The Eyes Free Sports Podcast

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 visual...

In Episode 168 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we chat with Mark Slavin, an adaptive athlete who has competed in beep baseball and blind soccer and also helped launch the North Texas Blind Soccer Association. In the interview, Mark talked about: Where he was born and his childhood His visual impairment His education and wide-ranging professional career How he got into adaptive sports His introduc...

In Episode 167 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, two guests join the conversation – Shawn Cheshire, a highly accomplished blind athlete and adventure seeker, and Jesse Crandall, a professor and her guide for many adventures. During the conversation, they discussed: Their backgrounds and how they met How Shawn lost her sight How they’ve done many rides together using single bikes and the adaptations...

In Episode 166 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we visit with two individuals who are deeply involved in the beep baseball community, David Sanchez (a member of the National Beep Baseball Association board of directors and Boston Renegades) and Jason Frazier (president and CEO of MindsEye Radio). During the conversation, they talked about: Their personal backgrounds and connection to the blind and...

In Episode 165 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we meet Christina Campbell, an accomplished competitor and certified instructor in martial arts. During the discussion, Campbell spoke about: Her early years and visual impairment How she got into martial arts as a child Her achievements in several types of martial arts How she got into teaching martial arts and self-defense Her work teaching martial...

In Episode 164 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we sit down with Antoine Craig, a para-track and field athlete and member of the U.S. national blind soccer team. During the interview, Craig talked about: Where he was born and grew up His visual impairment His educational journey and current Ph. D. program His professional career working in the mental health field How he got into track and field an...

In Episode 163 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we catch up with three staff members of the American Council of the Blind (ACB) – Scott Thornhill, Executive Director; Dan Spoone, Director of Operations; and Kolby Garrison, Accessibility Consulting & Compliance Services Coordinator. Along with ACB Advisory Board Member Mike Deaver, they all got to attend Super Bowl LX. During the conversation,...

In Episode 162 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, our guest is Erich Manser, a highly accomplished adaptive endurance athlete and digital accessibility professional. During the interview, Manser spoke about: His early years growing up in Massachusetts His education and professional career working in accessibility How he discovered adaptive sports, specifically running His experience running marathon...

In Episode 161 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we spotlight Opportunities Unlimited for the Blind (OUB), a nonprofit in Michigan. Our guest is Gwen Botting, executive director of the organization. During the discussion, Botting talked about: Being the mother of a blind son, Greg, and his journey How she got involved in organizations for the blind and visually impaired Her role as executive direct...

In Episode 160 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we meet Jacob Kaplan, a member of the U.S. men’s cerebral palsy national soccer team and audio describer for blind and visually impaired sports fans. During the conversation, Kaplan talked about: His early years His disability and how it has impacted his life How he got into playing soccer His journey to making the U.S. men’s cerebral palsy national...

In Episode 159 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we visit with three members of the Running Guides team at Guiding Eyes for the Blind – Jolene Hollister, Jenna Rovelli, and Sky Foshay. This team oversees the training of guide dogs that are trained to run with their blind or visually impaired handlers. During the conversation, they discussed: The history of Guiding Eyes for the Blind and the program...

In Episode 158 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we meet Dr. Wellington De Luna Vazquez, a professor at the University of Tampa and has served as head coach of the Puerto Rican national men’s goalball team for several years. During the interview, Dr. De Luna Vazquez spoke about: His personal background His education and research on blind sports His current role as a professor at the University of T...

In Episode 157 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we feature a roundtable discussion with four members of the U.S. national women’s blind cricket team to highlight the recent T20 Women’s Blind Cricket World Cup. We welcome back Abey and Drew Finklea and meet Asanda Pavlacka and Meghan Whalen. During the conversation, they talked about: The format of the 2025 T20 Women’s Blind Cricket World Cup in In...

In Episode 156 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we visit with two members of the U.S. national blind soccer team, Alvaro Mora Arellano and Ethan Kunes. During the interview, they talked about: Their personal backgrounds and visual impairments How they learned about blind soccer Getting the opportunity to play for the U.S. national blind soccer team Their recent experiences competing in some intern...

In Episode 155 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we meet Dr. Claudia Folska from the Denver, CO area. The highly accomplished tandem cyclist, business owner, and woman of many other talents talked about: Her early years Her visual impairment Her educational journey What inspired her to launch the Eyecycle nonprofit to help connect sighted and blind cyclists Her rides across the United States and fr...

In Episode 154 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we welcome back Murray Elbourn, a longtime adaptive athlete who has worked for major adaptive sports organizations in Australia and the United States. He originally appeared on Episode 116 of Eyes Free Sports. During the conversation, Elbourn spoke about: Being elected as president of the U.S. Blind Tennis Association (USBTA) Updates on blind tennis...

In Episode 153 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, our guest is Mark Ivy, a beep baseball player with the Oklahoma Lookouts and standup comedian. Mark originally appeared on Episode 133 of the podcast. During this conversation, he talked about: An overview of the Oklahoma Lookouts’ 2025 season in the National Beep Baseball Association (NBBA) and their run at the World Series His experience competing...

In Episode 152 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we discuss a recent climb of nearly 50 individuals with disabilities up Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. We are joined by two members of the group – Drs. Conchita Hernandez and Sachin Pavithran – who were two of three visually impaired climbers in the group. During the conversation, they discussed: Their visual impairments Their personal and profession...

In Episode 151 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, our guest is Tanveer Ahmed, a multisport adaptive athlete who is originally from Pakistan and now resides in New York. During the conversation, Ahmed discussed: How he lost his eyesight playing mainstream sports His experience competing in blind archery and blind cricket in Pakistan Moving to the United States where he’s pursuing even more adaptive s...

In Episode 150 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we learn all about blind cricket. Our guests are two siblings, Abey and Drew Finklea, both of whom have been instrumental in bringing blind cricket to the United States. During the interview, they talked about: Their childhood Abey’s visual impairment How they were introduced to blind cricket How blind cricket works What inspired them to launch Crick...

In Episode 149 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we look back on some of our conversations with blind and visually impaired athletes with a focus on how they specifically discovered adaptive sports and recreational activities for the blind. We feature segments with: Eliana Mason of the U.S. women’s goalball team Chuck Gotus, a blind tennis player and bowler Melchion Ellis of the New York Bombers be...

In Episode 148 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we meet Joe Chite from South Florida. During the conversation, Chite discussed: His early years His education and career How he lost his eyesight as an adult His introduction to goal ball and how the 2024 Paralympic Games impacted him His recent experience playing goal ball His efforts to bring together a goal ball community in South Florida Other bl...

In Episode 147 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we meet Terri Rupp from Las Vegas, NV. The accomplished endurance athlete spoke about: Her unique childhood and education How she got into adaptive sports Her achievements in running, including Ultra marathon races Her take on guides and tethers Her running guide dog from Guiding Eyes for the Blind Her involvement in the National Federation of the Bl...

In Episode 146 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we recap the 2025 National Beep Baseball Association season and the recent NBBA World Series held in the St. Louis, MO area. Dave Benney, a Hall of Fame player as well as the former public relations director for the NBBA, joined the conversation. Benney discussed: Offseason moves leading up to the 2025 season The regional beep baseball tournaments he...

In Episode 145 of the Eyes Free Sports podcast, we are joined by Joseph Fleeks, a.k.a. Security. The longtime beep baseball player talked about: His childhood Suddenly losing his eyesight as a teenager Transitioning from a mainstream high school to the Texas School for the Blind His current role with Blind Professionals Network How he got into adaptive sports His introduction to beep baseball and...