Deaf Student-Athlete Leads High School Basketball Team
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Destiny Wilson is a three sport athlete for Monsignor Pace High School - playing basketball, flag football and running track.
However she's overcoming more than just the typical challenges a player might encounter on the practice floor.
Wilson is deaf, but that hasn't stopped this junior from taking over the basketball court. She is averaging 17 points a game this season for the Spartans.
"I see it as a challenge to make me a stronger person," said Wilson. "I just keep going hard and don't let anything bring me down. I don't listen to the negative, positive things only."
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Basketball is a game where communication is vital. So Wilson plays every game with a hearing aide. But sometimes – in the heat of battle – her listening device has been known to malfunction.
"It breaks on her, she takes it out, or the girls tell me she cuts it off so she doesn't hear me," said head coach Adam Hopkins.
Despite the communication issues, Hopkins enjoys having a player like Wilson leading his team.
"Everyone would want one of those on their team. A kid with two speeds. A kid that wants to win. A kid that has goals and expects to be successful in what she does," said Hopkins.
While Wilson is an excellent player on the court, she's an ever better student sporting a 3.6 GPA.
She said her dream is to earn a basketball scholarship to the University of Miami, but has a back-up plan. Become a firefighter or study finance.
