Carter Wallace has a favorite bit of sign language. He uses it all the time. Toward opponents or his coach or in joking around with teammates. The Taft High senior simply raises his arm and touches his wrist, then touches his elbow.
It means “trash.” As in, “you’re trash at football.” It’s smack talk in sign language, and it always gets a chuckle out of coach Thomas Randolph. That lighthearted attitude is what endeared Wallace to Randolph before the teen even joined the team.
Wallace has been deaf since birth. Although it’s his version of normal, Randolph said he wouldn’t blame the boy if Carter curled up in a ball and sulked about it. But the coach knows better. He knows that obstacles are nothing but a puzzle for Wallace to solve.
“He’s not looking for help,” Randolph said. “He’s looking to impact. He’s looking to help.”
For example, Wallace gives other athletes tips in the weight room by showing them proper technique. Because he can’t speak to teammates, he leads by example.
“He holds himself [and others] accountable. He makes it impossible not to like him, but he also doesn’t settle for anything,” Randolph said.
Wallace communicates with sign language or through his interpreter, Jo Beth Prince. The team already used hand signals to call plays, so when Wallace joined in the spring of his sophomore year, all he had to do was memorize those signals. The coaches were astonished at how quickly he picked up the playbook.
Randolph said the coaches gave Wallace five plays to learn and the hand signals that corresponded to them. He came back on the first day asking for more. The coaches were slowing him down, not vice versa.
Wallace’s teammates — who clearly are enamored with his energy as a two-way player — like to playfully make fun of him, on the rare occasion he messes up.
At a recent workout, the team was practicing running plays. On one of the reps, Wallace was sent to the ground when trying to block his man. A chorus of “oohs!” rang around the field, and one teammate said, “Oh my god, Carter … you got knocked on your ass!” An assistant coach joked that they might’ve finally found a weakness in Wallace’s game.
Wallace’s response to being pushed down? He just laughed, got back up and got in position for the next rep.
“My dad always told me to listen to myself. Don’t let other people bully you. Don’t let them affect you. Ignore all the noise,” Wallace said. “They might be jealous of me. If I don’t have a problem with them, I’m just going to do my thing. I’m just going to focus on what I need to do.”
It’s the type of confidence and resilience that Randolph has seen since they first met in Wallace’s freshman year.
At the time, Wallace played basketball at Taft. He knew Randolph because the football coach is very active at the school. He is a co-sponsor for the Black Student Union, the school climate advocate for the Black Student Achievement Plan and he runs a mentorship program.
They built a connection through those organizations, and Randolph was able to see how Wallace applied himself in the classroom. His discipline and attention to detail, mixed with the athleticism Randolph noticed when watching him play basketball, made Wallace the perfect candidate to play football. He had experience before high school, and once Randolph convinced him to make the switch, everything clicked into place.
Yet despite his affinity for Wallace, none of Randolph’s waxing poetry turns false in the wash. Wallace is expressive, sweet, thoughtful and seems to truly enjoy life. As Randolph described it, Wallace has a cocky swagger but he backs it up by being the hardest worker on the team every day.
Wallace has an infectious and energetic personality. The sphere of joy around him has a gravitational pull that teammates are drawn to. One month ago, a new player joined the team. McCardell Barton, another senior who plays on both sides of the ball, and Wallace became friends immediately. They already have created a unique communication style — even though Barton doesn’t know much sign language and Wallace can’t speak. Wallace said Barton will be a friend for life.
Sometimes, when Wallace cannot effectively communicate with coaches or teammates, he enlists the help of his interpreter. Prince works at the school in the deaf and hard of hearing services and came to the team when Wallace did. Prince didn’t know much about football, but by the end of Wallace’s junior year, she had won a team award for her work.
Usually, Wallace doesn’t need much help. Some 17-year-olds are awkward, gangly teens who tend to do or say dumb things. Disabilities or not, they usually are finding themselves and making tons of mistakes along the way. While Wallace isn’t perfect, he has skipped most of that awkwardness, it appears. With a full beard, glittering earrings in both ears and braces on his teeth, Wallace is the man on campus.
Despite his popularity, he remains humble yet confident. He loves his 3-year-old brother, teammates and coaches. Wallace’s dad made sure he could operate in a hearing world, which he does well.
On the football field, Wallace just wants one thing for his senior season.
“To win a championship,” he said.
Randolph plans to put his 6-foot, extremely athletic senior to great use in pursuit of that goal. On offense, the coach hopes to get the ball in the hands of Wallace as much as possible. On defense, he is going to let Wallace shut down wide receivers.
That level of involvement is exactly what Wallace is looking for. Backing down from a challenge never has been an option.
His mentality is infectious. According to his coach, Wallace can read the game better than anybody on the team and also is an elite athlete and the fastest player on the team. Wallace is an opponent’s nightmare.
His first touch of the football in a competitive game was a jet sweep that went for nine yards and a first down. Only an ankle injury slowed him. Randolph said it’s a testament to how quickly Wallace adapts and learns in a new environment.
“The kid operates with a hurdle every day in a world that’s not designed for him. So I’m impressed that he shows up. I’m impressed that he’s engaged. I’m impressed that he doesn’t settle for a barrier between him and the next kid,” Randolph said.
Wallace wants to go to a four-year university and get a degree in engineering before moving on to a master’s program. He gets good grades. He is expected to start this season. Plus, everybody loves him.
But there is one thing that frustrates Randolph: “That he waited two years to come play for me.”