#D3Week Student-Athlete Profile
Johnny Kyte '20, Huskies' Defenseman
A four-year member of the Huskies' men's ice hockey team, defenseman Johnny Kyte, a native of Carp, Ontario is wrapping up his career as a University of Southern Maine student-athlete and will be earning his degree in Hospitality & Tourism.
A three-time William B. Wise Scholar Athlete, Kyte has balanced his academic and athletic commitments successfully and has been a member of USM's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and has worked an Admissions Tour Guide for the University.
Good grades, involved on campus community, and active in community service: that all seems fairly typical for a Southern Maine student-athlete. However, what you might not know about Kyte is that he has represented his home country Canada at major international events.
In fact, Kyte has represented his country since 2015 as a member of the Canadian Men’s National Deaf Ice Hockey Team.
The Kyte family, who are hard of hearing, has a long and distinguished history playing ice hockey. Two uncles played for the Canadian Deaf team in the 1980's and 1990's, and Johnny's uncle, Jim Kyte, was the first legally deaf player to play in the National Hockey League playing 598 games with five different teams from 1983-1997.
Kyte was gracious enough to pen a story about his experience as a deaf athlete, a Division III student-athlete and as a athlete representing his country in major national tournaments.
Have you ever heard of the “Deaflympics”? Let me tell you a little bit about it and my story.
by Johnny Kyte '20
The Deaflympics are an International Olympic Committee (IOC)-sanctioned event at which deaf athletes compete at an elite level. Deaflympians cannot be guided by sounds (e.g., the starter's guns, bullhorn commands or referee whistles). The games are held every four years, and are the longest running multi-sport event excluding the Olympics themselves. The first games, held in Paris in 1924, were also the first-ever international sporting event for athletes with a disability.
The Deaflympic Winter Games were added in 1949. To qualify for the games athletes must have a hearing loss of at least 55 db in their "better ear". Hearing aids, cochlear implants and other assistive devices are not allowed to be used in competition so that all athletes are on the same level playing field.
Since Deaflympians cannot be guided by sounds, certain sports use alternative methods of commencing the game. For example, the football referees wave a flag instead of blowing a whistle; on the track, races are started by using a light, instead of a starter pistol. In hockey, my sport, strobe lights positioned along the boards are used to signal a stoppage in play (referees whistle) . It is also customary for spectators not to cheer or clap, but rather to wave – usually with both hands.
In 2014 while I was playing in a high school hockey tournament, my coach threw me on the powerplay in the third period, which was unusual. I don’t normally see the ice during power play opportunities, so this was a big surprise to me and my teammates. I played well and registered a shot during the powerplay but wondered what the point of that was.
After the game, I was pulled aside to meet scouts from the Canadian Men’s National Deaf Ice Hockey Team. The mystery was solved; scouts will often talk to the coach before a game, so my coach was putting me out there so they could see me play in all game situations. I guess the scouts liked what they saw and that spring I was invited to attend the Roy Hysen Ice Hockey Tournament. This tournament brings together the top deaf hockey players from across Canada. At the end of the tournament I was presented with the best defenseman award and from that day forward I was thrust into the world of Canadian deaf hockey.
My hearing impairment comes from my Dad’s side of the family tree, which has a dominant congenital hereditary hearing loss gene(s). Anyone in my family that is hearing impaired has a 50% chance of passing the hearing loss gene(s) to their children. My Grandfather passed the gene to five of his sons and my Dad passed it to all four of his children. Although 100% of my Dad’s children have the gene, only 50% of all the cousins of hearing-impaired parents are hearing impaired. My brother and two of my cousins have also played with me on the national deaf hockey team. It wasn’t until I was recruited at that high school hockey tournament that I learned that my two of my uncles also played for the deaf hockey team in 1987 and 1991.
Today my uncle, Jim Kyte, is a spokesperson for the Canadian Deaf Sports Association. He was a first-round draft pick in 1982 and the first legally hard of hearing/deaf individual to play in the National Hockey League. He even has an exhibit in the Hockey Hall of Fame with the special helmet adaptations he used to protect his hearing aids while playing. He is currently the Dean of the School of Hospitality & Tourism at Algonquin College and is a huge inspiration for me.
I have played hockey on the national and worldwide stage with all or some members of my family including uncles, cousins, dad, brother, and my twin sisters; Russia 2015, Buffalo 2017, Winnpeg 2018 and most recently, Italy December 2019 for the 19th Winter Deaflympics. Over that same time span I played 4 years of hockey at the NCAA Div 3 level for the University of Southern Maine. I will graduate this spring with a degree in Tourism and Hospitality.
The Canadian National Deaf Men's Ice Hockey Team is composed of men ranging from 16 to about 40 years of age. It's a tight-knit family as most of the hockey world is. We are always on the lookout for players and right now the team is relatively young and looking forward to the future. It is a big commitment to put your life on hold for two weeks to attend a tournament; school, jobs, family and the cost all play a factor in who is available to play. I wasn’t sure I could attend the Deaflympics in December due to hockey and school commitments at USM. As luck would have it my hockey schedule and school exam schedule did align with the tournament dates, but just barely. Because of my class schedule, I was not able to get to Chiavenna, Italy until the day of the first game vs. Russia.
Just before the game at the team meeting, they announced that going forward I would be the team captain for the foreseeable future. This was a bit of a surprise because I’m 100% verbal and aside from a few phrases, don’t know American Sign Language (ASL). I turned my head to my coach not with confusion but confidence in my ability to lead. To have my brother and cousin right beside me patting me on the back knowing I had stepped into this role was nothing short of special. From being a rookie back in 2014 to standing on top of the world with my teammates and family in late 2019 I could only see how much progress and growth I had gone through. I am working on being a better communicator in ASL for my teammates that only use sign language. It is important that all sides are represented and will continue to work on this until the next time we all meet in Vancouver, Canada for the 2021 for the Deaf World Championships.
We had an amazing experience in Italy. Chiavenna is the oldest Medieval town in Italy with buildings as old as 1547. I was surrounded by the Italian alps and the games were played on an outdoor hockey rink. We went undefeated in round-robin only to lose to the USA in the gold medal game. Joanna Scheidegger, who graduated from USM women's Ice Hockey Team in 2019, made the 6-hour trip from her hometown in Switzerland to watch us play vs. Finland.
Safe to say I do not lead a boring life. Heavily supported and so grateful for the opportunities that I get to experience. Being a student-athlete in college is not easy; time management is key when juggling classes, jobs, extracurriculars, and my sport are all at once. While I was in Italy, I had to complete exams online in a small hotel room after each game. It is not easy, but worth the effort. There is no better sense of pride than representing your country, your team, and others like yourself all around the globe. To do this alongside your family is special. Everyone has a story to tell. This is mine.
During this ever-changing landscape of a world we live in, I was fortunate to experience this beautiful country just months before the COVD-19 virus hit Italy very hard. As the virus hits America, I want to send my prayers and love to all back in Italy and around the globe. During these unprecedented times please stay safe, stay inside, and in good health.
Thank you, Johnny Kyte '20
Credits:
Photos by Jason Johns, Audrey Pohl, Nate Paul