When The Goal Moves, How Do Goalball Athletes Adjust?

by Bill Kellick The date August 25, 2020, was circled on all the calendars of Paralympic hopefuls across the U.S. and around the world. As the day on which the Paralympic torch would be lit during the opening ceremony for the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, it represented a goal. For athletes in the sport of goalball – a Paralympic sport played by athletes with visual impairments using a ball with bells inside -- the goal signifies everything. During a game, they cannot see the goal, but they know it’s there…right across from them at the other end of the court. Sure,…  Read More

Day in the Life: Cody Carmicle – Goalball

Cody Carmicle (Lafayette, Ind.) is a resident athlete at the Goalball Center of Excellence at Turnstone in Fort Wayne. Carmicle first learned about the sport of goalball from a teacher in high school. He was introduced to the U.S. Men’s Goalball Team when Coach Boyle and some of the players visited his school to do a demonstration. Since discovering the sport, he’s represented Team USA at three international tournaments on the U.S. Men’s Goalball Team in 2018 – Malmo Intercup in Sweden,  the International Trakai Goalball Tournament in Lithuania and the International Goalball Challenge in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Carmicle aspires…  Read More

Day in the Life: Ali Lawson – Goalball

Ali Lawson is a resident athlete at the Goalball Center of Excellence at Turnstone in Fort Wayne. Lawson first learned about the sport of goalball when she was a sophomore in high school – at a summer camp with the Center for the Visually Impaired in Atlanta, Georgia. Since discovering and falling in love with the sport, she’s won 12 gold medals and three national titles (2014, 2017, 2018) at goalball tournaments across the country. We asked her to share what a typical day at the Goalball Center of Excellence is like for resident athletes. Check it out! We have…  Read More