PITTSBURGH -- Phillip Kaminski got his first taste of a football camp this summer.

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Phillip, 12, is deaf. But he wanted to experience the Central Catholic summer youth camp like any other kid.

"He wanted to touch the hearing world," said Phillip's mother, Cheryl. He did not want someone to interpret for him and give him backup. He wanted to read lips. He wanted to feel what the coaches would be like."

So Phillip attended the camp without an interpreter. Central Catholic coach Art Walker Jr. and the rest of the staff was so impressed by Phillip's effort, they made him an award winner at the end of camp.

"The young man never missed a beat," Walker Jr. said. "I think he really had a great time with it. We just treated him like any other one of the guys."

But for the coach that worked with Phillip most often, it was clear that he was a different kind of player.

"The first thing that impressed me was that he had better listening skills than most of the kids out there," assistant coach Ron Fuchs said. "Every time he did a drill, he had a big grin on his face. It was nice to see a young man enjoying football for what it is, a game."

Phillip said that he enjoyed the camp, but football isn't his true passion. He wants to become the first deaf umpire in Major League Baseball.

""I really would like that," he said. "I want to learn how to do that. It's a visual skill. You can see a ball or a strike."