in any way I can.”

Said Ozinga: “He talks about sports nonstop, and he knows more players and scores from the last 10 years then I will never know.”

Jonathan attended the Whitecaps game with his grandfather, Dick Welscott, and his mother. His father was monitoring Jonathan’s twin brother, who underwent

total reconstruction of his right leg earlier in the week.

Jonathan said his brother knew he planned to take the mic for the Whitecaps, and likely would have been proud of the job he did.

“He probably would have liked being here, and I am thinking about him,” he said of Alexander.

Jonathan will graduate from middle school in June, but he hopes to make the leap to high school announcing in the fall.

E-mail the author of this story:

sports at grpress.com

http://www.mlive.com/whitecaps/index.ssf/2011/04/blind_teen_sports_announcer_ge.html