FREMONT, Calif. — There’s little yelling on the sidelines, no hollering in the huddle, zero trash talk on the line of scrimmage.
But as the Eagles line up in formation and prepare for the kickoff, fingers are flying, hands are waving, signals are soaring.
Throughout the season, the team is communicating, fast and furiously, and also, mostly, silently. They are deaf, but for them, deafness isn’t a disadvantage. It’s a superpower.
“We don’t need to have codes because the other team doesn’t know what we’re saying,” says Herminio Gonzalez, head coach of the football team at the Fremont campus of the California School for the Deaf. “The players always know what’s going on, especially if they grew up with a strong deaf culture.”
The school boasts a storied program. Last year, the Eagles’ sister team, the Riverside Cubs, barreled their way through a historic season that made headlines around the country, inspiring an honorary Super Bowl appearance and a Disney+ series. Seven years earlier, ESPN featured the team as part of its E60 series and showed one of its games live on ESPN2 in 2016.
Win or lose on the field, and this year there’s been more losing than winning, the Eagles are a team built on brotherhood and sharpened by camaraderie and a shared purpose.
“You have friends in class, but this is a deeper connection. Nothing can beat it,” says Bodhi Amann, 17, a senior from Fremont who plays multiple positions, as do many of his teammates.
California School for the Deaf, or CSD as it is often called, was established in 1860. Its sprawling 91-acre campus is filled with colorful murals, championship banners and, of course, a football field. The Eagles play eight-man football, with a 27-man squad that rotates between offensive and defensive positions.
The team ended the season this month at 4-6 (2-4 in league play). But for every loss, Gonzalez also sees a gain.
“I love to see the kids growing, making sure they’re committed and focused and persevering,” the coach, who is also deaf, says in American Sign Language (ASL). “We’re like a family the way we support each other. I feel like they’re all my sons.”
Gonzalez, who was born in Puerto Rico, fell in love with football after moving to Miami as a child. His 26-year career coaching deaf teams took him to Fremont in 2016. He takes in stride the challenges of coaching in a hearing world.
“One difficulty is communicating with the referees. A hearing team can just yell at them during the middle of a game, but I don’t have that option,” he says. “I have to wave and sometimes get someone next to me to help.”
Nearly 80% of the CSD staff is fluent in ASL. It’s a commitment the boarding school makes to prepare its students, some who enroll as toddlers, for life after school.
“Our goal is for our kids to feel empowered,” Superintendent Clark Brooke says. “In mainstream schools, they don’t have interpreters during lunchtime or for after-school activities. Here, they have someone to talk to from the moment they wake up until they say good night.”
For Bodhi, the school has made a significant difference. “I feel so lucky. There are only two deaf schools in California, so there are a lot of students out there who are deaf and are just stuck,” he says.
Bodhi’s teammate and fellow senior Daniel Fuentes, also 17, used to feel that way before enrolling at CSD in 2012. “I grew up in L.A., and I used to go to a mainstream school, but I didn’t look forward to going into the classroom. I had a hearing teacher who would just talk, and I didn’t understand,” Daniel says.
“So we decided to move here, and I was just amazed. I found a lot of friends who had similar experiences to me and I started to learn more. It’s been the best experience of my life.”
He looks out for some of those friends as a linebacker. One of them is Adrian Ruiz, a 17-year-old San Mateo senior, who says he’s “so thankful for the brotherhood” at the school and on the team. “CSD has benefited me in every way. They helped me figure out who I am as a person.”
On this year’s Senior Day, proud parents and coaches celebrated the team’s seniors and cheerleaders. There were posters, photographs and, for the Dingel family, homemade T-shirts.
Heidi and Nathan Dingel, both CSD alums, have a long family connection to the school, and there was no question about where their four children would go, including football players Jaden and Jaxon.
“Being deaf, it’s like we’re in our own bubble. The reality is that it’s a hearing world, and people don’t include us,” Heidi says. “I tell my kids that they have to learn to communicate with everyone. They get tired. They say that kids only want to learn the funny signs, but I want them to learn that if they want to talk to someone, they have to be assertive.
“Find your identity, understand how to communicate, and once you’re out in the real world, it’s easy. It all starts here in this school.”
The decision can be harder for those who live farther away and for parents who are not part of the deaf community.
Johnte Haggins Jr., a 17-year-old running back and linebacker, is the only member of his immediate family who is hard of hearing. His parents, Johnte Sr. and Christine Haggins, live in Sacramento and sent Johnte to CSD in the eighth grade.
“He was in a public school before this, and it was OK, but it didn’t really fit him. He wanted to come here, and when he did, he fell in love with it,” Johnte’s father says. “It was scary at first. We live two hours away. But we got to see all of the activities and programs that they run here, and it’s just great.”
Their son’s athletic and social abilities weren’t the only things to improve.
“We noticed a tremendous growth in his schoolwork. … He stopped being frustrated and was able to complete things. He just grew. It was amazing to watch,” Christine Haggins says.
Lorie Steven, who lives in Redding, feels the same. Her son Brendin, a 17-year-old senior kicker, transferred to CSD two years ago. “As Brendan got older, life got a little harder, and he was struggling a lot. I had heard about CSD so I mentioned it to him, and he decided to come here within minutes, and he’s the best he’s ever been,” she says.
As she finishes speaking, the Senior Day celebrations come to an end. While this year’s football season didn’t always go the way the team hoped, the lessons they’ve learned on and off the field will stick with them for life.
