Racine resident Mike Maxwell has lived in such a place for almost 46 years.

More than 28 million Americans have some kind of hearing loss; 80 percent of those have irreversible and permanent damage. Two million Americans are profoundly deaf.

Maxwell is one of them.

He lost his hearing when he was only eight months old, the consequence of a high fever. He never heard the roar of the crowd the day he scored five touchdowns as a high school running back. He didn't hear the music that filled Sacred Heart Church when he got married. He didn't hear the first cries of his first-born son.

But for Maxwell, his disability has never been a barrier or an excuse.

He played four sports and earned 16 varsity letters at the Wisconsin School for the Deaf in Delavan. In 1977, he became the school's first running back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. He is an outstanding golfer who has played in dozens of golf tournaments, including the Tri-Course and Racine County Open. He has worked at the Racine Post Office for 18 years, he's married and has three sons.

Now he's helping his sons become better athletes by coaching. He serves as an assistant coach on his oldest son's fifth-grade basketball team, which has lost only once so far.

"A long time ago, people thought deaf people couldn't do much," Maxwell said through his wife, Jennifer, a teacher who knows American Sign Language. "But we are as good as anyone. If you grew up around hearing people, it was different if you never knew that world."

"Mike grew up around hearing people," Jennifer Maxwell said. "He ventured out in the world."

Maxwell was born in Waukesha. His family moved to Racine when he was very young, and he lived on Floyd Avenue, near Quarry Lake Park. He attended Wadewitz Elementary School until he was eight. He then went to the Wisconsin School for the Deaf in Delavan. There, he played football, basketball, baseball and ran track. He started as a freshman and finished with 16 varsity letters. As a running back, the highlight of his high school days came when he scored five times against the Indiana School For the Deaf at homecoming. He was selected to the All-Indian Trails Conference team twice.

The team played a mix of schools for deaf students and other schools.

"I always did better against the hearing schools," Maxwell said.

After high school, he enrolled at Minnesota Technical College and earned a certificate in tool and die fabrication.

Maxwell returned to Racine and got a job at a tool and die making company. He hated it, but he found a love: Golf. Within years he was good enough to play - and win - tournaments sponsored by the Midwest Deaf Golf Association. In 1985 he won the United States Deaf Golf Foundation championship held at Rainbow Springs in Mukwonago. In 1990 he played in the Tri-Course and was among the leaders after two rounds.

"Golf became his No. 1 hobby, his real sports love," Jennifer Maxwell said. "Before we got married, he played all the time."

In 1995 the USDGF chose Maxwell for the first national deaf golf team. He and five others traveled to Ireland and won the World Deaf Golf Championship.

Maxwell eventually quit the tool and die shop and got a job at the post office. He met Jennifer Altenbach, a St. Catherine's graduate and Unified School District teacher, at a party. They married in 1992 and their first son, Jamie, arrived in February 1994.

"He was anxious about having a child," Jennifer said. "But things have been wonderful."

The couple had two more sons, 9-year-old Brady, and 5-year-old Taylor. When the boys started playing sports, Maxwell took an interest in coaching.

At first he just watched as Mike Kusters, a Horlick High School teacher, coached Jamie. Slowly, he got to know Kusters.

"Mike Kusters coached Jamie in basketball and Jamie really, really improved," Jennifer Maxwell said. "Mike (Kusters) liked Mike (Maxwell) and they would talk after games. Pretty soon, Mike asked Mike to help out."

The team now plays for St. Edward's School, and Maxwell has been at Kusters' side all the way.

"Mike is awesome," Maxwell said. "Both Mike and the boys have been very patient and have tried very hard to understand and communicate with me. It gets easier as time goes on, as the boys get used to my ways. They are a fun group to work with."

Maxwell admits he was a little nervous at first.

"I was worried how the kids would react,'' Maxwell said. "But they have been great. They are getting used to my voice. The key is finding a way to communicate. If you can do that, you can work anything out."

During games, Maxwell, wearing his usual sweatshirt and baseball cap, jumps up and points to his head - his sign for his players to think about what they are doing. He shoots his arms into the air, straight up, urging the team to rebound. He shuffles his feet along the sideline, showing the right way to play defense.

"Mike can certainly say defense," Kusters said.

Kusters said he and the players are learning some sign language. Maxwell has designed a play for the team that he signals in by using the American Sign Language symbol for apple - twisting the knuckle of his index finger on his cheek.

"They are learning my language," Maxwell said, smiling.

"It's amazing how much the kids have learned from him," Kusters said. "They listen. They actually have to pay attention even more when Mike communicates with them. Having Mike here has been a learning experience for everyone: Mike, the players and me. With his background as an athlete it would be ridiculous not to have him help us."

By Mark Feldman, The Journal Times