By Granger Huntress

Christopher Kearney first discovered tennis while in elementary school in Dallas. He loved what he learned in school and was encouraged by a family friend to begin outside lessons. But Kearney was not like the rest of the kids in his elementary school class, he was born deaf. Of course that was not about to stop this energetic player.

His dad, Brian Kearney, Christopher’s biggest fan, went to every lesson with him, to interpret between him and his coach. Eventually, Christopher joined the Dallas Slam Jammers, a beginner program that has been responsible for hundreds of kids’ development at Kiest Tennis Center, started in a partnership with the Dallas Tennis Association.

Not long after developing a love for the game, Kearney entered his very first tournament in Las Colinas and won the tournament, obvious proof that both his skills and confidence were on the rise. With his success, though, he felt it very important to share his passion for tennis with other kids facing similar challenges, and so he volunteered at Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas, starting programs that introduced tennis to children.

In 8th grade, Kearney moved away from his family and friends in Dallas to pursue an education with students of like abilities and began his studies at the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin. Kearney showed off his tennis prowess as he entered high school, immediately playing on the varsity and competing at the TAPPS State Championships. As is usually the case, he was the only deaf player in the tournament.

Kearney recently competed at the National Deaf Tennis Qualifier for the 2007 Dresse and Maere Cups in Farmington, Connecticut. The Dresse and Maere Cups are similar to the Davis and Fed Cups for Deaf tennis players. The world finals will be held in Munich, Germany this summer from July 21st to the 28th, with the top four finishers in each gender nominated to represent the USA. Kearney was one of the youngest to compete and came up a little short this year, but he will definitely be representing our country in the years to come.

Currently, Kearney is an advocate for deaf tennis players everywhere, working with the USTA, the Adult Deaf Tennis Association, as well as, other teachers and personnel at his school lobbying for more competitive opportunities for players like himself. His goal is to help tennis reach the level that deaf football and basketball have already reached at his school, where teams competing at this level can advance not only to state, but also to regional and national championships. Kearney would like the opportunity to win a national championship, and as Nick Bannon his coach states, more than anyone, he deserves this chance.

Aside from his obvious passion for tennis, Kearney is a born leader. He is the Student Body President and is an enthusiastic voice for all classmates.

A senior, he has also narrowed his college choices to only four: Gallaudet University, the only university in the U.S. for the hearing-impaired located in Washington DC, Southern Methodist University, University of Texas, in Austin, and Arizona State University.

Gallaudet University, as well as many hearing-impaired high school campuses across the country, bangs a large bass drum at their football games to replace the quarterback’s snap count. The lesser-impaired players can actually hear the beat. Those who can’t hear the beat are able, because of their heightened tactile sense, to feel the vibrations from it, so that the offense moves as one, whether on the first pulse, the second, or the third.

The USTA Texas Section is proud to have people like Christopher Kearney and his coach Nick Bannon banging the drum of tennis throughout the hearing-impaired community. We are truly inspired by their efforts and hope that by working along side them, we can improve the state of tennis within the hearing-impaired community.