12.1K
Downloads
131
Episodes
Eyes Free Sports explores sports and recreation activities for blind and visually impaired individuals.
Episodes
Saturday Nov 11, 2023
Saturday Nov 11, 2023
In Episode 101 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we visit with Drew Blake, president and co-founder of the nonprofit Guiding Eyes Outdoors, Inc. based in North Carolina. During the interview, Blake talked about:
- His personal and professional backgrounds
- What inspired him to help launch Guiding Eyes Outdoors
- An overview of adaptive outdoor activities the nonprofit offers to blind and visually impaired participants
- An overview of his team and volunteers
- The types of adaptive events the nonprofit holds and how they are accessible to blind and visually impaired participants
- An overview of the Accessible Aiming Project he and his team are working on with Georgia Tech
- Stories of how participants have benefited from being involved in these programs
- His future goals with the organization
- How people can learn more about the nonprofit and get involved
Learn more about Guiding Eyes Outdoors at https://www.guidingeyesoutdoors.org/. Follow the nonprofit on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/guidingeyesoutdoors, Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/guidingeyesoutdoors/, and TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@guidingeyesoutdoors.
Saturday Oct 28, 2023
Saturday Oct 28, 2023
In Episode 100 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, host Greg Lindberg celebrates this milestone episode by having the interviewing tables turned on him. Michael Stone, a blind endurance athlete, skier, biathlete, and author who appeared on Episodes 62 and 63 of the podcast, takes the reigns as guest host. During the conversation, Lindberg discussed:
- His visual impairment
- His childhood, education, and professional career
- How he got into playing adaptive sports, specifically beep baseball
- What inspired him to launch the Eyes Free Sports podcast in 2019
- A recent athletic injury he sustained and how it has impacted him
- His musical interests
- His biggest supporters as a podcaster
Saturday Oct 14, 2023
Saturday Oct 14, 2023
In Episode 99 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, our guest is Melchion Wee-Ellis. The beep baseball player and adaptive athlete from Long Island, NY spoke about:
- Where he was born, grew up, and his unique family heritage
- His education and sports he played as a youngster
- His visual impairment and how his vision has changed over time
- His adjustment to sight loss
- How he got into adaptive sports for the blind, specifically beep baseball
- His beep baseball career playing for the Long Island Bombers and Atlanta Chaos of the National Beep Baseball Association (NBBA)
- How he got into running with the Long Island chapter of Achilles International
- The numerous sports injuries he has sustained and how he has overcome them
- His guide dog from Guiding Eyes for the Blind
Contact Melchion at melchion.wee.ellis@gmail.com.
Saturday Sep 30, 2023
Saturday Sep 30, 2023
In Episode 98 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we chat about audio darts with two guests - Sam Jasmine of Plymouth, MN and Rich Koppenjan of St. Augustine, FL. The two discussed
- Where they are from and their eye conditions
- The history of audio darts in the United States
- How they got into playing audio darts
- How audio darts works and the audio dartboard Sam and her team developed
- Leagues and tournaments for audio darts around the country
- Other sports for the blind they have competed in
To learn more about audio darts for the blind or to purchase an audio dartboard, contact Sam Jasmine at audiodartmaster@samjasmine.com or by phone at 763-383-0077.
Saturday Sep 16, 2023
Saturday Sep 16, 2023
In Episode 97 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we feature a conversation with Allan Wylie, a 17-year-old sportscaster who happens to be blind. You’ll also hear some clips of what Wylie sounds like in the booth. During the interview, Wylie spoke about his early years and education, how he became interested in sports and sports broadcasting, announcers he has looked up to, how he got to call high school sports and Minor League Baseball games, and his goals in sports broadcasting.
Saturday Sep 02, 2023
Saturday Sep 02, 2023
In Episode 96 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, Donna Brown, a four-time Paralympian who competed in multiple Paralympic sports, joins the conversation. Brown spoke about:
- Where she was born and grew up
- Her visual impairment which her two siblings also have
- Her experience attending a school for the blind and how this led her to adaptive sports for the blind
- Competing in the Paralympic Games in the 1970s, ‘80s, and ‘90s
- Other athletic events she has competed in since her Paralympic days
- Her teaching career and biggest takeaways from being an educator
- Her involvement in the American Council of the Blind (ACB) and other organizations in the community
Saturday Aug 19, 2023
Saturday Aug 19, 2023
In Episode 95 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we recap the 47th edition of the National Beep Baseball Association (NBBA) World Series held in Norman, OK during the first week of August. We are joined by Neal “Dawg” McDonald, a recent inductee into the NBBA Hall of Fame, along with Demetris “D-Mo” Morrow, an NBBA board member and member of the Gateway Archers beep baseball club. They spoke about:
- How each of the 19 teams finished at the World Series this year
- The offensive and defensive player awards, along with a variety of other award winners and Hall of Fame inductees
- The impact of the heat on the World Series and how it affected the schedule of games
- Whether the Indy Edge are a dynasty and the making and why the San Antonio Jets have come up short so many times
- The media coverage this World Series event received
- Looking ahead to the 2024 NBBA season and World Series to be held in the St. Louis, MO area
Learn more about the National Beep Baseball Association at http://nbba.org.
Check out The Beep Ball Blues Show (TBBS), hosted by Neal McDonald, on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ_HllNIoY5xLnhMVwVVGbQ. The show is also available on all of the major podcast platforms and streamed live on Facebook.
Saturday Aug 05, 2023
Saturday Aug 05, 2023
In Episode 94 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we meet Chuck Gottus from the Pittsburgh, PA area. The blind tennis player and bowler spoke about:
Where he was born and grew up
When he was diagnosed with a visual impairment and what it meant to him at the time
Sports he played as a youngster and when he realized mainstream sports were too challenging because of his vision changing
How he got into blind tennis and his experience in the sport thus far
His goals in blind tennis
How he got into bowling for the blind
Other adaptive sports he would like to try
How participating in sports for the blind has enhanced his life
His guide dog and some funny stories with him related to blind sports
Saturday Jul 22, 2023
Saturday Jul 22, 2023
In Episode 93 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we chat with Pearl Outlaw of Portland, OR. The visually impaired rower and skier spoke about:
- Where she was born and grew up
- When she learned she was visually impaired and how this impacted her life
- How she got into rowing and competing on an NCAA Division III rowing team with fully sighted teammates
- Her journey to competing in international rowing competitions for athletes with disabilities and her achievements in these events
- How she got into adaptive skiing
- Other blind sports she would like to try
- Her perspectives on the benefits of being involved in sports and recreation for those with disabilities
Follow Pearl Outlaw on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/pearl_outlaw/.
Saturday Jul 08, 2023
Saturday Jul 08, 2023
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/.