‘I wanted people to know I am deaf’: Rutgers-bound sprinter Naylah Jones is embracing her track stardom

Shirley Jones looked down as she cradled her wide-eyed little bundle, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks.

It was 2008 at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where Shirley’s daughter, Naylah Jones, now a star sprinter at Timber Creek High, had just heard her mother’s voice for the first time.

Naylah, now 18 years old and bound for Rutgers, was just 18 months when doctors at CHOP first activated the cochlear implant that helps combat profound hearing loss in both ears.

“It was the happiest day of our lives,” Shirley said in a recent interview. “Naylah’s reaction was priceless. She opened her eyes wide and started smiling when I spoke to her.

“I was just so happy. I know I cried as I held her. It was just the best feeling in the world.”

» READ MORE: Timber Creek’s Ryan Jennings made history with her 100-meter dash. At New Balance Nationals, she goes for a title

Until she told The Inquirer earlier this month, Naylah — one of the most accomplished high school sprinters in New Jersey history — explained that she hadn’t felt comfortable publicly revealing that she was born deaf until now.

Her path reveals a family equipped for the challenge, a coach positioned perfectly in support, and a young woman who was born a fighter and now seems destined for success.

“I just wanted to share with the world that I’m deaf because I’m embracing who I am and using my unique journey to inspire and uplift others with disabilities,” Jones said. “And as a track athlete, I wanted to inspire others by showing that with hard work, dedication, and a positive mindset, they can achieve their goals and overcome any obstacles.”

On June 14, Shirley and her husband, Nathaniel, watched as their twin daughters, Naylah and Nyla, received their high school diplomas.

“I was happy that they made it,” Shirley said. “And now they are moving on to a new journey.”

Their initial expedition into the world was trickier.

Because Naylah had fluid in her lungs, the twins were born six weeks early. The family also was told a medication she needed could cause hearing loss.

Later, she failed a newborn hearing test.

“I responded, ‘OK. What next? What can you do to help her?’” Shirley said.

» READ MORE: Local track standouts Nia Akins and Allie Wilson qualify for first Olympic Games in Paris

Her experience working with children and adults with various behavioral and developmental challenges, she explained, may have prepped her to be poised.

“I [already] did sign language, so I was experienced,” Shirley said. “But it was scary …”

It doesn’t appear, though, that the fear was passed to Jones.

“We never made her feel like it was a disability,” Shirley said. “Naylah was so outgoing as a child. She was an outdoor person. I don’t even think she realized she had a disability.”

By 3 years old, Jones had already learned to ride a bike without ever needing training wheels.

In school, she always had an American Sign Language interpreter. She also learned to read lips and interpret facial expressions, and had a separate “teacher of the deaf,” who helped with academic tutoring.

And, Shirley joked, when her daughter was annoyed with certain family members, she would remove her cochlear implant so she could no longer be bothered.

“I have always been amazed by my daughter,” Shirley said. “One of the most remarkable things is her ability to adapt and overcome. … Her passion for running and her unwavering spirit inspire me every day, and I have no doubt that she will achieve great things in her track career.”

Cheerleading, however, was her first sport.

Her oldest sister Tatyana, now 25, also cheered competitively, as did Nyla, the younger twin by two minutes.

But Jones fell in love with track after her first race at Ann A. Mullen Middle School.

Middle school also was when she first told teammates she was deaf.

“They were great,” Jones said. “They made sure that I heard everything they said and they made sure I felt safe and welcomed.”

Attending high school, however, felt scarier.

“I hid it for quite a while,” Jones said.

» READ MORE: Westtown freshman star Jordyn Palmer is taking her game international: ‘She has a chance to be that kid’

Shirley preferred that her daughter make the revelation sooner, but she respected her timeline.

Recruiting trips could be especially trying, though, because Jones sometimes struggles to follow conversations in large groups or in loud settings.

“I just was not ready at all because I didn’t know how people would react,” Jones said of her early high school days. “I didn’t want to be talked about. … There are some people in my [high school] who still don’t know. But now I have a new mindset, and I want to embrace it.”

Recent successes may have nudged her in that direction.

On June 7 at the Group 3 state championship meet at Delsea, Jones’ 11.23 seconds performance in the 100-meter dash set a state record, breaking the previous mark (11.33) set by junior teammate Ryan Jennings the previous week.

The next day, Jones, according to the South Jersey Track Blog, “cemented her place as one of the greatest sprinters in New Jersey history,” winning the Group 3 200 meters in 23.29 seconds, the third-fastest time in state history.

Both finishes were wind-legal.

“I knew that I needed to start being more open,” Jones said. “My name is starting to be out there more, and I wanted everybody to know who I actually am. I wanted people to know I am deaf.”

Anthony Gardner knows speed. He also knows excellence.

His daughter, English Gardner, now 32, was a star sprinter at Eastern Regional High School before starring at Oregon and becoming a two-time Olympic champion in the 4x100 meters.

Gardner has also been coaching English, who was recently hampered by injury and did not qualify for the Olympics in Paris, since she was 7.

So when he first evaluated Jones last summer, her talent, he said, was unmistakable.

In a phone interview, Gardner said he later learned Jones’ other key ingredients.

“Tenacity,” he said. “The girl has tenacity. She’s also the type of athlete who is a student of the sport.”

That came in handy when Gardner rebuilt Jones’ technique last summer, beginning with relearning how to walk.

“That was challenging,” he said. “She cried in practices.”

“She wanted it so badly,” he continued. “Naylah is an athlete who wants to do it exactly like you explain it, and when it seems like she can’t, she gets frustrated.”

» READ MORE: NBC hopes the Olympics’ return to Paris will get fans to return to watching

It also helped that Gardner, who graduated from Cheltenham in the 1980s, also was born with hearing impairments.

Tubes were placed in his ears during childhood because his ears didn’t drain properly, he said. He has never had hearing aids, but admits that he might need them now.

Life experience, though, also has afforded a few insights.

“When you coach Naylah, you have to coach her senses,” Gardner said. “Most people who have challenges rely on senses to substitute for what they don’t have and hers is feeling … so I taught her that running is music.”

For example, when he wanted to adjust the cadence of her steps, Gardner turned the “click-clack” of her spikes into a beat.

He would then tap on her back the rhythm that he wanted her steps to match.

“Then,” he said, “she started to learn the rhythm of running.”

Jones recently was invited to the July 14 World Deaf Youth Athletics Championships in Taiwan but will not attend.

Her record-setting 100-meter performance also would have qualified her for this week’s U.S. Olympic trials if not for a confusing, last-minute rule change by U.S. Track and Field.

Her ascent, though, seems like a matter of time. Gardner will continue coaching Jones this summer, and perhaps beyond.

“I wouldn’t be surprised at some point if she wins NCAAs,” Gardner said. “I wouldn’t be surprised at some point if I’m sitting in a chair in the coaching section at the Olympic trials and my daughter is out there coaching her, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we went full-circle in the Olympics [some day].”