Derrick Coleman Research Paper

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Pages: 3

Derrick Lamont Coleman Jr. was born October 18, 1990 in Los Angeles. At the age of three, his parents took him to a medical specialist that told them that Coleman is essentially deaf in his left ear. Soon in middle Derrick also lost hearing in his right ear as well. Forcing him to wear hearing aids changed his life in multiple ways. He could hear once again and some kids at his school started targeting him because of the devices he had to wear. As he became older the bullying didn't affect him as much, but he channeled the energy through lifting weights.

Once Coleman started seventh grade he quickly became fascinated with football, so he began playing organized football. His mom was worried about his hearing aids falling out or worse, getting hit so hard his hearing worsens. But his dad was all for him playing because it would give him a chance to be “regular”. Soon after the season started his family got him an MRI which proved football will not affect his hearing. Before long, the once bullied deaf child was making more tackles and big plays than any hearing child on that team.
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Coleman was named MVP as a senior and broke the school's previous record of touchdowns. He made 38 touchdowns and recorded a total of 232 points in a single season. He went on to be ESPN’s No. 2 fullback throughout the nation. In 2008 Derrick attended UCLA, he majored in political science and considered a career in law. In his first two years he saw limited playing time with the bruins. Derrick played in 11 games and ranked 2nd in most yards. He played on defense and special teams and eventually won UCLA's Tommy Prothro Award for Outstanding Special Teams Player three times. During his senior year Derrick won the Prothro award again and also took home the coaching staffs Paul I. Wellman Memorial Award for all