Tamika Catchings is proud to be a role model and inspiration to the hearing impaired all over the world. Found Haven in Basketball. The world-famous Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston annually gives this She is a hero for the deaf community, especially in sports. Tamika Catchings has competed for 15 seasons with the WNBA, winning the NCAA title and the WNBA championship, a six-time WNBA All-Star, a five-time Defensive Player of the Year, and is a four-time Olympic gold medalist. Basketball great Tamika Catchings remembers being teased as a kid. OnlyAGameNPR. As a young child, I remember being teased for the way I looked with my big, clunky hearing aids and After winning a title with Duncanville, Catchings played at the University of Tennessee from 1997-2001, winning a national championship under Summitt. Don’t forget to check out another incredibly talented hearing impaired Olympic athlete, David Smith (USA Men Volleyball), this August! I’m super excited knowing that this is my final hurrah. Lance was the first legally deaf NBA player and played for the Cleveland Cavaliers. (© AP Images) Her college coach, the legendary, late Pat Summitt of the University of Tennessee, saw potential beyond basketball in her superstar. Fifty kids, including some from our program, had a blast improving their hoops skills and learning how to be a good sport at the Tamika Catchings Youth Basketball Clinic at the Regal Teen Center Boys & Girls Club. Proved Herself a Champion. Catchings reached the highest level of her career on Saturday, when she was named to be elected into the Class of 2020 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in her first available year. Tamika Catchings . Buy Catch a Star: Shining Through Adversity to Become a Champion by Tamika Catchings in Paperback format at Koorong (9780800723958). Tamika Catchings is a retired WNBA and USA Olympic basketball player who also happens to be deaf. The point guard calls a lot of plays with whatever hand signal we use. Among the headliners announced Saturday is Tamika Catchings, one of the best women’s basketball small forwards ever — 10-time WNBA All-Star, seven-time All-WNBA first-team selection, five-time Defensive Player of the Year and 2011 WNBA MVP. In 2004, she launched the Catch the Stars Foundation, which empowers disadvantaged youth. Catchings also won four consecutive Olympic gold medals with Team USA from 2002-2016. Tamika Catchings (USA, Basketball) The 24-year-old WNBA star was born with a hearing loss and incredible athleticism. She thought Catchings could be an inspiration for other kids. HHF is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation. At the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this August, keep an eye out for Tamika Catchings, a star player with a hearing loss for Team USA Women’s National Basketball Team. “This is the top. I wear them more when I’m doing speaking engagements. All rights reserved. Catchings has been a forward on the Indiana Fever Women’s NBA Basketball team for 14 years. Hearing Health Foundation does not endorse products or services appearing as paid advertisements in this website. In 2000, Catchings was honored with the Reynolds Society Achievement Award by Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston. Tamika Catchings. Catching’s mindset about her disability changed once she embraced the hearing loss and after her college coach, the late Pat Summitt of the University of Tennessee, shared some inspiring words. UT Knoxville, ’00, ’05. Tamika Catchings is proud to be a role model and inspiration to the hearing impaired all over the world. Proceeds from Friday's event were shared between the Tamika Catchings Endowed Scholarship Fund, which supports the UTHSC Audiology & Speech Pathology graduate students, and the Tamika Catchings Amplification Assistance Fund, which supports UTHSC Hearing & … On the court, I think that having a hearing loss has actually made me a better player because it’s made me be more conscious of everything that’s going on around me. But it wasn’t always that way. She’s highly decorated with WNBA awards. The four-time Olympic gold medalist and retired WNBA great of Indiana Fever fame was born with a hearing loss, using the experience to help fuel her drive to win. “I am incredibly honored to be included in this year’s Naismith Hall of Fame, and God only knows the dreams I had as a little girl to be able to follow in my father's footsteps,” she said of her dad, Harvey Catchings, a former professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers. Our tax ID number is 13-1882107. I wanted to dispel that notion and share my story to be role model to those who need one. After playing basketball throughout her school life, Catchings became a star of the University of Tennessee women’s basketball team. INDIANAPOLIS–Tamika Catchings became the latest in a long line of great athletes who didn’t let hearing loss stop them from reaching the pinnacle of their profession.On September 22, the star forward of the Indiana Fever was named the 2011 Most Valuable Player in the Woman’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). I think that overcoming that, being able to write the book, and being able to be successful in this realm is great. As a child she struggled with hearing and speech impairments, wearing hearing aids, and bullying. The difference between hearing and listening can be profound. I always wanted my dad to be a dad, not my coach or a critic. I never thought I would have an opportunity to make the Olympics, and here I am going for my fourth time. “She helped me see that one day my story could impact thousands and maybe millions of people, and it definitely has. I read lips [and am] very observant, so I’m always looking around to see if there’s anybody talking to me, or I look at the bench to see if the coach is calling a play. This is the end. This time I want to make sure that I really enjoy the festivities and Olympic experience. As a child, she threw her hearing aids into a field after being teased at school. Now, she uses her platform to talk about her experiences with hearing impairment. Though she struggled at first, she eventually found basketball as her salvation and made it her career. “I don’t feel sadness,'' Catchings said as she looks forward to The Class of 2020 scheduled to be enshrined on Saturday, August 29 in Springfield, Massachusetts, the home of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Before making her mark in the WNBA, she spent part of her high school years in Duncanville, Texas, playing volleyball and basketball at Duncanville High School, eventually leading the volleyball team to a state championship in 1995 – her first semester on campus - and the basketball team to a state championship in the 1996-97 season, her senior year. What a day! Born with a hearing impairment, her classmates made fun of the hearing aids and speech difficulties. A retired American basketball player, Tamika Catchings was born with a hearing impairment that affects both ears. Some are calling the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2020 one of the best ever. With four Olympic Gold Medals, a 15-year reign as the ‘Queen of the WNBA,’ and recognition as a ‘Best Human in Indianapolis,’ Tamika says overcoming her hearing impairment helped her develop drive and determination from a young age. It’s so cool and so awesome,” said Catchings. As far as playing, it’s tough because I sweat a lot, so they get clogged. Tamika Catchings was stunned to realize she will be just the second Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee with ties to the Tennessee Lady Vols, … named to be elected into the Class of 2020 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in her first available year. When people look at professional athletes, they think they’ve had a perfect life their entire life with little or no hardships. I think the preparation for the actual games is always going to be the same. "I feel happiness and I feel like we will still be able to celebrate him. Basketball is a game of sign language. Tamika Catchings was born hard of hearing and has worn hearing aids since she was a young girl. Writing the book has been a three-year project, so to have a finalized copy is great. She led the Indiana Fever to a WNBA championship in 2012 and has four Olympic gold medals (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016). 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