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.

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.

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/.

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 txaudiodarts@gmail.com, or you can call or text 940-463-4141.

Purchase the Audio Dart Master talking dart board at http://www.audiodartmaster.com/.

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.

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 communications@usablindfencing.org with questions.

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 ride@bicyclingblind.org.

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.