Jim Kyte:
Jim Kyte was born with perfect hearing but a hereditary condition caused his hearing loss as a child
“Jim Kyte was like any other tough guy in the NHL – big, tough and intimidating – except for one thing; he was legally deaf.” (Source: Lam, 1)
Kyte was the only hearing-impaired player in the NHL in the 1980s and the first player to wear hearing aids when playing. He had a special helmet to protect them. He had to rely on his eyesight to know what was happening on the ice. He played for 5 different teams and played for 13 seasons, which is 598 games.
"I couldn’t depend on players yelling my name, saying, ‘I’m open! “I did a lot of lip reading. Sometimes when I went back into my own corner to retrieve a puck and didn’t have time to look over my shoulder, I would use the glass along the boards. Instead of looking through the glass to the fans, I looked at the glass to see who was behind me.” (Lam, 2)
AHIHA connection:
Jim is an extended AHIHA family member. He learned about the program during his professional career and was impressed by the organization. He started The Jim Kyte Hockey School for the Hearing Impaired, in his hometown of Ottawa, Ontario. The school is now closed.
“The kids are shy and introverted at the beginning but then they realize they’re with kids who have the same skill caliber and share certain social frustrations, too,” They have a lot in common on and off the ice. Their confidence improves throughout the week and, hopefully, that overflowed to when they got home.” -Jim Kyte (Lam, 2)
"Being a professional athlete, you're a role model, whether you want to be or not. And because I'm hearing-impaired, I'm more of a role model for hearing-impaired children. I come here not because I'm obligated, but because I want to." -Jim Kyte (Herzog 4)
(Image: Lam, www.thehockeynews.com)
Canadian Deaf Sports Association:
Many people have tried to help hearing impaired individuals in other countries. The Canadian Deaf Sports Association is one example. This association helps kids all around Canada learn how to play various sports and increase their confidence.
NHL Outreach:
The NHL believes Hockey is for 'Everyone'. This video shares a hockey sign language lesson.
Source: www.NHL.com