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Episodes
Eyes Free Sports explores sports and recreation activities for blind and visually impaired individuals.
Episodes
Saturday Jan 21, 2023
Saturday Jan 21, 2023
In Episode 80 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we speak with Koni Sims, a longtime advocate for the blind and visually impaired who now serves as a member of the American Council of the Blind’s board of directors. She is also a member of a new committee developed to oversee ACB’s Get Up and Get Moving campaign. During the conversation, Sims spoke about:
- Her personal and professional backgrounds
- Her visual impairment and why it has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for her
- Her involvement in advocacy work with the American Council of the Blind, as well as its local chapters and affiliates
- The genesis behind ACB starting the Get Up and Get Moving campaign
- Why she decided to get involved in this initiative
- The current members of the committee and their backgrounds
- What the campaign has done and future goals
- ACB Community Calls (virtual events held on Zoom) related to this campaign and fitness in general
- The importance of physical fitness and wellness for the blind and visually impaired
- How people can learn more and get involved
Check out the ACB Get Up and Get Moving Facebook Group at https://m.facebook.com/groups/413654223681516/.
Saturday Jan 07, 2023
Saturday Jan 07, 2023
In Episode 79 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, our guest is Tim Kane, a highly talented blind hockey player and ambassador for the adaptive sport of blind hockey. During the discussion, Kane talked about:
- His early years and genetic visual impairment
- The sports he played growing up
- His education and career in sports medicine
- Being named to the U.S. national blind hockey team and being voted captain of the team
- How blind hockey works and his positions on the ice
- His thoughts on getting blind hockey into the Paralympic Games and the importance of growing the sport in other countries
- The current state of blind hockey in the U.S. and his take on its future
- Other adaptive sports he would like to try
- The benefits of sports, recreation, and simply moving in terms of the blind and visually impaired community
Learn more about blind hockey at https://www.usahockey.com/blindhockey.
Check out the following YouTube video on blind hockey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGpnomyQ1t8.
Sunday Dec 11, 2022
Sunday Dec 11, 2022
In Episode 78 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we are joined by David Brown, a three-time Paralympian in track and field and known to many as the world’s fastest blind man. During the conversation, Brown spoke about:
- Where he was born and grew up
- His visual impairment
- His education
- How he got into adaptive sports, specifically track and field
- How he became a Paralympian and his Paralympic career
- The medals and records he is most proud of
- The keys to having a successful guide in track and field
- Getting into blind soccer and being named to the U.S. national blind soccer team
- How to follow him on social media
Follow David Brown on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thatboydbrown/?hl=en and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Running4HISGlory1019/.
Saturday Nov 26, 2022
Saturday Nov 26, 2022
In Episode 77 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, our guest is Ricky Castañeda, an accomplished beep baseball and blind soccer star from Fort Worth, TX. During the conversation, he spoke about:
- Where he was born and grew up
- His visual impairment and how it runs in the family
- His education attending a school for the blind and mainstream schools
- His career goals and a career path in which he wants to be a trailblazer for the blind
- His beep baseball career with two Texas teams and competing in the championship game at the National Beep Baseball Association (NBBA) World Series
- How he got into blind soccer and how the sport works
- Being named to the U.S. national blind soccer team and his goals in the sport
- His advice for anyone interested in getting into adaptive sports
Follow Ricky Castañeda on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/rickybeats88_ and on TikTok at @rickygolden8899.
Learn more about blind soccer at https://www.usaba.org/clubs-sports/blind-soccer/.
Saturday Nov 12, 2022
Saturday Nov 12, 2022
In Episode 76 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we welcome Jen Armbruster, a seven-time Paralympian in goalball. During the interview, Armbruster spoke about:
- Her early years and K-12 education
- Her visual impairment, coping with her diagnosis, and why she feels so lucky
- Getting into goalball and what drew her to the sport
- Her decorated Paralympic career representing Team USA on the U.S. women’s goalball squad
- Her training routine and what it takes to be successful at goalball
- Other adaptive sports she has played, including her work on blind soccer
- The benefits of competing in adaptive sports for people with disabilities
- Her career and work in adaptive sports
Learn more about the popular adaptive sport of goalball at https://www.usaba.org/clubs-sports/goalball/.
Learn more about the USA men’s and women’s goalball teams at https://www.usaba.org/usa-goalball/.
Saturday Oct 29, 2022
Saturday Oct 29, 2022
In Episode 75 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, our guest is Wilbert Turner of Cleveland, OH. A Hall of Famer in beep baseball and world recordholder as a blind bowler, Turner discussed:
- Where he was born and his childhood
- His visual impairment
- His education and career
- How he got introduced to adaptive sports
- His beep baseball career and induction into the National Beep Baseball Association (NBBA) Hall of Fame
- His bowling career and the adaptations of blind bowling
- His advice for those interested in getting into adaptive sports for the blind and visually impaired
Learn more about beep baseball at http://nbba.org.
Learn more about blind bowling and the American Blind Bowling Association (ABBA) at http://abba1951.com/.
Saturday Oct 15, 2022
Saturday Oct 15, 2022
In Episode 74 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we are joined by Matt Wallace, a blind sports commentator and adaptive athlete from Pennsylvania. During the interview, Wallace spoke about:
- His early years and visual impairment
- His education and how he attended both mainstream and schools for the blind
- His college years and getting into sports media
- His experience as a commentator for fully sighted and blind sports
- His take on the most accessible websites, apps, and audio streaming services for blind sports fans
- The sports he has played as an adaptive athlete and among sighted peers
Saturday Oct 01, 2022
Saturday Oct 01, 2022
In Episode 73 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we speak with Jason Romero of Denver, CO. Romero is an extreme endurance athlete who has competed in numerous races and events that few sighted individuals would even try to tackle. During the conversation, Romero discussed:
- Where he was born and his early years
- His visual impairment
- His education and career
- How he got into adaptive sports, specifically running
- Guides he has had and the keys to a successful runner-and-guide team
- Types of tethers and other unique tools he has used to run with a guide and even independently in some cases
- His run across the United States, a distance of 3,063 miles
- His nonprofit, Inspire Connection, and his books about his life and overcoming adversity to achieve success
- Summing up his overall message to people with disabilities and people in general
- How you can learn more about him and his contact info
Learn more about Jason Romero at http://jasonromero.net.
Contact him via email at jasonromerospeaks@gmail.com.
Saturday Sep 17, 2022
Saturday Sep 17, 2022
In Episode 72 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we catch up with Jacory Wiley from Atlanta, GA. Wiley is a visually impaired author, motivational speaker, and longtime beep baseball player. During the interview, Wiley talked about:
- Where he was born and grew up
- How he suddenly became visually impaired
- - His education and finding his passions in life
- How he got introduced to beep baseball and the teams he has competed on for over a decade
- An incredible run in the National Beep Baseball Association (NBBA) for his team in 2022
- The benefits of competing in adaptive sports for the blind and visually impaired
- What inspired him to write some children’s books about kids with disabilities compeoting in sports and the main messages behind these books
- His career goals in writing and public speaking
Learn more about Jacory Wiley and find his books at http://www.jacorywiley.com.
Contact him via email at jacorydwiley@gmail.com.
Saturday Sep 03, 2022
Saturday Sep 03, 2022
In Episode 71 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we hit the pool to visit with McClain Hermes. A two-time Paralympian in swimming, she is now pursuing a new athletic goal. During the conversation, Hermes discussed:
- Where she was born and her childhood
- Discovering her visual impairment at a very young age
- Her education from elementary through high school and her college career in academics and athletics
- Competing in college athletics as a Division I student-athlete with a disability at a major university
- How she originally got into swimming and some adaptations she has used as a visually impaired swimmer
- Competing at multiple Paralympic Games and how she finished in her competitions
- Her new athletic goal and how she is training for it
- Her guide dog from Freedom Guide Dogs
- How she and her dad have helped the homeless in a very unique way
Follow McClain Hermes on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/McClainHermes and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/mcclainhermes88.