12.5K
Downloads
135
Episodes
Eyes Free Sports explores sports and recreation activities for blind and visually impaired individuals.
Episodes
Saturday Apr 01, 2023
Saturday Apr 01, 2023
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.
Saturday Mar 18, 2023
Saturday Mar 18, 2023
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
Saturday Mar 04, 2023
Saturday Mar 04, 2023
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/.
Saturday Feb 18, 2023
Saturday Feb 18, 2023
In Episode 82 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we chat with Omar Salem of Field of Vision, a startup company developing an innovative device for blind sports fans. During the conversation, Salem spoke about:
- The professional backgrounds of himself and his fellow co-founders of the startup company
- What inspired the three of them to launch Field of Vision
- An overview of how their technology has been developed
- An overview of how this technology actually works at a sporting event
- A description of the haptic feedback the device they are developing actually provides
- Which types of sports and venues the technology has been tested in and future plans for more sports and venues
- How fans can get access to this technology currently and in the future
- How this technology truly benefits visually impaired sports fans
- Contact info for Field of Vision
Learn more about Field of Vision and the unique technology the team is developing for blind sports fans at http://www.fov.ie/.
Sunday Feb 05, 2023
Sunday Feb 05, 2023
In Episode 81 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we are joined by Ethan Johnston, a longtime beep baseball player who currently plays for the Gateway Archers out of the St. Louis, MO area. During the conversation, Johnston discussed:
- His early years and childhood living in Ethiopia
- How he became blind
- What schools for the blind in Africa are like
- How he ended up coming to the United States
- His education and career
- How he got into adaptive sports for the blind, specifically beep baseball
- His beep baseball career
- Other adaptive sports for the blind he would like to try
Learn more about beep baseball at http://nbba.org. Learn more about the Gateway Archers beep baseball club at https://mindseyeradio.org/programs/mindseye-adaptive-athletics/beepball-program/gateway-archers/.
Saturday Jan 21, 2023
Saturday Jan 21, 2023
In Episode 80 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we speak with Koni Sims, a longtime advocate for the blind and visually impaired who now serves as a member of the American Council of the Blind’s board of directors. She is also a member of a new committee developed to oversee ACB’s Get Up and Get Moving campaign. During the conversation, Sims spoke about:
- Her personal and professional backgrounds
- Her visual impairment and why it has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for her
- Her involvement in advocacy work with the American Council of the Blind, as well as its local chapters and affiliates
- The genesis behind ACB starting the Get Up and Get Moving campaign
- Why she decided to get involved in this initiative
- The current members of the committee and their backgrounds
- What the campaign has done and future goals
- ACB Community Calls (virtual events held on Zoom) related to this campaign and fitness in general
- The importance of physical fitness and wellness for the blind and visually impaired
- How people can learn more and get involved
Check out the ACB Get Up and Get Moving Facebook Group at https://m.facebook.com/groups/413654223681516/.
Saturday Jan 07, 2023
Saturday Jan 07, 2023
In Episode 79 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, our guest is Tim Kane, a highly talented blind hockey player and ambassador for the adaptive sport of blind hockey. During the discussion, Kane talked about:
- His early years and genetic visual impairment
- The sports he played growing up
- His education and career in sports medicine
- Being named to the U.S. national blind hockey team and being voted captain of the team
- How blind hockey works and his positions on the ice
- His thoughts on getting blind hockey into the Paralympic Games and the importance of growing the sport in other countries
- The current state of blind hockey in the U.S. and his take on its future
- Other adaptive sports he would like to try
- The benefits of sports, recreation, and simply moving in terms of the blind and visually impaired community
Learn more about blind hockey at https://www.usahockey.com/blindhockey.
Check out the following YouTube video on blind hockey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGpnomyQ1t8.
Sunday Dec 11, 2022
Sunday Dec 11, 2022
In Episode 78 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we are joined by David Brown, a three-time Paralympian in track and field and known to many as the world’s fastest blind man. During the conversation, Brown spoke about:
- Where he was born and grew up
- His visual impairment
- His education
- How he got into adaptive sports, specifically track and field
- How he became a Paralympian and his Paralympic career
- The medals and records he is most proud of
- The keys to having a successful guide in track and field
- Getting into blind soccer and being named to the U.S. national blind soccer team
- How to follow him on social media
Follow David Brown on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thatboydbrown/?hl=en and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Running4HISGlory1019/.
Saturday Nov 26, 2022
Saturday Nov 26, 2022
In Episode 77 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, our guest is Ricky Castañeda, an accomplished beep baseball and blind soccer star from Fort Worth, TX. During the conversation, he spoke about:
- Where he was born and grew up
- His visual impairment and how it runs in the family
- His education attending a school for the blind and mainstream schools
- His career goals and a career path in which he wants to be a trailblazer for the blind
- His beep baseball career with two Texas teams and competing in the championship game at the National Beep Baseball Association (NBBA) World Series
- How he got into blind soccer and how the sport works
- Being named to the U.S. national blind soccer team and his goals in the sport
- His advice for anyone interested in getting into adaptive sports
Follow Ricky Castañeda on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/rickybeats88_ and on TikTok at @rickygolden8899.
Learn more about blind soccer at https://www.usaba.org/clubs-sports/blind-soccer/.
Saturday Nov 12, 2022
Saturday Nov 12, 2022
In Episode 76 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we welcome Jen Armbruster, a seven-time Paralympian in goalball. During the interview, Armbruster spoke about:
- Her early years and K-12 education
- Her visual impairment, coping with her diagnosis, and why she feels so lucky
- Getting into goalball and what drew her to the sport
- Her decorated Paralympic career representing Team USA on the U.S. women’s goalball squad
- Her training routine and what it takes to be successful at goalball
- Other adaptive sports she has played, including her work on blind soccer
- The benefits of competing in adaptive sports for people with disabilities
- Her career and work in adaptive sports
Learn more about the popular adaptive sport of goalball at https://www.usaba.org/clubs-sports/goalball/.
Learn more about the USA men’s and women’s goalball teams at https://www.usaba.org/usa-goalball/.