‘The best coaching communication I’d ever seen.’
A video shows a deaf basketball coach giving his squad an impassioned team talk in sign language, in a superb piece of coaching which has gone viral.
Coach Sekoe White was filmed by Judge Kenny Griffis instructing the Mississippi School for the Deaf (MSD) team, in footage shared thousands of times on Twitter.
Video screencap
Sekoe is himself deaf, previously competing for the USA in the Deaflympics before he became a coach.
“What caught me was the communication,” Kenny, a judge on the Mississippi Court of Appeals, told the Press Association. “Like I said in the tweet, this was just a timeout during the end of the game.
“What was amazing was the one-on-one communication between the coach and his best player that occurred just prior to this.”
Video screencap
Kenny is a father of five boys who attend Jackson Preparatory School in Flowood, Mississippi, MSD’s opponents.
The 57-year-old said the two sides face each other regularly and MSD’s basketball ability is “outstanding”, although on this occasion Jackson Prep won.
Some with knowledge of sign language set out to translate Sekoe’s words to his players.
Kenny said he would encourage people to reach out to deaf schools in their area with a basketball team, and “spotlight the incredible work that is being done by the teachers and administrators to allow these young men to participate in organised athletics”.
“I’m a proud Mississippian to know that we have men like Coach White working with boys that don’t have all of the opportunities we expect in life,” he said.
VADODARA, India (AP) — India captain Shubman Gill won the coin toss and opted to field first against New Zealand in the first one-day international cricket match on Sunday.
The Baroda Cricket Association is hosting its first-ever men’s ODI. Rajkot (Jan. 14) and Indore (Jan. 18) will host the second and third games of this three-match series.
Gill returned to the helm after missing the ODI series against South Africa in December.
India has opted for six bowlers – three pacers and two spin all-rounders along with wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
Star batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli also return to the international fold, after playing domestic List-A cricket.
Shreyas Iyer has recovered from a spleen injury sustained against Australia in October. He returns to the side after a two-month hiatus and will bat at number four.
Wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of the series with an abdominal strain he sustained whilst playing for Delhi in domestic List-A cricket. Dhruv Jurel has been called up as his replacement.
For New Zealand, medium pacer Kristian Clarker makes his ODI debut, while 23-year-old wrist spinner Adithya Ashok is its lead spin bowler.
The Black Caps come into this series on the back of some good form – not losing a single ODI in 2025.
The pitch for the first-ever international game at the BCA Stadium should suit batters. It is a black soil pitch which could exhibit variable bounce through the day. Evening dew will aid the chasing side.
Line ups:
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Hay, Michael Bracewell (captain), Zakary Foulkes, Kristian Clarke, Kyle Jamieson, Adithya Ashok.
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
New Zealand's captan Michael Bracewell gestures during practice session ahead of first One Day International cricket match against India in Vadodara, India, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
India's captain Shubman Gill during a practice session ahead of the first One Day International cricket match against New Zealand in Vadodara, India, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
