{"id":27481,"date":"2014-05-22T14:55:47","date_gmt":"2014-05-22T19:55:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=27481"},"modified":"2014-05-22T14:55:47","modified_gmt":"2014-05-22T19:55:47","slug":"texas-teen-overcomes-hearing-loss-to-become-major-league-prospect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/05\/22\/texas-teen-overcomes-hearing-loss-to-become-major-league-prospect\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Teen Overcomes Hearing Loss to Become Major League Prospect"},"content":{"rendered":"

Texas Teen Overcomes Hearing Loss to Become Major League Prospect<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Amanda Guerra<\/p>\n

May 19, 2014<\/p>\n

Hearing loss nearly cost<\/span> a pitcher for the W.T. White Longhorn baseball team his calling. But a local group helped him. He’s now a Major League Baseball prospect.<\/p>\n

For many teen boys baseball is a calling. For one pitcher at Dallas’ W.T. White High School, Cason Sherrod, it was almost a call he couldn’t hear.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was born two and a half months premature and as a result he<\/span> had permanent nerve damage. His mother and I didn\u2019t realize he had a hearing deficit until he was about three,\u201d said Slade Sherrod, Cason\u2019s father.<\/p>\n

Doctors determined Cason was 53 percent deaf. \u201cSo whatever y\u2019all hear, I hear half of it,\u201d said Cason Sherrod.<\/p>\n

When Cason started school his parents didn\u2019t have the funds to afford hearing aids, so Cason was forced to use whatever the school could provide.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a little box and you have your headphones coming out and you put them in your ear. Everyone saw it, so you never wanted to wear it,\u201d Cason explained.<\/p>\n

By middle school, he stopped wearing his hearing aids.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so embarrassed to wear them,” Cason said. \u201cI felt so different. I didn\u2019t feel accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust when he would go out, to be able to have a conversation \u2014 if there was distortion or noise in the background, he couldn\u2019t interact socially,\u201d said Slade Sherrod.<\/p>\n

He said to compensate and started to read lips. But by high school, that could only take Cason so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grades were starting to slip in the classroom because I couldn\u2019t hear what the teachers were saying,” Cason said.<\/p>\n

And then there was baseball.<\/p>\n

\u201cPractice was miserable. I didn’t hear anybody and nobody knew I was hearing-impaired, so everybody thought I was just ignoring them,\u201d said Cason.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe noise of the crowd and calling plays, it limited his playing time \u2014 just cause you couldn\u2019t communicate with him. That was real<\/span> frustrating for him,\u201d Slade said.<\/p>\n

Cason was ready to hang up his cleats after high school, when a group of family friends rallied around him.<\/p>\n

They teamed up with the Callier Center in Dallas to raise $7,500 to purchase Cason a set of hearing aids that would work for him and the game of baseball.<\/p>\n

The high-end digital hearing aids are so small they are barely noticeable.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I got them, it made a huge difference. You could hear the birds chirp<\/span> for the first time ever,\u201d Cason exclaimed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt changed his whole world,\u201d said Slade.<\/p>\n

Finally, Cason was the ordinary 17-year-old he<\/span> wanted to be \u2014 at least that\u2019s what he thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings just started falling into place. His mechanics got a lot better. It\u2019s amazing the turnaround he\u2019s<\/span> been able to make. I can\u2019t really explain it myself!\u201d said his coach David Shepherd of W.T. White High School.<\/p>\n

With the help of a new pitching coach, Cason literally began to hear his calling.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe play Jesuit and he struck out 17-18 batters in nine innings. That\u2019s when there happened to be a few scouts in the stands that night. That really put him on their radar,\u201d Shepherd said.<\/p>\n

Before he knew it, Cason was attracting the attention of every Major League Baseball organization. Some nights when he pitches, there are up to 18 scouts<\/span> in the stands. His fastball is the stuff of high school legends.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been clocked at 93-95 [miles per hour]. I\u2019ve touched 96 a couple times,\u201d Cason admitted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you go to throw a bullpen and you look out there and they\u2019ve got the radar guns on you and they\u2019re watching every move you make, that\u2019s got to be a lot of pressure,\u201d his coach said.<\/p>\n

But for number 21, it\u2019s<\/span> pressure that reminds him he is anything but ordinary.<\/p>\n

\u201cCason is walking in the direction of his dreams and living the life he imagined, being able to hear,\u201d said his father Slade.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to think that everybody would always judge me because of my hearing, but that\u2019s not the case. I\u2019ve figured that out. I\u2019ve finally accepted the person I am,\u201d Cason said.<\/p>\n

Cason is currently deciding between going to college to play baseball for a few years or possibly signing a contract with a major league team.<\/p>\n

Click on this sentence for a link to the Callier Center in<\/span> Dallas.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.utdallas.edu\/calliercenter\/<\/a><\/p>\n

SOURCE:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.nbcdfw.com\/news\/sports\/Texas-Teen-Overcomes-Hearing-Loss-to-become-Major-League-Prospect-259744311.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Texas Teen Overcomes Hearing Loss to Become Major League Prospect By Amanda Guerra May 19, 2014 Hearing loss nearly cost a pitcher for the W.T. White Longhorn baseball team his calling. But a local group helped him. He’s now a…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[3349,9400,21684,19,21685,3249,1245,18004,21683,17,21682],"class_list":["post-27481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-baseball","tag-callier-center","tag-cason-sherrod","tag-dallas-dfw","tag-david-shepherd","tag-hearing-aids","tag-hearing-loss","tag-major-league-baseball","tag-slade-sherrod","tag-texas","tag-w-t-white-longhorn"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-79f","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3846,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2008\/08\/11\/kickn-chickn-drumstick-cook-off-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":27481,"position":0},"title":"Kick’n Chick’n Drumstick Cook-Off","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"August 11, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Kick\u2019n Chick\u2019n Drumstick Cook-Off By Kim Nguyen, Staff Writer (Created: Tuesday, August 05, 2008) The Plano Legacy YMCA will be hosting the first annual Labor Day Kick\u2019n Chick\u2019n Drumstick Cook-Off that will benefit the Deaf Action Center in Dallas. 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Jacob Landis rode into Rangers Ballpark in Arlington Saturday, the 24th\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":33069,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2016\/03\/06\/author-shares-inspiring-story-with-stonewall-jackson-elementary-students\/","url_meta":{"origin":27481,"position":2},"title":"Author shares inspiring story with Stonewall Jackson Elementary students","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"March 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Author shares inspiring story with Stonewall Jackson Elementary students\u00a0 BY GENE DAVIS MARCH 4, 2016 INSIDE DALLAS ISD When Nancy Churnin was writing her children\u2019s book about William Hoy, the deaf Major League Baseball Player who had a significant impact on the sport in the early 20th century, her mind\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"dummy hoy book at DISD","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/dummy-hoy-book-at-DISD.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":31571,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2015\/08\/06\/txhv-baseball-extravaganza-82115-houston\/","url_meta":{"origin":27481,"position":3},"title":"TXHV: Baseball Extravaganza 8\/21\/15 – Houston","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"August 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"TXHV: Join us at Baseball game - Houston Attention Houston families with deaf and hard of hearing children and the professionals who support them: Let\u2019s all celebrate the last days of summer together before heading back to school with a Sugarland Skeeters game and gathering on August 2tst hosted by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"8-21-15 Sugarland Flyer S MM","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/8-21-15-Sugarland-Flyer-S-MM.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":31543,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2015\/08\/05\/txhv-join-us-at-baseball-game-houston-dfw-amarillo-and-austin\/","url_meta":{"origin":27481,"position":4},"title":"TXHV: Join us at Baseball game – Houston, DFW, Amarillo and Austin!","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"August 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s not too late Amarillo, Austin, Dallas\/Fort Worth and Houston. 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