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Episodes
Eyes Free Sports explores sports and recreation activities for blind and visually impaired individuals.
Episodes
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/.
Saturday Jun 24, 2023
Saturday Jun 24, 2023
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.
Saturday Jun 10, 2023
Saturday Jun 10, 2023
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.
Saturday May 27, 2023
Saturday May 27, 2023
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.
Saturday May 13, 2023
Saturday May 13, 2023
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/.
Saturday Apr 29, 2023
Saturday Apr 29, 2023
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
Sunday Apr 16, 2023
Sunday Apr 16, 2023
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)