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Eyes Free Sports explores sports and recreation activities for blind and visually impaired individuals.
Episodes
2 days ago
2 days ago
In Episode 131 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we meet Darnell Booker. The founder of the Indy Thunder beep baseball club and a member of the NBBA Hall of Fame, Booker spoke about:
- His early years growing up in Indianapolis
- His visual impairment
- How he graduated from two high schools, including the Indiana School for the Blind
- How he learned about beep baseball and his playing career
- What inspired him to go into coaching beep baseball and why he decided to start the Indy Thunder beep baseball club
- The success of the Thunder over the years, including the team’s five straight World Series championships
- Some success strategies he has used as a coach
- His advice for anyone looking to start a beep baseball team or adaptive sports organization
Learn more about the Indy Thunder and contact Darnell Booker at https://thunderbeepball.org/.
Saturday Dec 21, 2024
Saturday Dec 21, 2024
In Episode 130 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we meet Rich Hunter. The longtime endurance athlete founded United in Stride, a website that helps connect blind and visually impaired runners and walkers with sighted guides. During the conversation, Hunter discussed:
- His childhood and education
- How vision loss impacted his military career
- His career working as a school psychologist
- How he got into adaptive sports for the blind
- Some of his highlights in marathons and other endurance events
- What inspired him to launch United in Stride
- How the United in Stride website works and tips and tricks for users to effectively utilize it
- His take on the runner-guide relationship and tethers
- How to learn more about United in Stride and get involved in the running community
Check out United in Stride at http://unitedinstride.com/ and find out how to register as a member of the community.
Saturday Dec 07, 2024
Saturday Dec 07, 2024
In Episode 129 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we visit with Dave Schleppenbach, the founder and CEO of Tactile Engineering. The company has developed a Braille tablet that is transforming how blind and visually impaired individuals consume visual information, including sporting events. During the interview, Schleppenbach talked about:
- His professional background
- How he got connected with the blind and visually impaired community
- What inspired him to launch Tactile Engineering
- An overview of the Cadence Braille tablet and how it works
- How the device was used for the 2024 Indy 500
- Other potential sports-related applications for the device
- Feedback the company has received from blind and visually impaired users
- Future plans and development of the device
Learn more about Tactile Engineering at http://www.tactile-engineering.com.
Saturday Nov 23, 2024
Saturday Nov 23, 2024
In Episode 128 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we have a returning guest, Ricky Castaneda (previously a guest on Episode 77). A member of the U.S. national blind soccer team, Ricky discussed the recent 2024 USA Blind Soccer International Cup. He spoke about:
- His background and various adaptive sports for the blind he has played
- How blind soccer works
- The recent 2024 USA Blind Soccer International Cup held in Chula Vista, CA
- How the U.S. team fared in the tournament against England and Japan
- What the team learned from this experience
- Looking ahead to the 2028 Paralympics in which the U.S. will field a blind soccer team for the first time
- How people can learn more about blind soccer
Learn more about blind soccer at https://www.usaba.org/clubs-sports/blind-soccer/.
Check out the Metro Blaze Blind Athletes of Texas website at https://www.metroblazeblindsoccer333.com/.
Saturday Nov 09, 2024
Saturday Nov 09, 2024
In Episode 127 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we feature a conversation with guests who are highly active in blind baseball. They are Kiana Glanton, co-captain of the U.S. blind baseball team, along with Ed Plumacher, president of the U.S. Blind Baseball Association (USBBA) and former guest on Episode 104 of Eyes Free Sports. During the conversation, they talked about:
- Their personal backgrounds and low vision journeys
- How they got into blind baseball and how the sport works
- Their initial experience competing in the 2022 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Blind Baseball International Cup in The Netherlands
- Competing in the 2024 WBSC Blind Baseball International Cup in London
- How the U.S. team performed in the tournament
- Connections they made with players from blind baseball teams in other countries
- The current state of blind baseball in the U.S. and future plans to continue to grow the sport
- How to learn more about blind baseball
Learn more about blind baseball at http://blindbaseball.org/.
Contact Ed Plumacher, president of the U.S. Blind Baseball Association, at edplumacher@usbba.us.
Check out one of the live streams from the finals of the 2024 WBSC Blind Baseball International Cup at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgqg4mwrpSw.
Saturday Oct 26, 2024
Saturday Oct 26, 2024
In Episode 126 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we visit with Richie Flores, the current president of the National Beep Baseball Association (NBBA) who has competed in beep baseball and goalball for many years. During the interview, Flores spoke about:
- His childhood and visual impairment
- His educational journey
- His professional career
- How he got involved in adaptive sports and who introduced him to beep baseball
- Memorable moments throughout his beep baseball career, including a World Series championship
- His work with the NBBA off the field and his current role as president
- His hopes and dreams for the future of the NBBA and beep baseball in general
- His various roles with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), including its sports and recreation division
- His guide dog from Guide Dogs for the Blind
Learn more about the National Beep Baseball Association at http://nbba.org.
Contact Richie Flores at rflores@nbba.org.
Saturday Oct 12, 2024
Saturday Oct 12, 2024
In Episode 125 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we are joined by two representatives from OneCourt Technologies. These include Antyush Bollini, the COO and co-founder, as well as Bree Fraser, the program manager of business development. This startup company based in the Seattle, WA area has developed a device for blind and visually impaired sports fans to help them follow the action when attending or viewing sporting events. During the conversation, they discussed:
- Their professional backgrounds and how they got involved in OneCourt
- The inspiration for launching OneCourt and the meaning behind the name of the company
- An overview of the device they have developed for blind sports fans
- The specific sports and sports leagues they have focused on for the device
- How the device can be used at stadiums, in sports bars, or at home
- Feedback they have gotten from visually impaired sports fans
- Whether the device could be used for fans attending Paralympic events, goalball matches, beep baseball games, etc.
- Future plans and other potential applications for the device
- How to learn more about OneCourt and how to sign up to try the device at sporting events around the U.S.
Learn more about OneCourt at http://onecourt.io.
Follow OneCourt on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/onecourt.io/.
Saturday Sep 28, 2024
Saturday Sep 28, 2024
In Episode 124 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, our guest is Ivan Castro from Orlando, FL. The Army veteran and highly accomplished endurance athlete discussed:
- His early years and education
- What inspired him to enlist in the U.S. Army and his 28-year military career
- How he went blind while serving and how he was able to continue to serve on active duty in spite of his blindness
- His achievements in marathons, hikes, and other endurance adventures he has tackled around the world
- The U.S. presidents and other celebrities he has met throughout his life
- The book he co-authored about his journey
- His message about living life to the fullest
Check out Castro’s book, Fighting Blind, on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Fighting-Blind-Berets-Extraordinary-Courage/dp/1250076544.
Saturday Sep 14, 2024
Saturday Sep 14, 2024
In Episode 123 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, our guest is David Rosenkoetter. The longtime adaptive athlete and fitness guru has also competed in blind chess for many years. During the discussion, Rosenkoetter spoke about:
- Where he is from and his childhood
- His visual impairment
- His educational journey and professional career
- How he got into adaptive sports for the blind and the sports he has competed in
- How he got into blind chess and his journey competing in tournaments
- How chess is adapted for the blind and visually impaired community
- An overview of the United States Blind Chess Association (USBCA) and the current state of blind chess in the U.S. and internationally
- Over-the-board blind chess tournaments and those held virtually
- How fitness has helped him when playing the mental game of chess
Learn more about the United States Blind Chess Association at https://usblindchess.org/.
Check out Rosenkoetter’s website at http://boldlyblind.blog.
His soon-to-be-published book is called Jag.
Saturday Aug 31, 2024
Saturday Aug 31, 2024
In Episode 122 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we visit with Drew Garza and Josh Schneider, two of the founders of The Dented Puck Foundation who are both highly active in blind hockey in the U.S. During the conversation, they talked about:
- Their early years
- Their low vision journeys
- How they discovered blind hockey
- Their experiences in blind hockey both on and off the ice
- Why they started The Dented Puck Foundation and its mission
- The current state of blind hockey in the U.S. and looking ahead
- The possibility of getting blind hockey into the Paralympics someday
- How to learn more about blind hockey and their contact info
Learn more about The Dented Puck Foundation and blind hockey at http://thedentedpuck.com/.