CID BULLDOGS TIE FOR NUMBER OF WINS IN OLIVETTE BOYS 8-12 DIVISION BASKETBALL 

ST. LOUIS, Missouri, February 26, 2006 — Competing against hearing teams of all boys, students at Central Institute for the Deaf (CID) Oral School came back from behind in the final game in their City of Olivette Boys’ League 8-12 division, ultimately winning with a score of 17-16 and finishing tied for number of wins with the boys team from Old Bonhomme.

The CID team, dubbed the Bulldogs, is composed of 5 girls and 6 boys ages 7-12 and led by CID parent Scott Monette, assisted by another parent, Ann Spears. The Bulldogs’ final record for the 2006 season is 6 wins, 2 losses. Both losses were by 2 points each (18-20 and 20-22). The Bonhomme team's record was 6 wins, one loss and one tie.

“Our main goals were to have fun and work together as a team and we accomplished that above all else,” said coach Monette. “Our team also taught a lot of people about what hearing-impaired kids can do. In the future, everyone they played against and all of their fans will know more about hearing impairment. They will not be as quick to judge what kids are capable of. In some small way, our team made a statement for all hearing-impaired kids."

“I’m so proud of everybody for their hard work,” he added. "Everybody played and everybody contributed to our success.”

Congratulations to the CID team members: Brittany Brunetta, Danielle Burcham, Kimberly Greenwald, Armani Moore, Zak Miles, Molly Jo Parker, Darryl Pointer, Matthew Monette, Akash Sookun, Austin Spears and Trent Thomas.

Four of the CID players are originally from and currently reside in Illinois, one is originally from and resides in St. Louis and six have families or family members who have moved to St. Louis so they could attend CID to learn to listen, talk and succeed in the mainstream.

Last year, Monette, an executive at Ralcorp, coached a mixed hearing and hearing-impaired team with five CID students and five hearing children in the Olivette Boys' League. Four of this  year's CID Bulldog players competed on Scott's team last year. For many, it was a first-time experience with league play.