2003 Year in Review

Weimer is Deaflympic Hopeful

Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado

All the players who showed up for Olympic tryouts in May,
2004 (Todd Weimer is in the 2nd row, 2nd from the left)

Todd Weimer played volleyball in gym class at Morrison High School but the competition team was exclusively high school girls. When he started college for Mechanical Engineering at Northern Illinois University he decided to join an intramural volleyball team for fun. He never thought that decision would change his life. Five years later Weimer is a Physical Education major hoping to go to Melbourne, Australia to play volleyball in the “20th Summer Deaflympics Games” in January 2005.

Can you imagine a volleyball game where everyone is silent except for the hitting of the ball? Team members don’t yell, “I’ve got it, or any other instructions, no whistles are blown, and fans don’t cheer the teams. Referees throw red flags, wave their arms, or move the net to get the players attention but the gym is almost silent during play. Weimer also plays with hearing players and before play he must notify umpires he is deaf because they think he is just ignoring them.

Weimer, partially deaf since birth, began his volleyball career by playing in a co-ed team at NIU. He became a member of a group of deaf students playing on Sunday nights. They competed at Waubonsee Community College against other deaf college team and won five years in a row.

From there a six-member team represented Illinois and WSAD (West Suburbs Association of the Deaf) at the “2002 National Deaf Volleyball Tournament” in Salt Lake City. Weimer helped out with the “Deaf World Games” practice. The team's volleyball coach noticed Weimer and invited him to the tryouts at Colorado Springs in the Olympic Training Center. Weimer has already gone through the first phase and was invited to the final tryouts in February 2004. Approximately twenty-five men will tryout for the 12-member team. Weimer, an outside hitter, said, “ I think I have a good chance of making the team.” He must raise $300 before tryouts and is starting fundraising for the $5000-7000 needed to compete in Australia. Funds are needed for uniforms, shoes, team expenses and airfare. The coach is a volunteer but the team also raises funds for his expenses. To gain experience and to stay in shape, Weimer will be also practicing with several area clubs and playing in tournaments at an extra expense.

Because of the extra costs involved, Todd Weimer and his father, Ron Weimer, are asking for aluminum cans to get Todd started. They have been collecting cans for about a year and a half. If you can help, bring the bags to Ron Weimer’s home at 13629 Garden Plain Road, across from the State Highway Maintenance garage. They are also accepting cash donations from businesses and persons.

After deciding on Physical Education as a career, Weimer started officiating at park district volleyball games in Sycamore, coached 5th grade boys volleyball in St. Charles and is currently coaching freshman girls at Genoa-Kingston High School. He will be finished with school in December and begins his student teaching before graduating in May. Unless you were told Weimer was deaf, you might not realize it. He speaks clearly and uses a hearing aid and reads lips to communicate. He would consider doing volleyball clinics to help raise money for the trip.

To contact Todd you can email him at weimer32@yahoo.com

For more information visit these sites.

Deaflympics
WSAD
USA Volleyball for the Deaf

by Barb Benson, theCity1.com
October 13, 2003