主教练查克·戈尔茨坦, MCAA ’15 led Gallaudet University’s football team in a Cinderella season in 2013, winning their conference and breaking into the national rankings (#25) for the first time in school history.
What’s unusual is that half the players on the team are deaf and the other half are hearing-impaired. 加劳德特大学成立于1864年，是美国顶尖的大学.S. 专为聋哑及听障学生而设.
“I haven’t used a whistle in six years,” says Goldstein from Gallaudet’s 99-acre Washington, D.C.,校园.
The Gallaudet Bison play by the same rules as all other teams in the NCAA’s Division III. 但是他们用手语来表演, 每个人都看着球，知道比赛什么时候开始.
And because there are so few deaf and hearing-impaired players in the U.S.在美国，这支球队的阵容约为54名球员，远低于正常的100名球员. 一些伤病可以毁掉一个赛季.
戈尔茨坦说:“我们的招聘规模要小得多. “I’m not allowed to recruit hearing players unless they are fluent in American Sign Language (美国手语),这使得球队的突破赛季更加引人注目.
戈尔茨坦自己的道路也同样出人意料, 并获得了康考迪亚大学欧文分校的学位 教练和体育管理文学硕士 (MCAA)项目. As a former high school coach who was suddenly elevated to the top spot at Gallaudet, 戈尔茨坦在飞行中学习, 改编得很快，并在这个传奇节目上留下了自己的印记.
从孩提时代起，“我只想教体育课.E. 当足球教练，”他说，但成功并没有马上到来. 他在家乡马里兰州的大学里打橄榄球, 然后加入了当地几所大学的教练组, 但却难以维持生计.
“I had no connections in the coaching network or much experience,他说. At one point he was working the graveyard shift at a residential group home and putting in a full day coaching, 就因为对比赛的热爱.
结婚不久，戈尔茨坦找到了一份教体育课的工作.E. 在马里兰州南部的一所高中. 他希望再次担任大学级别的教练, 但当机会来临时，他和他的妻子却害怕起来.
“I bumped into a friend who was the head coach at Gallaudet and he said, “跟我来吧,’”戈尔茨坦回忆道. “一开始我很犹豫. 我有一份很好的教学工作. My wife was pregnant with our first son and wasn’t excited about me going back to coaching at college. 它需要招聘，而且没有很好的工作保障. 如果我们没赢，或者主教练走了怎么办? 那我在哪里?? 有很多问号.”
他们冒了这个险，戈尔茨坦于2009年加入了野牛队, 及时成为球队自1930年以来第一个获胜赛季的一部分. Later that year the top spot opened up and because there was a hiring freeze due to the economic downturn, 戈尔茨坦被任命为主教练.
“I was young and naive and learning how to coach a team on the fly,他说.
不仅如此, 但他正在学习一门新的语言, 美国手语, 这是每个在加劳德特工作的人应该做的吗, 即使是像戈尔茨坦这样没有听力损失的人. 和球员们一起吃午饭很有帮助.
“他们对我很有耐心，”他说. 他很快就知道加劳德特, which is a federally chartered school (the President of the United States signs each diploma), 深深投身于正规赌博十大平台排行.
“I’ve had kids tell me their dream is to wear that Bison uniform,” says Goldstein. “对一些孩子来说，这就像在巴黎圣母院打球.”
But the Bison have racked up more losing seasons than most football programs. The team’s major accomplishment in 116 years was inventing the huddle in 1894 when Gallaudet’s quarterback pulled his players into a circle so no one could see his hand motions. (Ironically, today Gallaudet doesn’t use the huddle because opposing teams can’t understand 美国手语.)
Goldstein discovered that he had to always stand in front of players so they could see him communicating. 他学会了跟踪太阳的位置，这样他就不会被背光照射. Meetings took longer and it was harder to get someone’s attention from across the field, including a running back headed for the end zone after the play was dead.
It took me a while to figure out what impact you can have on young people. 你们正在改变生活.
在国防, the team played to the ball and looked to the referee to put his hands up because most couldn’t hear a whistle. 关于特殊球队的比赛, a coach bangs a big drum on the sidelines to indicate when the ball is on the ground. 球员感觉到震动，知道要找球.
But some aspects of the deaf experience provided a strategic advantage. 用无声的抓拍计数, the quarterback puts pressure on the center’s rear end to signal when to hike. 四分卫甚至可以改变争球线的判罚, signing with one hand in front of the center’s face and letting the players communicate that down the line. 这些都不需要额外的时间.
“We’re signing so fast you can’t pick up on it unless you’re fluent in 美国手语,” says Goldstein.
In his first two years as head coach, the team went 5-5, then notched a winning season (7-3) in 2012.
随后，神奇的2013赛季到来了.
“We ripped off nine straight wins” and became the first men’s team at Gallaudet to make a NCAA tournament appearance, 戈尔茨坦说,. 11名球员入选了全联盟代表队, and Goldstein was named the 2013 coach of the year by his peers in the conference.
The Bison’s run captured national attention and the team was featured on ESPN, 哥伦比亚广播公司晚间新闻, 在美联社和华盛顿邮报.
At the same time, Goldstein had just enrolled in Concordia’s MCAA program.
“我研究了不同的教练管理研究生项目, 比较了它们，觉得康科迪亚是最合适的, 所以我马上就开始了,他说. “我真的很喜欢这些课程. 我把在课堂上学到的东西运用到我的项目中. 这真的很有益.”
例如, he took knowledge from his Technology and Sports class and implemented it right away in Gallaudet’s football program.
“我以前是个无聊的ppt狂人，”他说. “因为这门课，现在我们所有人都联系在一起了.”
Concordia’s professors were easy to get hold of when he had questions, 他说, and the schedule’s flexibility allowed him to take classes during the summer and double up in the winter, 在足球赛季休息的时候.
“During the day if I had a few minutes I could take an online test or quiz or something, 花时间和孩子们在一起, 然后哄孩子睡觉，做作业,他说.
汤姆白色, 欧文康考迪亚大学MCAA项目的创始人和主任, 表示该程序当前服务1,全美50个州和5个国家的019名学生. “Our MCAA program provides a transformational experience that connects athletics with faith, 学习和终身服务的工作,怀特说。.
For Goldstein, that became part of his journey of growing as a coach.
“当我刚开始执教时，我只想赢，”他说. “我不知道什么是教练. 我只想冲别人大喊大叫，往他们脸上吐口水. It took me a while to figure out what impact you can have on young people. 你们正在改变生活. 他们进来时是不成熟的18岁孩子，离开时是成熟的成年人.”
现在, 他的球队培养出了真正的NFL新秀, Goldstein gets more satisfaction from helping kids become outstanding adults. “足球教会了你生活中需要知道的一切, 问责制, 纪律, 所有这些,他说. “因为足球，我成为了今天的我. 作为教练，我们的工作就是培养年轻人. 更大的胜利是毕业，和父母握手.”
Along the way Goldstein has helped revitalize Gallaudet’s football program and become fluent in 美国手语.
“When I hang out with friends I start signing when I’m talking,他说. “这是自然发生的。. 在餐馆里，我点餐的时候会签名，而自己却没有意识到.”
His three sons, ages 5, 4 and 2, love coming to the field and hanging out with players. And two of Goldstein’s co-workers—a basketball coach and the men’s soccer coach—have started Concordia’s MCAA program.
“I think it’s a great program and I promote it anytime I can,” 戈尔茨坦说,. “我和很棒的人一起工作. 我热爱我的工作. 我爱足球. 我永远不会停止学习足球.”