Hamill

Matt “The Hammer” Hamill is a champion athlete who happens to be deaf; this is his story. Born in Loveland, Ohio, Matt starts off as a wrestler who suffers more than the usual taunts from neighborhood kids. Because his grandfather refuses to allow him any special school accommodations he grows up to be self-reliant and an expert lip-reader-but unable to sign very well. When he's admitted to Purdue University with its excellent wrestling program, he and his grandfather are over the moon. But Matt isn't ready to perform in a pressure-cooker environment where everyone else can hear. He makes a transition to the Rochester Institute of Technology, whose National Technical Institute for the Deaf provides him with not only speech-language and ASL support, but with a whole new group of friends who are also hard of hearing. When Matt falls in love, it's the first time he's distracted from his wrestling. But with the National Collegiate Championships coming up, “The Hammer” has to focus like never before. HAMILL makes innovative use of subtitles and American Sign Language, so Matt's story can inspire deaf and hearing viewers alike. -B.B.