GOALBALL!

I am finally attempting to start a blog! I'm not a great writer like so many others in my family and I don't have cute children who constantly entertain me, but I am going to make an effort nevertheless.

I had an awesome experience this past weekend! I volunteered as the athletic trainer for the National Goalball Championships, held at AF. I didn't even know what it was, or that it existed, until I received an email asking for help with the tournament. Goalball is played by people who are legally blind (20/200 vision or worse) and it is a Paralympic sport. It is a 3-on-3 game with a goal about the width of a volleyball court. All of the players wear darkened ski goggles because some have partial vision and it equalizes the playing field. They have a ball about the size and feel of a basketball that has a sleigh bell inside of it. They roll it toward the goal and listen for the bell. They then dive and block the ball with their bodies. It was the coolest sport to cover. It was very different because you had to be quiet during play so they could hear the ball and you couldn't react until the referees made a call. I want to have the PE classes at AF try it....better yet the athletic teams! It's a lot harder than it looks.

The athletes were so nice and were so appreciative that I was there. I was AMAZED at how well they got around. After one time coming into the training room they knew how to get there and what was in the room. They even had to dodge the color guard one day and did fine. They were so fun to talk to and they educated me a lot. I don't think I met one person who was blind, or visually impaired, for the same reason. That really surprised me. It was such a cool opportunity. I'm so glad that I took it. There were at least 7 players that were there that are on the Paralympic team. One of the mens players is from Utah. He was signing posters to help raise money for his trip to Beijing so I bought one for the training room. I hope I get to work with them again in the future!

The Deseret News did an audio slideshow of the games. Hopefully the following link works. If not, copy and paste it into your browser. It's worth watching.

http://www.deseretnews.com/photo/slideshow/1,5587,5068,00.html

Make sure that you have the volume up on your computer, as they captured the sound of the balls that they play with and interviews with the players. The first player you hear is Chris Dodd who is on the Paralympic team.

My only regret is that I forgot to take my camera! :(