Indiana School for Deaf - I Play

At first glance, the practice looks like thousands of others taking place across the United States.

High school football players sweating under the late summer sun, perfecting technique and drilling fundamentals.

Shoulder pads crack and players grunt as they work through contact drills. Coaches watch nearby, ready to offer encouragement and make corrections.

Soon, though, it's obvious that something is different. Behind the universal commotion that comes with teenage athletes and a physical sport, there's a purveying silence that seems out of place to most football fans, though not to this team.

It's the world they occupy every day.

They are deaf.

And though the 26 players on the Indiana School for the Deaf varsity football team may not be able to hear, they can play.

A 4-1 start to the season includes two wins over hearing schools.

Head coach Garrett Wooten has never doubted his players' skills. His challenge for the past three years has been to convince them how much they can achieve.

"On the competitive level, I've learned that deaf players can compete with anyone and that we are no different than any other team," said Garrett Wooten, head football coach at the Indiana School for the Deaf. "They love this sport. They have the same passion. They approach it the same way

"It's just we're not able to hear."

See more at: http://usafootball.com/blogs/americas...