The Eyes Free Sports Podcast

In Episode 106 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we visit with six members of the Sirens beep baseball team, the first-ever beep ball club made up entirely of female players. The team is based in the St. Louis, MO area but has players from around the U.S. We are joined by players Kim Blumenthal, Corey Turner, Amy Sweigard, and Whitney Marin, along with coaches Kassondra McDaniel and Neal “Dawg” McDonald.

During the conversation, the...

In Episode 105 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, Scott Hudson of Fort Worth, TX joins the conversation. The longtime beep baseball player and runner spoke about:

• His early years and childhood
• His visual impairment
• His education and career in vocational rehabilitation
• How he got into beep baseball and his successful career
• What it meant to him to be inducted into the NBBA Hall of Fame
• His career as a runner and notable achievemen...

In Episode 104 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we chat with Ed Plumacher, a longtime blind athlete and adaptive technology professional who was instrumental in bringing the sport of blind baseball to the United States and helping start the U.S. Blind Baseball Association (USBBA). During the conversation, Plumacher discussed:

• His early years and visual impairment
• His college years and various professional roles, including some ...

In Episode 103 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we meet Wendy Fagan, the founder and executive director of the nonprofit Envision Blind Sports based in the Pittsburgh, PA area. During the interview, Fagan talked about:

• Her personal background
• How she got connected with the disability community, specifically blind and visually impaired individuals
• What inspired her to start VIP Sports, now known as Envision Blind Sports
• The nume...

In Episode 102 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, our guest is Brett Devloo, a.k.a. The Blind Kid (TBK) from Canada. During the conversation, Devloo discussed:

• Where he was born and grew up
• Sports he played as a kid and why he fell in love with skateboarding
• How he suddenly lost a good amount of his eyesight
• The meaning behind his nickname, The Blind Kid
• How he got back into skateboarding after going blind and some simple adaptat...

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 o...

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 car...

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 bas...

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...

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...

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 Paralympi...

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 finish...