{"id":18457,"date":"2012-05-02T21:19:43","date_gmt":"2012-05-03T02:19:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=18457"},"modified":"2025-03-05T16:10:24","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T22:10:24","slug":"students-learn-skills-from-basketball-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/05\/02\/students-learn-skills-from-basketball-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Students learn skills from basketball team"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Students learn skills from basketball team<\/strong><\/p>\n

April 27, 2012<\/p>\n

BY CAYLOR BALLINGER<\/p>\n

Joshua Mata, 13, didn\u2019t miss a beat as he learned new basketball passing techniques while signing rapidly to a friend nearby.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fun to play,\u201d Mata said.<\/p>\n

The eighth-grader at Ector Junior High was one of about 30 hearing-impaired students at San Jacinto Elementary on Friday participating in the second annual basketball camp taught by the men\u2019s Midland College basketball team. The students ranged from pre-school to high school seniors.<\/p>\n

Mata signed to his friend Nicholas Rincones, a 14-year-old eighth-grader at Ector Junior High, as players taught them basketball skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fun to watch the guys dunk,\u201d Rincones said through an interpreter.<\/p>\n

The Regional Day School Program for the Deaf within the Ector County Independent School District is in San Jacinto, Ector Junior High and Odessa High with about 49 total students in the program.<\/p>\n

The basketball team players stationed at different areas around the gymnasium at San Jacinto and students were split into groups based on age.<\/p>\n

There were interpreters on hand to help the players and students understand each other, but often the signing wasn\u2019t even necessary.<\/p>\n

Melvin Tabb, a 20-year-old in his first year on the Midland team, lifted up some of the younger students \u00a0to drop a basketball into the hoop. Tabb, who doesn\u2019t know sign language, worked with the students by using hand gestures and sometimes worked through a nearby interpreter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try be understandable,\u201d Tabb said. \u201cIt\u2019s just about having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alejandra Alvidrez, a 13-year-old sixth grader at San Jacinto Elementary, said she certainly was, and the players there were so good, she couldn\u2019t believe her eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so much fun, I will never forget this day,\u201d Alvidrez said without needed an interpreter.<\/p>\n

By the end of the camp, Alvidrez said she hoped to not only have fun, but to learn some skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to learn to jump even higher and shoot the right way,\u201d Alvidrez said.<\/p>\n

Chris Craig, head basketball coach for the Midland basketball team, said the event is a great opportunity for both the players and the students.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just hope they (the students) have a lot of fun and learn a little about basketball,\u201d Craig said.<\/p>\n

Misty Holmes, teacher at Ector Junior who also serves as an interpreter, said she thought the event was great (even as she continued to rapidly sign to students nearby).<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s great and the kids love it, too,\u201d Holmes said.<\/p>\n

Holmes said there is not a big deaf community in Odessa and there aren\u2019t many opportunities like the camp geared toward deaf students, which she said is good for the students.<\/p>\n

Rakia Musa, district coordinator for the Regional Day School Program for the Deaf, said the event is wonderful.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fun for them to see real basketball players,\u201d Musa said.<\/p>\n

AB, event director, said she and her husband coordinated the event last year and even though the couple has since moved to Maryland, AB thought the event was worth traveling back to Odessa to coordinate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something when I left, I felt we should (still) do,\u201d AB said.<\/p>\n

The two-hour camp was after school at San Jacinto Elementary School in the gymnasium. The students received tips from the players, a T-shirt and opportunities to take pictures and talk to the team.<\/p>\n

AB said if she is still able to keep in contact with the team and they are still interested in putting the event on, shed be back for a third year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a really fun event,\u201d AB said.<\/p>\n

Source:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.oaoa.com\/news\/didn-86599-team-joshua.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Note: some of the names have been changed and\/or removed per request 3\/5\/2025 gwlj<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students learn skills from basketball team April 27, 2012 BY CAYLOR BALLINGER Joshua Mata, 13, didn\u2019t miss a beat as he learned new basketball passing techniques while signing rapidly to a friend nearby. \u201cIt\u2019s fun to play,\u201d Mata said. The…<\/p>\n

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Funk read the book to four of her students as she also signed the words with her hands. Lisette, 3,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3390,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2008\/05\/07\/total-communication\/","url_meta":{"origin":18457,"position":2},"title":"Total Communication","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 7, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Total communication Deaf and hard-of-hearing students build their skills By Elaine Marsilio Odessa American Saturday, May 3, 2008 ODESSA -- Carver pre-kindergartner Lisette Garcia squirmed happily in her chair as teacher Clarissa Funk read from a book about dinosaurs recently. Funk read the book to four of her students as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14283,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/05\/08\/chaps-basketball-team-hosts-camp-for-the-deaf\/","url_meta":{"origin":18457,"position":3},"title":"Chaps basketball team hosts camp for the deaf","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 8, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Chaps basketball team hosts camp for the deaf Thursday, April 28, 2011 Oscar LeRoy Midland Reporter-Telegram ODESSA -- Thursday's basketball camp with the Region Day School Program for the Deaf was a way not only for the Midland College men's basketball team to get together one last time but also\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29727,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2015\/01\/20\/swcid-provides-athletic-outlet\/","url_meta":{"origin":18457,"position":4},"title":"SWCID provides athletic outlet","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"January 20, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Southwestern Collegiate Institute for the Deaf provides athletic outlet By RYAN COLLINGWOOD rcollingwood@oaoa.com December 25, 2014 BIG SPRING As Daniel Sandoval crossed the midcourt line trying to split a pair of Odessa College defenders, the point guard raised his non-dribbling hand and signaled for an offensive set. His\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14591,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/06\/02\/job-opportunity-at-swcid\/","url_meta":{"origin":18457,"position":5},"title":"Job Opportunity at SWCID","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"June 2, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Howard College Human Resources Office POSITION NOTICE SWCID POSITION: ASSISTANT MEN\u2019S RESIDENCE HALL SUPERVISOR \/ HEAD BASKETBALL COACH #11-301 Note: Watch video - go this link: http:\/\/www.swcidvlog.net\/vlog07.html NOTE: OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS AS WELL AS ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS DISCLOSING CREDENTIALS PERTAINING TO THIS POSITION WILL BE REQUIRED. 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