Silence on the Court Whenever I volunteer to do anything I make sure it is something I'll enjoy, so when I found out that the YMCA was looking for volunteers to coach youth basketball, I jumped at it. The YMCA is a program that allows anyone to participate in its campus activities. I had volunteered before at the YMCA, but this was my first time volunteering for a daily summer program. On the first day, I dressed up in a new Nike backpack, a pair of new Jordan basketball shorts, and a pair of new Nike sport shoes. No doubt I was ready to show off my skills. I walked into the hall and saw a counselor at the front desk. “Good morning!” I greeted. “I'm here to coach youth basketball for ages 8–12.” “Morning!” she smiled back at me. “Thank you for joining us today. We'll be having a brief 'meet-and-greet' in the yoga room before we get started.” I followed her to the yoga room where I met a group of kids. To my surprise, they were all seated in a circle, not saying a word, just staring at me. The silence they kept was so loud that I began to feel nervous. Then the counselor stood in the center of the circle to address the young crowd. When I realized every one of them was making unclear gestures with their hands, I panicked. “Oh my God!” I thought. I had volunteered for a program just for the hearing-impaired. “Are you OK?” asked the counselor. “Oh I'm cool,” I replied, clearing my throat. I didn't want to tell her that I didn't know sign-language. I didn't want to seem like I was the type of person to give up on a group of kids with a disability. Most of all, I didn't want to ruin those kids' day. Finally, when we got to the gym, I felt relieved because I thought it wouldn‘t be difficult to lead by example. But, after five minutes of trying to play silently, the counselor pulled me aside. “I see you're not exactly the 'signing' type,” she said. “Well... no. I'm sorry I thought I signed up for a regular coaching job,” I said. She laughed. “Well, you didn't have to lie about it. You should have asked me to be your interpreter.” For the rest of the day I was surrounded by silent conversations interrupted only by the movements of their feet and the “swish” of the net. The tables had turned, and for once I was the one who couldn't hear anything in a room full of people. Despite the language barrier, I understood every emotion from their warm smiles and hugs. I began to see that moving outside of the classroom is the best way to learn more.