The Eyes Free Sports Podcast

The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 92 – Getting to Know Eliana Mason, a Two-Time Paralympian in Goalball

In Episode 92 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we meet Eliana Mason. The longtime goalball player who has competed and medaled in two Paralympic Games discussed:

• Her childhood growing up in the Pacific Northwest
• Her visual impairment and how much vision she has
• Her education and career working in the mental health field
• How she was introduced to goalball
• Her career competing in goalball tournaments around the world, including two Paralympic Games
• What it takes to be a successful goalball athlete and, more generally, a successful blind athlete
• Some of the unique places she has visited in her life thanks in large part to her involvement in goalball
• Her roles with the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes (USABA)

Follow Eliana Mason on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/elianaamarieee/?hl=en.

Follow the U.S. women’s goalball team on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/USAWomensGoalball/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/usawgoalball/.

The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 91 – Meeting Zephryn Victor, Jr., a.k.a. Comedian See No Evil, a Goalball & Beep Baseball Player

In Episode 91 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we chat with Zephryn “Zeph” Victor, Jr., a.k.a. Comedian See No Evil, from Fort Lauderdale, FL. The longtime goalball player has recently found a new niche playing beep baseball in the last few years while balancing his career in entertainment. During the conversation, Victor spoke about:

• Where he was born and his childhood
• His visual impairment
• How he got into adaptive sports, specifically goalball
• Highlights from his goalball career and memorable teammates
• How he was introduced to beep baseball and his career in that sport
• The similarities and differences between goalball and beep baseball
• His career in the performing arts, stand-up comedy, and acting

Check out Victor’s Comedian See No Evil YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5T3xh3yae6vlAGkppkdT2A. Follow him on social media by searching for Comedian See No Evil.

The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 90 – Discussing the U.S. Blind Tennis Association (USBTA) with Dana Costa

In Episode 90 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we meet Dana Costa, president of the United States Blind Tennis Association (USBTA) and the Highland Park Tennis Club in the Pittsburgh, PA area. During the conversation, Costa discussed:

• Her family and being the mom of a visually impaired child
• How she was introduced to adaptive sports, specifically tennis for the blind and visually impaired
• How blind tennis works
• The inspiration behind launching the U.S. Blind Tennis Association (USBTA) and the goals of this organization
• Where the USBTA has held blind tennis events and future plans for events
• The benefits of participating in adaptive sports for the blind and visually impaired

Learn more about the U.S. Blind Tennis Association at https://playtennis.usta.com/usbta.

The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 89 – Hitting the Goalball Court with Paralympian John Kusku

In Episode 89 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we catch up with John Kusku, a longtime goalball player who has competed at multiple Paralympic Games for Team USA. During the interview, Kusku spoke about:

• - His family and early years growing up
• What caused his visual impairment
• His education and career as a math teacher
• How he got into goalball and his lengthy career on the goalball court
• Competing in two Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo
• His experience with adaptive skiing and goals in this sport
• Other sports for the blind he has tried and would like to try
• What his life is like as a blind dad and husband

Learn about the Michigan Blind Athletic Association at http://miblindsports.org.

Check out the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) website at http://usaba.org.

The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 88 – Visiting with Blake Steinecke, a Mountain Biker and Member of the U.S. Blind Hockey Team

In Episode 88 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we meet Blake Steinecke, a visually impaired mountain biker and member of the U.S. blind hockey team from the San Diego, CA area. During the interview, Steinecke spoke about:

• His childhood and education
• The sports he played growing up
• How he became visually impaired as a teenager
• How he got into mountain biking and how he has adapted it to be an accessible sport for the visually impaired
• How he got into blind hockey and what it meant to be named to the U.S. blind hockey team
• His blind hockey career and a recent event competing against the Canadian blind hockey team in Toronto
• His passions for assistive technology and his YouTube Channel
• How he has made photography and videography accessible as a visually impaired individual
• His career and current role with Clusiv

Learn more about the U.S. blind hockey team at https://unitedstatesblindhockeyteam.com/.

Check out his YouTube Channel, Adapting Sight, at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy7pr6FKOhahCERy_EIZ0Sw.

Check out a video about his mountain biking experience and an endurance race he competed in at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23BfP6cLTW8&t=10s 

Learn about Clusiv at https://clusiv.io/.

The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 87 – Learning about Couch to Active with Lyn Lindbergh

In Episode 87 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we meet Lyn Lindbergh, founder of Couch to Active. The company provides virtual fitness programs and has developed a decent following from blind and visually impaired individuals. During the conversation, Lindbergh spoke about:

• Her personal and professional backgrounds
• Why she decided to start Couch to Active and what drew her to helping the blind and visually impaired community
• The programs and services Couch to Active offers
• How she makes her programs accessible to blind and visually impaired audiences
• Examples of client success stories
• Her podcast and other resources she has created
• Her advice on how a blind or visually impaired person can take that first step to become more active

Learn more about Couch to Active at http://couchtoactive.com

The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 86 – Hitting the Dance Floor with Lindsey LaVere to Discuss Adaptive Dance

In Episode 86 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we meet Lindsey LaVere, of North Street, MI. A longtime dancer, she has recently gotten into taking adaptive dance classes and even teaching a dance class for individuals with disabilities. During the conversation, LaVere talked about:

• - Where she was born and grew up
• - How she suddenly lost her eyesight as a young adult
• - Her career in dance and what it was like transitioning into an adaptive dance environment
• - How she got into teaching adaptive dance for people with various disabilities
• - Her advice to someone who is blind or visually impaired on how to safely get into dance
• - Her involvement with the American Council of the Blind (ACB)

The Eyes Free Sports Podcast - Ep. 85: Hitting the Court to Take a Swing at Blind Tennis with the International Blind Tennis Association (IBTA)

In Episode 85 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we meet Samir Mahir, president of the International Blind Tennis Association (IBTA). During the interview, Mahir spoke about:

• His personal and professional backgrounds
• - How he got interested in sports, specifically tennis
• How he got connected to adaptive sports, specifically blind tennis
• The history of blind tennis around the world
• An overview of the International Blind Tennis Association (IBTA) and his role as president of the IBTA
• How blind tennis works and the adaptive equipment
• Where tournaments have been held
• The current state of blind tennis in the United States and some recent developments on its growth
• How people can learn more and get involved in blind tennis

Learn more about the International Blind Tennis Association (IBTA) at http://ibtatennis.org. Learn about the United States Blind Tennis Association (USBTA) athttp://playtennis.usta.com/usbta.

The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 84 - Hitting the Beep Baseball Field and Judo Mat with Demetris “D-Mo” Morrow

In Episode 84 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we meet Demetris “D-Mo” Morrow, a longtime beep baseball player and martial arts competitor in judo. During the conversation, Morrow spoke about:

• Where he was born and grew up
• - His eye condition
• How he got into adaptive sports for the blind
• His introduction to beep baseball and his playing career with multiple teams
• His current role on the National Beep Baseball Association (NBBA) board of directors and his goals for the organization
• How he got into judo and his career highlights in martial arts
• Other adaptive sports he has played and would like to try
  

The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 83 - Visiting with Kevin Brown, a Highly Accomplished Multisport Adaptive Athlete

In Episode 83 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, our guest is Kevin Brown from the Washington, D.C. area. A blind adaptive athlete with multiple athletic achievements to his name, Brown talked about:

• Growing up in a military family
• -His eye condition and a sibling with the same diagnosis
• His education and attending the University of Virginia where he got a taste of Division I athletics
• The sports he played as a youngster with fully sighted peers
• How he got into adaptive sports for the blind and visually impaired
• Being named to the U.S. blind hockey team and the U.S. blind soccer team
• His experiences with adaptive skiing
• How he has successfully coached his sons and others across numerous sports in spite of his visual impairment

Learn more about blind hockey in the United States at https://www.usahockey.com/blindhockey.

Learn more about blind soccer in the United States at https://www.usaba.org/clubs-sports/blind-soccer/.