Deaf Program Brings Northridge a Lineman

The first of two daily practices was about to come to an end as Coach Bob Burt stood near the middle of the Cal State Northridge football field surrounded by 91 sweaty bodies.

While he made his closing comments, 90 sets of blurry eyes looked in his direction. Only one player, Tim Siaki, looked away.

Siaki, a nose tackle, was focusing on a young man wearing a blue lab jacket. As Burt spoke, the man in blue was interpreting his words in sign language.

Siaki is deaf. That’s the only reason he isn’t playing for a Division I power like Alabama or UCLA right now. Instead, he had to settle for Division II Northridge.

Northridge was able to recruit the 6-3, 275-pound junior out of Laney Community College in Oakland because the school’s program for deaf students--not its football team--is ranked close to the top nationally.

“I would have liked to go to someplace like UCLA, but they had no programs for deaf people,” Siaki said through an interpreter after practice. “Northridge does, and I’m very happy here. I don’t mind not playing at UCLA or a bigger school. It would have been nice, but this is fine.”

In Siaki’s first few weeks at Northridge he communicated with coaches and other players by writing notes on paper. “We passed paper and pen back and forth, back and forth, for hours,” Siaki said. “Now communication is very much improved.”

Jerry Campbell, CSUN’s defensive line coach, has instituted nightly 30-minute sign language lessons so other defensive linemen can communicate better with their new teammate. “I figure as long as he’s going to be around here for two years we might as well be able to talk to him,” Campbell said. “It was hard at first, but it’s also interesting. We’re having some fun with it.”

And so, at 9 every night, the defensive linemen huddle in a dormitory room to be tutored in sign language. “A lot of the guys want to learn more,” Siaki said. “But I just don’t have the time. I have to focus on the coach. Right now, he’s the most important.”

Said Campbell: “We’re getting along better as time goes on. At first it was hard for me to pick him out of a crowd and get his attention, but I’ve solved that problem. I just yell and look for the only guy who doesn’t turn around.”

Siaki, who has been deaf since birth, played high school football at California School for the Deaf in Fremont. He attended Laney because it also has special programs for the deaf. He was a starter on the football team at defensive tackle as a freshman, but Coach Stan Peters said Siaki is a natural for the nose tackle position he played as a sophomore.

“It’s an ideal position,” Peters said. “He’s big, strong and he never jumps offside. He can’t hear anything so he concentrates only on the ball and that’s exactly what you want a nose tackle to do.” As a sophomore, Siaki was selected first-team all-state in Oklahoma and second-team All-American.

“He has all the tools to play major college football and he wanted to play for a big-time program,” Peters said. “It took me a while to convince him that there were more important things for him to consider than just football. We thought Northridge would be a perfect place for him to get a good education first and play some football, too.”

Unfortunately for Siaki, he plays the same position as one of CSUN’s top returning players, Darrell McIntyre, an All-Western Football Conference selection last season.

Nevertheless, Campbell said, he’ll find some playing time for Siaki, who can bench press 415 pounds and run a 4.9 40-yard dash.

“It’s going to take a while for him to get the calls and communication down, but he’s big and strong and I think he can help, particularly in goal-line situations,” Campbell said.

Siaki said he never expected to come in and start right away. Patience is a trait he had to learn the hard way.

“It’s not real fair that I have to work harder to get to the same level as a hearing person, but it’s something I’ll always have to live with,” he said. “It was tough at first trying to learn a new system. I was the only deaf person and no one on the team knew sign language. But things are better now and I know if I’m patient my chance will come.”