[Nfbwv-talk] FW: [acb-l] Blind Football Player

[Koch, Sheri L]

This is so very cool!  ENJOY

Sheri Koch, MS, CRC 
WVDRS 
Program Supervisor 
Blind & Visually Impaired Services
McJunkin Rd.
Nitro, WV  25143
sheri.l.koch at wv.gov 
Phone:    (304) 760-7178
FAX:  (304) 759-2274

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-----Original Message-----
From: Sharon Fridley [mailto:sharon.fridley at gmail.com] 
Sent: Sunday, February 05, 2012 12:30 PM
To: Koch, Sheri L
Cc: Douglas, Michelle L
Subject: FW: [acb-l] Blind Football Player



Sharon Fridley

When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift
up a standard against him.  Isaiah 59:19

-----Original Message-----
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Sent: Saturday, February 04, 2012 7:52 PM
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Subject: Fw: [acb-l] Blind Football Player



> Blindness Not Enough To Sideline California Teen
>  by Gloria Hillard November 6, 2011
>  Gloria HillardstNPR Taylor Howell told Vasquez High's football 
> coach that if he wasn't blind he sure would love to play 
> football.  The coach told him he'd have to come up with a better 
> excuse than that.  The sophomore now plays center on the junior 
> varsity team.
>  It's afternoon practice for the junior varsity football team at 
> Vasquez High in Acton, Calif.  A high desert wind somersaults a 
> discarded paper plate across the line of scrimmage just before it 
> becomes a pile of white jerseys and purple helmetsdd"ally were 
> offsides," the coach yells after blowing his whistle.
>  The players dust themselves off and line up for the next play.  
> At center, is Taylor, a lean 15-year-old.  His quarterback, Bryan 
> McCauley, is a few yards behind him in shotgun formationdd"Down, 
> set, hike, good," Bryan says.
>  That "good" from the quarterback is valuable information for 
> Howell, who is blind.  It means his aim was dead on."
>  Breaking out of the huddle after he calls the play, it's up to 
> my guards to get me up to the line of scrimmage, make sure that I 
> know where the ball is," he says.
>  On the field the tackles tell him what to do and if Taylor has 
> a question he goes to Bryan.
>  "I make sure he's straight so he doesn't snap the ball 
> crooked," he says.
>  Head coach Tim Jorgensen says initially he played Taylor as 
> center during the point after touchdown.
>  "Cause that's somewhat a protected position you can't hit him 
> because their heads are down and he's an excellent snapper," he 
> says.  "And then about a couple games in, the coach says 'Well, 
> he wants to play regular1' and I said, 'Put him in there.'"
>  During the water break, Taylor takes off his helmet.  He has 
> short, light brown hair and a no-nonsense demeanor.  But when 
> asked about the practice and if he took any hits, his face lights 
> updd"I've taken a few hard ones," he says.  "It happens.  It's 
> part of footballdd"ally take the hits as they come, Taylor says.
>  That's something he learned at a very young age.  He was just a 
> toddler when he was diagnosed with cancer.  After a year of 
> radiation and chemotherapy, he lost both of his eyesdd"We've 
> never discouraged him from doing anything he's wanted to do," 
> says his mom, Jennifer Oudekerk.
>  She says her son learned the alphabet in Braille when he was in 
> preschooldd"He's always been a little ahead of his time, which 
> has been amazing," she says.  "He is a daily inspiration for me."
>  Taylor's teammates look out for him and give him cues on the 
> field.  Teammate Hector Hernandez remembers when Taylor told him 
> he was going to try out for footballdd"And I like, I didn't think 
> he'd actually do it," he says.  "He's pretty tough, he gets 
> banged up every day and he's still hanging in there."
>  The players don't cut their center any slack, but they're 
> watching out for him all the time, whether it's a gentle tug on 
> his jersey or verbal cues -- a step forward, a little to the 
> right.
>  It's more than two hours into practice.  The sun is setting 
> behind the hills and those white jerseys are more a shade of dirt 
> and grass now.  Taylor says he plans to try out for varsity next 
> year and has talked to Jorgensen about playing college ball.
>  "I'm realistic with him.  I said, 'Well you know you're going 
> to grow, and ...  you gotta lift weights to get your strength up 
> and as we get into it, we'll see1'" Jorgensen says.  "We'll take 
> it one step at a time, one year at a time."
>  That was good enough for Taylor.  For now he's focused on 
> winning the next game."
>  That's a feeling you can't describe, you know, after you've 
> come off the field knowing that you helped your team just win," 
> Taylor says.
>  A whistle blows and, after the dust settles, a tall guard with 
> wide shoulders gently guides his center back to the offensive 
> line.
>  Copyright 2012 NPR
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