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684-2013 1025 HOLLY
CVN
SPORTS May 5 - 11, 2016
Next week: Warrior baseball vs. St. Bonny
Tavira bros hear the call of the future
BY ALONZO OROZCO
Juan and Guillermo Tavira-Rios, both student-athletes at Carpinteria High School, blend in on the field and while navigating between classes on campus. What sets the brothers apart is the obstacles they have overcome in order to achieve. Juan, a sophomore, is hearing impaired, while Guillermo, a senior, is deaf. Both siblings play football and run track for the Warriors. Guillermo, who also notched two years of basketball, started playing sports when he was a freshman. “It was my first time ever playing sports, and I really enjoyed it, so I have continued to play up to my senior year,” said the older brother through American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreter Christina Montero. Playing team sports with hearing impairments comes with its share of issues, particularly in football, where both brothers have had to spend a great deal of time on the defensive side of the ball because of being unable to hear the offensive plays. Even though Guillermo has had interpreters on the sidelines for the past couple of years, his inability to hear has helped bring the team together, as many of the players and coaches have learned some signing in order to communicate. In track, younger brother Juan has run the 800 and 1600 meters, while Guillermo has participated in the 300 hurdles and 4x100 relays.
BILL SWING PHOTOS
Guillermo Tavira-Rios competes on the track and field team and clears more than a conventional hurdle in the process. Guillermo has had the benefit of having an interpreter present since kindergarten, but Juan was without one until
fifth grade. Juan is able to speak quite clearly. However, his ability to communicate orally hasn’t always been wellreceived. “The people that I entrusted in were making fun of my voice,” said Juan. Montero confirms Juan’s tone of speech is often labeled as a “deaf accent.” Juan plans to follow in his older brother’s footsteps by participating in high school sports for all four years and looks forward to donning the number four his brother wore as Carpinteria’s first deaf football player. Although not much taller than 5’ 4”, Guillermo has earned the reputation as being a fierce competitor. Recently the senior was offered a football and track scholarship from deaf university Gallaudet in Washington, D.C. “My parents are here, I kind of want to stay here in the community,” explained Guillermo, who declined the offer. Aside from the excitement of playing at Carpinteria Valley Memorial Stadium,
education seems to be the brothers’ main focus. Each plans to attend SBCC for two years, then move on to a four-year university. “I don’t want to do any sports. I want to focus on English,” said Juan. “I want to be an English teacher for a deaf school,” he added. Meanwhile, Guillermo’s ambition is to become a chef, and he would also like to someday coach deaf and hard of hearing students. According to Montero, SBCC has several sign language instructors available for its students. “There’s actually one deaf person (at SBCC) I know. He’s the first deaf person (at the school) to go into cosmetology,” said Montero. “It’s nice to see there are (deaf people) breaking down those barriers.” Guillermo seemingly doesn’t see those barriers. “I’m not allowing my deafness to interfere with anything I want to do,” said the senior. “I’m not allowing my deafness to give me limits.”
Carpinteria High School students Guillermo and Juan Tavira-Rias enjoy camaraderie with coaches Weldon Nomura and Angel Silva with the help of sign language translator Christina Montero.
Saving the Tritons
Juan Tavira-Rios legs it across the finish line for Warrior track and field.
In last week's CVN, the Carpinteria Tritons 12 and under water polo team garnered recognition for its Ventura Youth Water Polo League Championship. The goalie, Gavin Lohuis, was overlooked. He was integral to the team's successes and turning back opponents’ shots.