Daniel Hicks will never know the sound a crowd’s roar of approval, the gasps of a crowd on pins and needles during the most tense moments of a wrestling match.

Hicks, a senior on the Sherburne-Earlville wrestling team, was born deaf. He is a perfect example of a person learning through his own mistakes on the mat, and figuring out on his own what we – those in the hearing world – might take for granted.

“He had a tough time through pee wees because we couldn’t yell to him what to do,” said S-E assistant coach – and Daniel’s father – Brian Hicks. “At that age, it’s so important to coach the kids during matches. He had to learn the hard way, and he’s probably a better wrestler for it.”

Competing at 135 pounds this season, Daniel moved up a weight class to improve the team. He jumped head first into a weight-training program, and he doesn’t miss a day of lifting after each practice.

Coupled with offseason wrestling in which he competed in freestyle tournaments, Hicks is clearly one of the Marauders’ most valuable assets this season. “He’s taken the next step that he needed to as a wrestler,” said S-E head coach Bim Palmer, who has coached Hicks from his first days on the mat. “Daniel’s earned his own name, and he gives you everything he’s got. That’s his makeup.”