The Eyes Free Sports Podcast

The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 140 - Hitting the Soccer Pitch to Meet Ryan Lazaroe, Head Coach of the U.S. Men’s National Blind Soccer Team

In Episode 140 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we meet Ryan Lazaroe, head coach of the U.S. men’s national blind soccer team. During the interview, Lazaroe spoke about:

- His personal and professional backgrounds
- His involvement in soccer over the years
- How he got involved in blind soccer and started coaching
- Becoming assistant coach of the U.S. men’s national team, then head coach in 2024
- How blind soccer works
- The team’s recent events against international competition
- Looking ahead to the rest of the 2025 season and beyond
- The current state of blind soccer around the U.S. and efforts to continue to grow the sport
- How people can learn more about blind soccer and get involved

Check out http://usaba.org/ to learn more about blind soccer.

Contact Ryan Lazaroe by email at rmlazaroe@yahoo.com.

The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 139 - Catching Up with Angel Parra, a Goalball Player and Swimmer

In Episode 139 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we bring back Angel Parra. Originally on Episode 23 of the podcast back in 2020 and known as Damien at the time, Angel talked about:

- Why he changed his name
- His adaptive sports career
- Some recent health challenges and how they have impacted his physical activity
- Volunteering at Camp Abilities in Brockport, NY back in 2023
- Looking ahead to his future athletic pursuits

The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 138 - Meeting the Vibin’ Vixens, a New All-Female Beep Baseball Team

In Episode 138 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we meet three members of the Vibin’ Vixens, a brand new all-female beep baseball team. Ashley Melero, Faith Penn, and Dakota Hogwood joined the conversation to talk about:.

• Their visual impairments
• Their personal backgrounds
• How they got into beep baseball and the teams they’ve played with in the National Beep Baseball Association (NBBA)
• How the idea for the Vibin’ Vixens team was born
• Competing in their first beep baseball tournament in Las Vegas
• The importance of female participation in an adaptive sport like beep baseball

Looking ahead to the future of the Vixens and women in the game

Learn more about the National Beep Baseball Association at http://nbba.org.
Follow the Vibin’ Vixens on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/people/Vibin-Vixens/61566816963763/. Email the team at vibinvixens@gmail.com.

The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 137 - Catching up with the New York Bombers Beep Baseball Club and Recapping Their Appearance on 'The Kelly Clarkson Show'

In Episode 137 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we welcome back members of the New York Bombers beep baseball team, formerly known as the Long Island Bombers. James Sciortino, Jim Hughes, and Alex Barrera join the conversation to talk about:

• How they got into beep baseball and their experience playing with the Bombers
• Why the team decided to rebrand itself from the Long Island Bombers to the New York Bombers
• Looking ahead to the 2025 season and National Beep Baseball Association World Series
• How they were invited to be guests on “The Kelly Clarkson Show”
• Their experience appearing on the show and how kind Kelly Clarkson was to them
• A donation from Major League Baseball they were made aware of during their appearance on the show
• What their TV appearance has meant in terms of awareness about the Bombers and beep baseball in general
  

Check out the New York Bombers website at http://www.nybombers.org.

Watch the Bombers’ appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5OGtBPfH9o&t=4s.

This episode is sponsored by AccessAbility Officer. Learn more at http://accessabilityofficer.com/.

The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 136 - Meeting Lillian Goodman, a Visually Impaired Skier and All-Around Adaptive Athlete

In Episode 136 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, our guest is Lillian Goodman, a visually impaired skier, paratriathlete, and all-around adaptive athlete. During the interview, Goodman talked about:

 

• Where she grew up and her visual impairment diagnosis as a child
• Her education and career working in finance
• How she discovered adaptive sports for the blind
• Her experience in skiing and attending Ski for Light
• Her involvement in swimming and other water sports
• How she got into the triathlon and some events she has competed in
• Her guide dog from Guide Dogs for the Blind
• Her other interests and hobbies outside of sports

Learn more about Ski for Light at http://www.sfl.org.

Check out the Northwest Association for Blind Athletes at http://nwaba.org.

Visit Dare2Tri at http://dare2tri.org.

Learn more about United in Stride at http://unitedinstride.com.

The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 135 - Getting to Know Tanner Gers, a Beep Baseball Hall of Famer and Paralympian

In Episode 135 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we visit with Tanner Gers. The longtime adaptive athlete discussed: 

- His early years and family

- How he suddenly lost his eyesight in his early 20s

- His accomplished career playing beep baseball

- His career in track and field and competing in the 2012 Paralympic Games in London

- His professional work and current role with AccessAbility Officer

- How he has overcome so much adversity in his life through a positive attitude

Learn more about beep baseball at http://nbba.org.

Learn about AccessAbility Officer and ways to get involved in digital accessibility at http://accessabilityofficer.com.

The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 134 - Running with Tyson Gunter, a Paralympian and Longtime Track and Field Athlete

In Episode 134 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, our guest is Tyson Gunter from Idaho. The longtime adaptive athlete in track and field discussed:

• His early years growing up in a small farm town
• Attending summer camps at the Idaho School for the Blind
• His education and career in sports nutrition
• How he got into track and field
• Competing in several Paralympic events, including the 2016 Paralympic Games
• His most proudest moments as an athlete
• His mission to help young visually impaired people discover adaptive sports

Follow Tyson Gunter on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/tysongunter_ply/ and on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtWxIFIvjesOlMPvzJqK9Qw.

Learn more about Black Label Supplements at http://blacklabelsupplements.com/.

The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 133 – Getting to Know Mark Ivy, an All-Star Beep Baseball Player and Standup Comedian

In Episode 133 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we chat with Mark Ivy of the Oklahoma Lookouts beep baseball team. During the conversation, Mark discussed:

• His early years growing up in Oklahoma
• His visual impairment which has run in the family
• How he was introduced to beep baseball and other adaptive sports for the blind
• His career playing for the Oklahoma Lookouts of the National Beep Baseball Association and some memorable events in which he has competed
• His role as a sport ambassador for the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes (USABA)
• His day job with New View Oklahoma
• How he got into standup comedy and some funny stories about his gigs
• His favorite comedians

Learn more about beep baseball at http://nbba.org.

The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 132 – A Conversation with Mindy Cook, a Paralympian in Goalball

In Episode 132 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we visit with Mindy Cook from Ohio. A silver-winning Paralympic medalist in goalball, Cook talked about:

• Her childhood and visual impairment
• Her education and professional career with the federal government
• How she discovered goalball and her early career competing on the court
• Becoming a member of Team USA and competing in the Paralympic Games in Tokyo
• What it was like representing Team USA and winning a silver medal
• Her experience competing in domestic goalball tournaments
• What she enjoys most about goalball and adaptive sports in general

Learn more about goalball at http://usaba.org. Follow the U.S. national 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. 131 – A Conversation with National Beep Baseball Association Hall of Famer and Indy Thunder Founder Darnell Booker

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/.