A Look Back on the Road to Paris…1980 Arnhem Games

As the USA Goalball men's team journeys along on the Road to Paris, during the month of April we'll be taking a peek in the rearview mirror at past Paralympic Games where the U.S. men's team reached the podium. We start with the 1980 Games in Arnhem, Holland. The 6th Olympics for the Physically Disabled (later known as the Paralympic Games) took place June 21-July 5, 1980, in Arnhem, Holland. The event spawned from the annual Stoke Mandeville Games for the disabled, the brainchild of Sir Ludwig Guttmann who had established the world-famous Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville, England,…  Read More

USABA Announces 2024 USA Goalball National Teams

The U.S. Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) today announced the 15 members of the 2024 USA Goalball Men’s and Women’s National Teams. The rosters include nine Paralympians boasting a combined 16 Paralympic medals. The Men’s National Team comprises four Paralympians, including two Paralympic medalists. The roster is made up of four-time Paralympian and two-time medalist Tyler Merren (Greenville, Mich.), two-time Paralympian and 2016 silver medalist Matt Simpson (Smyrna, Ga.), and their 2020 Paralympic teammates Zach Buhler (Huntington, Ind.) and Calahan Young (Pittsburgh, Pa.). Rounding out the men’s team are Paralympic hopefuls Tre’Shaun Faison (Orange Park, Fla.), Christian King (Virginia Beach, Va.), and brothers Sean Walker* (Winchester, Va.) and Zion Walker (Winchester, Va.).…  Read More

Boys Goalball Development Camp Signals Bright Future for the Sport

A Toyota Development Grant allowed the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) to host a recent youth development camp in the sport of goalball. Nine youth athletes from Florida, Texas, Georgia, New York and Michigan participated in the junior development camp with USA Goalball coaching staff, personal coaches and parents.  The development camp was hosted at the Turnstone Center for Adults and Children with Disabilities, a U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Site in Fort Wayne, Ind., January 26-28. Participants learned about offensive and defensive systems, tactics and penalty executions along with team building sessions, goal setting and sportsmanship. They also received…  Read More

USA Blind Soccer Holds Training Camp in Chula Vista

The U.S. Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) conducted a USA Blind Soccer training camp, Feb. 1-6, in Chula Vista, Calif. The camp was the first of three training camps scheduled for 2024 as the USA Blind Soccer team prepares for its Paralympic Games debut in Los Angeles in 2028. “We are excited to kick off our second year of supporting a men’s national team program,” said USABA Director of Sport Performance Amanda Duke Boulet. “This camp provided the coaching staff an opportunity to see how the athletes have been progressing since the last camp held in December and also served…  Read More