The Eyes Free Sports Podcast

By eyesfreesportsSports

The Eyes Free Sports Podcast episodes

October 24The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 178 – A Conversation with Goalball Paralympian Tre’Shaun Faison
In Episode 178 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, our guest is Tre’Shaun Faison, a Paralympian in goalball from the Jacksonville, FL area. During the interview, Faison talked about:
Where he was born and grew up
His visual impairment
His experience attending the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (FSDB)
How he got into blind sports, specifically goalball
What it took to make the national men's goalball team
Competing at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, France
What he believes it takes to succeed in goalball
His experience coaching goalball at the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind (CSDB)

Follow Tre’Shaun Faison on Instagram at http://instagram.com/tremfaison.
38 min
October 11The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 177 – Getting to Know Paratriathlete Marina Mears
In Episode 177 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we chat with Marina Mears, a competitive swimmer and paratriathlete who is training for the Paralympics. During the conversation, Mears spoke about:
Where she was born and grew up
Her visual impairment
How she got into competitive swimming
Her education at Clemson University
Completing her first half-Ironman and full Ironman
Joining the USA Triathlon Paratriathlon U23 Development Team
Becoming the Paratriathlon National Series Champion to earn a spot on the USA Paratriathlon Resident Team
What life is like living and training at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs
The next steps and competitions for her
Her take on the guide-athlete relationship
What it would mean to compete at the 2028 Paralympics
Her advice to anyone interested in becoming a recreational or elite athlete

Follow Marina Mears on Instagram at http://instagram.com/marinaamears.
37 min
September 26The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 176 – Meeting the Achilles International Orlando Chapter
In Episode 176 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we highlight the Orlando, FL chapter of Achilles International. We are joined by Catherine Besand and Bobby Withers, two leaders of the chapter. During the conversation, they spoke about:
Their personal and professional backgrounds
Bobby’s military service and the injury he sustained in combat
Bobby’s involvement with Homes For Our Troops
Their athletic endeavors, specifically with running
An overview of Achilles International
The inspiration behind starting the Orlando chapter of Achilles International
The chapter’s current activities and looking ahead to the future
How United in Stride works to help connect guides and athletes with disabilities
The benefits of sports and recreation for people with disabilities
How people can learn more and get involved in Achilles International

Learn more about Achilles International and find a local chapter at http://achillesinternational.org/. Check out the Orlando chapter of Achilles International at http://achillesinternational.org/orlando and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/achillesorlandofl/.
41 min
September 12The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 175 – Spotlighting Texas Audio Darts
In Episode 175 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we highlight Texas Audio Darts. Our guest is Amanda Matheny, statewide representative for Texas Audio Darts. During the discussion, Matheny talked about:
Her personal background
Her visual impairment
Her education and career
How she discovered audio darts
How audio darts is played
An overview of Texas Audio Darts and her role with the organization
Strategies she and the organization are using to recruit new players
The current landscape of audio darts around the country
The audio darts tournament coming up in Texas in September of 2027
How people can learn more and get involved in audio darts

Follow Texas Audio Darts on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61589031614850. Contact Texas Audio Darts at [email protected], or you can call or text 940-463-4141.
Purchase the Audio Dart Master talking dart board at http://www.audiodartmaster.com/.
42 min
August 29The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 174 – Recapping the 2026 National Beep Baseball Association World Series
In Episode 174 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we recap the 2026 National Beep Baseball Association (NBBA) World Series, which was held in early August in Aurora, IL. We are joined by NBBA Hall of Famer and commentator Neal “Dawg” McDonald. During the conversation, McDonald covered:
The Indy Thunder winning the World Series in 2025 and what it meant for them going into 2026
His thoughts going into the 2026 World Series
Recapping the early games of the tournament
Which teams established themselves as contenders as the week went on
A recap of the two championship games on Saturday (Indy Thunder vs. Gateway Archers)
What it meant for the Indy Thunder to win their seventh championship
The final team standings from the tournament
An overview of the award recipients
His experience as a color commentator for the World Series this year
His reflections on 50 years of the NBBA and beep baseball in general

Learn more about beep baseball at http://nbba.org.
1 hr 13 min
August 15The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 173 – Learning about Blind Fencing with Stephanie Valdez
In Episode 173 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we learn about blind fencing for the first time. We are joined by Stephanie Valdez who has competed in multiple blind fencing tournaments. During the discussion, Valdez spoke about:
Where she was born and grew up
Her visual impairment
Her education and career achievements and goals
What it’s like being a visually impaired mom
How she got into blind fencing
How blind fencing works and why there are simple adaptations to mainstream fencing
Her accomplishments competing in a few blind fencing tournaments
Her current efforts to help grow the sport around the U.S. and where a few blind fencing clubs are located
Her involvement in the National Federation of the Blind (NFB)
How people can learn more about blind fencing
Learn more about blind fencing on the USA Blind Fencing website at http://usablindfencing.org. Check out USA Blind Fencing on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61585963794247.
Contact [email protected] with questions.
43 min
August 08The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 172 – Highlighting Bicycling Blind with Christine Tinberg and Chuck Miller
In Episode 172 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we feature a conversation with two guests – Christine Tinberg, founder and executive director of Bicycling Blind, and Chuck Miller, a board member for the organization who is an Army veteran and longtime adaptive athlete. During the interview, they discussed:
Where they are from and their personal backgrounds
Their individual achievements in cycling and other athletic endeavors
The inspiration behind starting Bicycling Blind, a nonprofit organization connecting sighted captains and blind stokers to ride together on tandem bikes
The mission of the organization
How people can get involved and connect to either a captain or stoker in their local area
The benefits of sports and recreation for the blind and low vision community

Check out Bicycling Blind at http://bicyclingblind.org and create a profile to get started. For questions, contact [email protected].
42 min
August 01The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 171 – Hitting the Course to Talk Blind Golf with Brian Oglesbee
In Episode 171 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we chat with Accomplished blind golfer and high school head golf coach Brian Oglesbee. During the conversation, Oglesbee spoke about:
His early years and eye condition
Sports he played as a kid
His education, including two degrees he earned from the University of Georgia
How he got into golf and discovering blind golf
The adaptations of golf for the blind and visually impaired
His achievements competing in tournaments with American Blind Golf and the U.S. Blind Golf Association
His role serving on the board of directors for the USBGA
Working as a high school head golf coach and teacher at Upson-Lee High School

Learn more about American Blind Golf (ABG) at http://americanblindgolf.com. Learn more about the U.S. Blind Golf Association (USBGA) at http://usblindgolf.com.
49 min
July 18The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 170 – Learning about Blind Curling with Murray Rudolph
In Episode 170 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we learn all about blind curling. our guest is Murray Rudolph from Canada. The longtime blind curler spoke about
Where he was born and grew up
His visual impairment
His education and career
How he got into blind curling
How curling is adapted for blind and visually impaired players
His achievements in curling
How popular blind curling is in Canada today
How people can learn more about blind curling in Canada

Contact the Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB) at http://ccbnational.net.
37 min
July 04The Eyes Free Sports Podcast: Ep. 169 – Running with Marathoner and Endurance Athlete Caitlin Lee
In Episode 169 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we visit with Caitlin Lee, an accomplished marathoner and endurance athlete who works as the Development Officer at the American Council of the Blind (ACB). During the discussion, Lee talked about:
Where she was born and grew up
Her visual impairment
Her education and current role with ACB
How she got into running
The adaptations she uses as a visually impaired runner
Her experience teaming up with a guide for running
The numerous races she’s run and which have stood out in her mind
Her recent first-place finish in the para-athlete T13 female division at the 2026 Boston Marathon
Some of the sports and recreation efforts of ACB

Since this interview, Lee went on to finish second at the Boston Athletic Association 10K in the Para T11-T13 (blind and visually impaired) division!
Contact her via email at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/brooklynskipping and on TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@brooklynskipping.
Learn more about the American Council of the Blind at http://acb.org.
1 hr 1 min

About The Eyes Free Sports Podcast

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Eyes Free Sports explores sports and recreation activities for blind and visually impaired individuals.

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The Eyes Free Sports Podcast

The Eyes Free Sports Podcast episodes

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