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Eyes Free Sports explores sports and recreation activities for blind and visually impaired individuals.
Episodes
Saturday Dec 04, 2021
Saturday Dec 04, 2021
In Episode 52 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we catch up with a former guest, Kyle Coon. A talented paratriathlete, Coon competed in the Paralympic Games over the summer, a world championship event in November, and has taken on a unique job since we last featured him on Episodes 3 and 4 of the podcast. During this conversation, Coon discussed:
- How he was impacted by the delay of the Tokyo Paralympic Games by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- The qualifying events he competed in leading up to the Paralympics in 2021
- The relationship with his guide, a world-renowned triathlete
- His adventurous trip to Tokyo and finally arriving in the Paralympic Village
- Recapping he and his guide’s paratriathlon event and their finish in the standings
- His take on the dining hall and food he got to eat in Tokyo
- His experience at the 2021 World Triathlon Championship Series in Abu Dhabi
- His role with the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) and “The Blind Spot” interviews he has done with elite blind athletes
- What he thinks is necessary to increase the coverage and awareness of athletes with disabilities
Check out his website at www.kylecoon.com. Follow him on Facebook at https://facebook.com/kylecoonspeaks, on Twitter at https://twitter.com/kyle_coon, and on Instagram at https://instagram.com/eyeronkyle.
Learn more about the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) at https://usaba.org.
Saturday Nov 20, 2021
Saturday Nov 20, 2021
In Episode 51 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we feature a discussion about sports and fitness for the blind and visually impaired on a budget. In collaboration with the Penny Forward podcast, this episode features a roundtable discussion. The co-hosts were Chris Peterson, Liz Bottner, and Greg Lindberg. Panelists included Marana Vradenburg, Riley Schmitz, and Mary Stores. The points of discussion include:
- Their backgrounds and involvement in a variety of adaptive sports and activities for the blind and visually impaired, including beep baseball, goalball, blind hockey, running, and martial arts
- Examples of inexpensive and free options for working out at home
- Advice on going to a gym or fitness center as a blind or visually impaired individual
- Tips and tricks on making sports and fitness more affordable for the blind and visually impaired
- Why advocating for oneself is so critical in terms of successfully staying fit and having equal access to fitness options
- Examples of organizations that provide sports and recreation to the blind and visually impaired
Learn more about Penny Forward and the Penny Forward podcast at www.pennyforward.com.
Saturday Nov 06, 2021
Saturday Nov 06, 2021
In Episode 50 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, our guest is Trent Ferguson, a 23-year-old totally blind sportscaster and radio commentator in Florida. Ferguson talked about:
- His early years attending public school
- Transitioning to attend the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (FSDB) in St. Augustine, FL
- His early interest in radio and how this led him to start doing public address announcing at sporting events
- His favorite radio personalities who have inspired him
- His current role with WNZF radio
- How he accesses sports information for both his work and as a fan
- His musical interests and role with the California Toe Jam band
Check out WNZF online at https://www.flaglerbroadcasting.com/wnzf. Catch Ferguson’s sports reports every morning at 25 and 55 after the hour. Listen to the radio show he co-hosts every Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. Eastern.
Learn more about the band he plays in at https://californiatoejam.com/.
Saturday Oct 23, 2021
Saturday Oct 23, 2021
In Episode 49 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we meet Ricky and Christy Jones of STRIVE4You, a nonprofit providing a variety of adaptive sports programs for the blind and visually impaired. They discussed:
- Their personal and professional backgrounds
- Their visual impairments
- How Ricky became involved with the Tennessee Association of Blind Athletes, a chapter of the United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA
- What it’s like being blind parents and some funny stories
- Their two guide dogs and how they get along in the same household
- What inspired them to launch STRIVE4You
- The programs and services they offer through STRIVE4You
- How adaptive sports have impacted their lives and the lives of others around them
Learn more about STRIVE4You and how to get involved in its many adaptive sports opportunities at http://strive4you.org.
Saturday Oct 09, 2021
Saturday Oct 09, 2021
In Episode 48 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, our guest is Tom Fisher of the North American Association of Blind Sportsmen (NAABS). Fisher discussed:
- Growing up in the Pacific Northwest
- A diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes at a very young age
- How he went blind and what the process of losing his vision was like for him emotionally
- How he got involved in the North American Association of Blind Sportsmen (NAABS)
- The adaptive outdoor programs and events NAABS offers
- The “Adaptive Pursuits” TV show which has highlighted NAABS and several blind and visually impaired individuals
- Why he says getting into sports and recreation saved his life
Learn more about the North American Association of Blind Sportsmen (NAABS) at http://www.naabs.org. Contact the organization at info@naabs.org.
Saturday Sep 25, 2021
Saturday Sep 25, 2021
In Episode 47 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we highlight the Long Island Bombers beep baseball team from New York and its performance at the 2021 National Beep Baseball Association World Series in Wichita, KS. We caught up with Ted Fass, Alex Barrera, and Edgar Erickson of the Bombers to talk about:
- Their personal and professional backgrounds
- Their visual impairments
- How they got into adaptive sports
- How they got into beep baseball and what they enjoy most about it
- The history of the Long Island Bombers
- The 2021 NBBA World Series
- Why blind and visually impaired individuals should try adaptive sports
Learn more about the Long Island Bombers beep baseball team on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LIBombers. Learn more about the National Beep Baseball Association (NBBA) and teams across the U.S. at www.nbba.org.
Saturday Sep 11, 2021
Saturday Sep 11, 2021
In Episode 46 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we look back on the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics which just wrapped up from a blind sports perspective. In the first segment, we are joined by Mason Merren, an analyst for the USA men’s goalball team and son of longtime Paralympic goalball player Tyler Merren. Mason discussed:
- Growing up with visually impaired parents
- How he got into his unique role as a goalball analytics coordinator with the United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) after attending Florida Atlantic University
- The outcome of the men’s and women’s goalball competitions at the Tokyo Paralympics
- Some interesting statistics and analysis from the events
- His predictions for goalball moving forward and looking ahead to the 2024 Paralympics in Paris
In the second segment, host Greg Lindberg talked about the results of some Eyes Free Sports guests who competed in this year’s Paralympics (including Lex Gillette and Kyle Coon), the blind football results, some insight on judo, swimming, and the paratriathlon, and some final thoughts on the Games.
Saturday Aug 28, 2021
Saturday Aug 28, 2021
In Episode 45 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, our guest is Drew Hunthausen. Known as “The No Excuses Blind Guy,” he talked about:
- His early childhood and the numerous sports he played when he was still fully sighted
- A sudden diagnosis and why he spent three months in a coma
- The long road he endured when awakening from the coma and its resulting effects on him physically
- The first sport he got into after losing his sight and hearing and how freeing it felt to him
- Getting involved in the Blind Stokers Club and how this led him into doing triathlons
- Some adaptations he uses as a blind and hearing impaired triathlete
- Why he adopted the nickname “The No Excuses Blind Guy”
Learn more about Drew Hunthausen at www.drewhunthausen.com. Follow him on Facebook at http://facebook.com/drewhunthausen. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/drewhunthausen. Check out his Instagram page at http://instagram.com/drewhunthausen.
Saturday Aug 14, 2021
Saturday Aug 14, 2021
In Episode 44 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we preview the Tokyo Paralympics from a blind sports perspective. In the first segment, our guest is Lucy Dominy, the media and communications manager of the International Blind Sports Federation. She discussed:
- What the International Blind Sports Federation is and which sports for the blind and visually impaired the governing body oversees
- An overview of goalball and a preview of the teams and matchups at the Tokyo Paralympics
- An overview of five-aside soccer (a.k.a. blind soccer or blind football) and a preview of the upcoming matchups at the Tokyo Paralympics
- An overview of the blind judo competitors competing in the Tokyo Paralympics
In the second segment, host Greg Lindberg reviews a few of the Eyes Free Sports guests who will be competing in the Paralympic Games this year, along with some news about watching the games with audio description and the improvement of some web accessibility for blind and visually impaired fans to more easily follow the games.
Learn more about the International Blind Sports Federation at https://ibsasport.org/.
Learn more about the 2020 Tokyo Summer Paralympic Games at https://www.paralympic.org/tokyo-2020.
Saturday Jul 31, 2021
Saturday Jul 31, 2021
In Episode 43 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, our guest is Bob Babbitt, a co-founder of the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Babbitt discussed:
- How he got into endurance sports and his first Ironman event
- What inspired him to help launch the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF)
- Who is eligible for a CAF grant
- What these grants can actually cover for challenged athletes
- Examples of events and clinics CAF puts on
- Examples of blind and visually impaired athletes he has gotten to know and their unique stories
- Why he says he has so much respect for blind athletes
- How sports have transformed the lives of so many individuals he has met over the years
Learn more about the Challenged Athletes Foundation at www.challengedathletes.org.
Learn more about Bob Babbitt and find his podcast at www.babbittville.com.