2025 USABA Sport Ambassadors
The USABA Sport Ambassador Program is entering its fourth year in spreading awareness and visibility of sports for the blind and visually impaired community, assisting in USABA representation through outreach and partnership opportunities, and supporting fundraising efforts to continue to expand sport programming. This year’s 11 sport ambassadors were selected following an application and review process with the final roster consisting of athletes in the sports of goalball, blind soccer, and track and field, along with two sighted guides. Among the ambassadors are eight Paralympians with 12 Paralympic medals on their resumes.
HAVE AN AMBASSADOR AT YOUR EVENT
USABA Sport Ambassadors represent a wide array of sports, experiences and accolades. If you or your organization is interested in hosting an ambassador to teach, coach, speak or participate at your event, please contact Lance Sarabia at lsarabia@usaba.org
Meet the 2025 USABA Sport Ambassadors…
Noah Beckman
HOMETOWN: Columbus Ohio
Noah works as a national bank examiner for the US Treasury Department. He has enjoyed participating in sports throughout his entire life and is currently a member of the USA Blind Soccer Men’s National Team. In addition to blind soccer, Noah participates in goalball, beep baseball, and blind hockey.
IN HIS OWN WORDS: “Sports have not only helped me develop physical skills and abilities, but they have also played a pivotal role in shaping my confidence, resilience and sense of belonging. By serving as an ambassador I hope to inspire and empower individuals within the blind community to discover their own potential through sport, raise awareness of blind sports among the sighted population, and motivate all individuals to contribute to USABA so that it can most effectively serve as many blind athletes as possible.”
Ricardo Castaneda
HOMETOWN: Fort Worth, Texas
Ricardo’s sports adventure started at the age of 7, playing little league American football with his cousin as his partner in crime. Soon after running the ball up and down the field a few times, they began to kick a soccer ball just for fun. Ricardo began to find that he could not play soccer due to the ball’s speed making it look as if it was a fly or blur in the air, so he began to compromise by just running the ball, blocking a player, or even just playing before the game with teammates. He was soon pulled from all sports due to an accident in an indoor soccer field before the game. As his vision deteriorated Ricardo began to find help with the Texas School For The Blind which not only gave him the knowledge to navigate the world but showed him sports and physical fitness in a whole new light, from starting with goalball courts to the sparring mats of wrestling and judo, and now to blind soccer.
IN HIS OWN WORDS: “As a USABA Sport Ambassador, my goal is to expand the reach of sports for the blind, especially by introducing blind soccer to new audiences. Personally, sports for the blind have been life-changing, providing not just physical activity and competition but also teaching me resilience, teamwork and personal growth. Through my ambassadorship, I hope to inspire others with visual impairments to embrace the transformative power of sports, showing them that they can overcome any obstacle and achieve success both on and off the field.”
Charles Catherine
HOMETOWN: Brooklyn, New York
A native of France, Charles is a former elite blind triathlete who is now captain of the USA Blind Soccer Men’s National Team. A 2012 graduate of Sciences Po Bordeaux, France, Charles holds a master’s degree in international relations, and works as the director of corporate and government relations for the National Organization on Disability (NOD). He is also a classical pianist, a husband and the happy father of two beautiful girls.
IN HIS OWN WORDS: “Running helped be tremendously when I lost my sight, not just to stay fit, but to make amazing friends and regain my confidence. I never thought that I would be able to play soccer again, so when I found out about blind soccer, it became my passion right away. I hope that through this work with USABA, I’ll be able to encourage other people with disabilities to be active, try new sports and enjoy life fully, but also, and perhaps more importantly, show to society that they shouldn’t have low expectations of people with disabilities.”
Mindy Cook
HOMETOWN: Columbus, Ohio
A silver medalist in goalball at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Mindy is a current member of the USA Goalball Women’s National Team. With seven years of experience, her favorite position on the court is center. Off the court, Mindy is a full-time contracting officer and has a weakness for anything ice cream or flavored with pumpkin spice.
IN HER OWN WORDS: “Goalball has played an impactful role in my life. Through goalball, I’ve discovered a supportive community of friends and found the confidence and leadership skills I never knew I possessed. Goalball taught me that I can thrive in team sports with a visual impairment. As a USABA Sports Ambassador, I hope to achieve greater awareness of the blind sports USABA offers and provide outreach to youth athletes.”
Lex Gillette
HOMETOWN: Raleigh, North Carolina
Lex is the best totally blind long and triple jumper in the history of the U.S. Paralympic movement. He is the current world record holder in the long jump, a five-time Paralympic medalist, a four-time long jump world champion and an 18-time national champion. He is the only totally blind athlete to ever eclipse the 22-foot barrier in the long jump.
IN HIS OWN WORDS: “USABA is the sole organization that played a major role in me gaining my start in the Paralympics. I can remember raising funds to attend my first USABA national championships and I’ve participated in multiple USABA-sponsored sports education camps. Those opportunities gave me the chance to participate in sports alongside other athletes who were blind and visually impaired, helped to sharpen my athletic skills and ultimately helped me gain the confidence I would need to become a multi-time Paralympic medalist. At this juncture in my career, it is my goal to pass along everything that I’ve learned to the athletes coming after me. I’d also like to bring more awareness to USABA and help the organization continue building on the success that’s currently illuminating through its teams and programs.”
Eliana Mason
HOMETOWN: Beaverton, Oregon
Eliana is a two-time Paralympian and two-time Paralympic medalist, winning a bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics where she was the second-highest goal scorer on the U.S. team with 10 goals in seven games, good for eighth-best in the entire tournament. She has also participated in two Goalball World Championships (2014, 2018) winning gold in 2014. Eliana serves as the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee Athletes’ Advisory Council representative to the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes’ board of directors.
IN HER OWN WORDS: “Growing up I always loved competing and partaking in competitive sports. My vision loss made it difficult to keep up with my sighted peers and compete at a level I wanted. I always found myself having to work through visual barriers, which took away from my experience of the sport, along with my ability to partake in it. Finding goalball was life-changing for me, because it was the first time ever I was on an equal playing field with my peers, and could simply be an athlete first. My vision was no longer part of the equation, and this was a very freeing and empowering feeling for me. I was able to focus on the sport, play at a high level and not have to compensate for vision loss. Having an equal playing field is incredibly important and made me fall in love with the game. Additionally, through goalball, I met other incredible athletes who were role models and mentors to me. I had a positive representation of vision loss for the first time in my life, and I learned to find confidence as a blind person. Goalball is one of the only blind sports played on a team, and it allowed me to be a part of a team. A lot of blind-friendly sports like swimming, running, rowing and biking are often solo sports. To find a team sport where my vision wasn’t a barrier motivated and empowered me to follow my athletic dreams.”
Tyler Merren
HOMETOWN: Greenville, Michigan
Tyler is a four-time Paralympic athlete with the USA Goalball Men’s Team, motivational speaker, personal trainer and owner of ReVision Training LLC. Born in Michigan with an eye condition known as retinitis pigmentosa. Despite his visual challenges he grew up with a love for sports and activities which transferred into his baccalaureate in exercise science and career as a personal trainer and elite athlete. His wife Leanne, who is also blind, and he, have four children and currently live in Greenville, Michigan, where Tyler is working for Camp Tuhsmeheta, an outdoor adventure camp for blind students, running his business, developing the ReVision Fitness audio fitness program, homeschooling his children, training for the USA Goalball Team, and being the best husband and father he can be. Tyler believes that his family, faith, and sport were the three pillars that helped him learn the keys to success of hard work, perseverance, and humility, and sees adaptive sports as a crucial element in the lives of blind youth and adults.
IN HIS OWN WORDS: “Sport taught me the power of discipline, teamwork, and perseverance and through the Sport Ambassador Program, I am looking to support all blind athletes who are seeking to better their lives through sport and fitness.”
Cheyenne Meyer
HOMETOWN: McKinney, Texas
Cheyenne is an endurance athlete and signing guide for athletes who are blind, low vision or deafblind. After a traumatic bike accident in 2016, she came back to sport with a passion for helping others reach their own finish lines. Since 2016, Cheyenne has had the privilege of guiding athletes in races from 5k runs to Ironman triathlons, and at state and national championship races for cycling and paratriathlon. She began learning American Sign Language (ASL) in 2017 to become a better guide for athletes who are deafblind. Outside of racing, Cheyenne helps host clinics to train runners to become guides and volunteers at Camp Abilities and DeafBlind Camp of Texas.
IN HER OWN WORDS: “Getting involved with the blind community has been one of the greatest blessings of my life and has become one of the most important. Serving as a guide has helped me make so many lifelong friends, see incredible places, create unforgettable memories and learn the importance of accessibility and inclusion. As a USABA Sport Ambassador, I hope to continue promoting the great things USABA is doing for the blind community. I want to help athletes who are blind find happiness and discover their potential through sports, as well as encourage new guides and volunteers to get involved. I’d also like to promote accessibility and inclusion in sports and social media.”
Emma Papariella
HOMETOWN: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Emma is a junior at Slippery Rock University majoring in special education transition programming with minors in adapted physical activity and recreational therapy. Being physically active and participating in sports has always been important to her and a big part of her life. Shortly after being adopted, Emma started doing gymnastics because it was something she didn’t need too much vision for. She also played basketball in third grade for her school. Emma wanted to do more sports but finding a sport that she could participate in safely and be able to keep up with her peers was hard due to her visual impairment. The summer before her 7th-grade year changed Emma’s life forever. She attended a local sports camp for the BVI community called Envision Blind Sports. At this camp, Emma met other kids who were just like her and were facing similar challenges. She also found the world of blind sports and adapted sports which taught her there was a whole other world out there. Emma continued to attend any Envision events possible and started playing blind ice hockey in high school. Growing up, Emma and her dad watched hockey together and finding a way that she could successfully play hockey brought so much joy for both of them. She also fell in love with downhill skiing which is something and has had the opportunity to participate in many clinics for goalball and blind soccer.
IN HER OWN WORDS: “Blind sports have opened my world and given me so many opportunities to challenge myself, put myself out there, and share my passion with others. As a USABA Sports Ambassador, I want to give other individuals who are blind or visually impaired the same experiences I have been so lucky to have. I want to help educate and advocate for the world of adaptive sports and get as many people involved as possible because everyone deserves the chance to be physically active and be a part of a team no matter their disability. I hope to spread the world of blind sports through sharing my experiences, teaching others at clinics, and connecting with anyone who wants to be involved in blind sports whether they’re an athlete, guide/coach, or supporter. I can’t wait to meet you at a practice, clinic, tournament, or wherever our paths may cross!”
Erika Deetjen
HOMETOWN: Miami, FL
Erika Deetjen is a passionate advocate for blind soccer in Miami, Florida, where she plays a vital role at the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired. She supports the growth of the sport by helping implement structured programming for blind and visually impaired youth and working closely with local and national-level athletes. Erika collaborates with Oseas De Leon, a member of the USA Blind Soccer Men’s National Team and staff member at the Miami Lighthouse, helping him improve his game while promoting blind soccer in the South Florida community. Together, they serve as ambassadors for the sport, raising awareness and fostering inclusion through clinics, demonstrations, and public engagement. Erika’s commitment extends beyond the field—she is helping shape the future of blind soccer in the U.S. by building community connections, creating access, and championing adaptive sports for all.
Calahan Young
HOMETOWN: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Calahan hails from Pittsburgh, Pa., and has been playing goalball for over 17 years. He has been a member of the USA Men’s National Goalball Team since 2017 and graduated from George Mason University with a master’s in healthcare administration. In addition, Calahan serves on the USABA board of directors as an athlete representative, also serving on the audit and finance committee.
IN HIS OWN WORDS: “Sports have played a pivotal role in shaping my identity and aspirations. Growing up in a family that embraced every sport imaginable, I eagerly participated in baseball, basketball, track and field, and football. This early exposure provided me with a solid foundation for team sports and instilled in me a relentless drive to compete and collaborate with others. However, it was the discovery of adaptive sports that truly transformed my life. Embarking on journeys across the country and around the world, I forged meaningful connections with individuals from diverse backgrounds, fostering a sense of camaraderie that transcended borders. Engaging in adaptive sports not only broadened my horizons but also significantly bolstered my confidence, a key factor that propelled me to pursue and achieve both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. As a USABA Sport Ambassador, I am eager to leverage this platform to become an advocate and role model for the next generation of blind athletes. By sharing my personal journey, I aim to illustrate the profound impact of being active and involved in such a vibrant community. Moreover, I aspire to provide insights into the arduous path leading up to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, shedding light on the rigorous strength and conditioning regimens, the relentless grind of practices and competitions, and the unparalleled experience of participating in the Paralympics. Through this role, I hope to inspire others to overcome obstacles, pursue their dreams, and contribute to the ongoing legacy of adaptive sports.”
