Deaf Baseball Star Teaches His Team Sign Language

Adapted from a story by Jennifer Hoyt, Journal Inquirer

Teammate Alex Tracy uses sign language to communicate with Douglas Giaccone. (Photo by Leslloyd F. Alleyne, Jr./Journal Inquirer).

Things changed this spring at the Fermi High School Sign Language Club in Enfield, Connecticut, when founding member, Douglas Giaccone, 15, a student who is deaf, joined the baseball team.

The players wanted to be able to communicate better with Giaccone, a star pitcher for the junior varsity team and the school's only deaf student.The team practiced baseball every day, and on Thursdays an hour of the team's practice was spent learning sign language.

Head coach Mark Dube observed that the hour learning sign language meant more to the team than any hour they could have spent on the ball field. "All the players rallied around a cause-and that was to be a better teammate," Dube said. "It meant learning a new language."

The influx of 26 ballplayers vying to learn sign language changed the dynamics of the club. "I was a little shocked," said Giaccone's interpreter, Sheila Pollins, who helped Giaccone run the club. But the players worked hard and almost managed to adhere to the most important rule of the club-no talking.

Recounting the experience recently at the high school, the players and coaches laughed as they demonstrated the phrase in sign language that they got to know best, "How do you sign...?"

Team members Geoff Bordeau, Andrew Martin, Chris Rago, and Daniel Spazzarini said they had played with Giaccone for years, but could never really connect with him because of communication barriers. Giaccone's friends admit that they still aren't the best signers. "I really look forward to the day I can really have a conversation with Doug," Rago said.

It was his friends' effort learning sign language that meant the most. Giaccone has been running a sign language club since he was a seventh grader at John F. Kennedy Middle School after his family moved to Enfield from Wisconsin.

"I really appreciate that everyone has been so willing to learn sign language and to communicate with me," Giaccone said. "It feels like for the first time people are really interested in learning, and that makes me feel good."

While seeing his players use sign language was a unique event, Dube said the experience caused an even rarer phenomenon with the team-his varsity players got to know the junior varsity team. "It was the closest team I've had as a high school coach," said Dube, who has coached varsity baseball at Fermi for five years. "And I know this experience is what caused that."

Bordeau said his family will appreciate his sign language skills because he can communicate with his partially deaf cousin, Emily Beer, 2, who is learning to sign.

His mother thought it was phenomenal to see the team learning sign language.

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