Hawkeyes Gain Perspective at Deaf Camp

Kelby Telander admitted he was a little jealous.

Telander, a sophomore linebacker at Iowa, has a cochlear implant. And when he went with teammates Yahya Black and T.J. Hall to the Mississippi Bend AEA Deaf Camp in Bettendorf in June, Telander saw some of the implants the children had.

“Some of them have the brand-new Neptune,” Telander said, laughing. “It was cool for me to see. I was like, ‘You’ve got this? I don’t have that.’ I’m missing out on so much — theirs have Bluetooth, and they’re water-proof. It was kind of crazy to sit there and compare with them.”

Telander understood the challenges the children were facing — he got his cochlear implant when he was 3 years old. Black and Hall, who took an American Sign Language class in the spring semester, also were impacted by the visit.

“It was cool to see from my perspective, obviously, because I have a cochlear implant,” Telander said. “I wanted to compare and look back on where I was at in my life, when I was at that age. Just to see how much I’ve progressed over time, see the problems that they’re dealing with.”

“These kids, they have their own stories,” said Black, a junior defensive lineman. “They’re kind of a left-out group. … It’s a reality check. It brings me down to the fact that it's not all football, football and football.”

“It was cool to see how happy they were when we played football,” said Hall, a sophomore defensive back. “Even with the hearing disability, even with the implants, they were kids playing football, having fun.”

Telander said he understood the challenges the children face, especially when it comes to playing sports.

“I was at that point when I was a kid playing,” he said. “I had the same questions, the same worries.

“For the most part in the deaf community, people speaking to them don’t have a cochlear implant, so they don’t understand where they’re coming from. That was something I had to deal with growing up. So to speak from my end, my experience, it was a lot more understanding for them.”

Telander faced questions on how the receiver for the implant stays on during football — “My direct answer was we have our helmets on, so that keeps it attached. But when you’re in a contact sport, it’s bound to come off,” he said.

And there was also a question about how to deal with communication on the field. Telander played quarterback and safety at Iowa City Liberty, where he was in more direct communication to make the calls. As a linebacker, though, “We’re not making the calls any more. Your head’s on a swivel, and it’s only a matter of 10 seconds,” he said.

One message Telander made sure to pass on was one that came from his mother when he was young.

“My mom always told me being different is unique. Being normal is boring,” he said. “I was just trying to give them a different perspective, for motivation.”

The motivation, Black and Hall said, worked both ways.

“It was cool to have another perspective,” Black said. ““The best part is, I know that’s the next generation. And that’s what’s after me, and that’s who will lead the world someday. It’s good to know I’m leaving some sort of imprint or impact on their lives, as people have left on me. I know it’s a lasting memory that will live forever. That’s good for me to know.”

“I love seeing people happy, I love seeing kids happy,” Hall said. “There are a lot of negative things in the world. When you can brighten somebody’s day, and they can take something from it — I hope this is something they can remember for a long time. That’s always something cool that I can take from it.

“Most of our lives are about football. But when you can take away time and help kids, it’s a little bit refreshing.”