David Smith Featured on NCAAsports.com!

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Feature: Good communication

April 3, 2007

By Amy Farnum
NCAASports.com Staff Writer

Good communication and timing is pertinent to a team’s success in the sport of men’s volleyball, and a player’s hearing impairment could definitely shake that delicate balance, but UC Irvine’s David Smith hasn’t let it.

Smith was born with a 70-80 percent decibel loss in both ears, which is considered severe, and wears hearing aids and lip reads.

“It’s something I’ve always had,” said Smith. “I was born with it as far as they can tell. I wasn’t diagnosed until I was three years old though. They really don’t know why.”

The native of Saugus, Calif., grew up playing sports like baseball, basketball and soccer and following in the footsteps of his older brother, Robert. When Smith reached high school, he decided to join the volleyball team as Robert had.

“There was actually another guy on my high school team who was a year older and hard of hearing, too,” said Smith. “He wasn’t as severe as I was, but still had to wear hearing aids when he played, too. I had the advantage of my (high school) coach already being broken in with somebody who was hard of hearing.”

Now, the 6-7 senior is one of the best middle blockers in the nation for the second-ranked Anteaters. He leads the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation with a .552 hitting percentage, which also ranks fourth in the nation. Smith’s 1.48 blocks per game is fifth in the nation, and he continues to climb the UCI career charts. He is the Anteaters’ career leader in block assists with 425, and total blocks with 474.

“Once you get on the court, you really don’t have time to listen and pay attention to everyone,” said Smith. “You just do what you have to do when the ball is in play. If something goes wrong, you can talk about it after the play.”

Smith’s natural volleyball ability has more than compensated for his hearing impairment, but there are times when he cannot hear another player calling for the ball, and in that case, the “David Smith Rule” goes into effect.

If the ball is coming his way, head coach John Speraw has given Smith an automatic pass to take it, because he has exceptional ball control skills for a middle blocker. This season, however, the rule has not had to be followed that often.

“This year, with Brent (Asuka) I can tell when he’s going to step in, even though it’s a ball I usually would take,” said Smith. “It’s something I didn’t have last year. Last year, I would have taken every ball. It’s a communication chemistry thing. I won’t hear him screaming me off sometimes, but I still know he’s almost always going to be there.”

The small adjustments Speraw has made, like making sure he is facing Smith at a timeout so he can read his lips, and Smith’s bond with his teammates over the last four years has also made the hearing impairment practically a non-issue.

“Obviously, just being around the guys, they understand where the line is and what I can hear and cannot hear,” said Smith. “It’s also a case of team chemistry and there are some things we don’t have to say anymore, because we just know it.”

Speraw believes Smith is a key reason why the Anteaters have been so competitive this season in the tough MPSF.

“We’re a better team this year, but our conference is better, and in order for us to compete at a high level we needed our players to continue to improve,” said Speraw. “(Smith) has done more of that than any of the seniors. He has really come into his own this year and I think he’s going to be an All-American and deservedly so.”

The Anteaters have already clinched a berth in the MSPF Tournament, and Smith is looking forward to helping his team improve on last year’s runner-up finish.

“I think that everything is finally clicking,” said Smith. “Everything I’ve been learning for the last three-and-a-half years is finally starting to come together. Our team is so much more efficient and so much smoother than it used to be. It’s been so much fun. I’ve been playing with six of these guys over the last four years, and that’s the longest time I’ve been with a group.”