Posted on by

Goalball players may be blind, but they are competitive

Goalball players may be blind, but they are competitive

I never imagined that one day we would be able to watch goalball in the same way we would every other popular sport.

Alex Hubbard
| Guest columnist

play

On a recent Sunday afternoon, I curled up on my couch to watch some of the best athletes in the world perform.

I didn’t watch a football or baseball game, even though I’ve seen or covered thousands of those games in my life.

In fact, over the years I’ve found that the game I’ve seen needs a lengthy explanation.

Goalball, a Paralympic sport, was developed for the blind in the 1940s when many World War II veterans had lost their sight. Often confused by this unwelcome and unplanned development in their lives, veterans found meaning and strength in the physical exertion the sport requires.

It is a 3v3 game consisting of a left winger, a midfielder and a right winger. As with most sports, explaining goalball in its simplest form sounds almost pointless. The goal is for one team to throw the ball across the field past the other team.

But goalball is far more complex.

This is how goalball is played… and why the audience has to be quiet

To ensure maximum fairness, every player must wear a blindfold, even if they are clearly completely blind. The ball is about the size of a soccer ball and often has the structure of a basketball and is equipped with bells to help players find it.

The playing field is marked with tactile lines that players can feel to orientate themselves in the game and make decisions. The rules are extensive, but it is important to know that when thrown, the ball must bounce within a marked area of ​​the field, otherwise it will be considered a “high ball” and penalized. Additionally, no player is allowed to throw more than twice in a row, so players must pass the ball to each other.

As in tennis or golf, because players must hear the ball on the court, spectators are asked to remain silent.

After decades of growth, as goalball found its way into schools and camps for the blind and became popular with blind youth, the sport became part of the Paralympic Games in 1976.

The Paralympics, which are held every four years in the same city as their Olympic counterpart, feature athletes with a wide variety of disabilities. Most of the games are adaptations of Olympic sports such as wheelchair basketball or para-archery. Of the 22 Summer Paralympic Games, goalball is one of two sports without an Olympic equivalent.

In other words: it is a sport all its own.

I played goalball and it’s not an easy sport

I was once a goalball player myself – albeit well below the Paralympic level – as a high school student at the Tennessee School for the Blind.

After brief attempts at wrestling and swimming, I quickly found my place in goalball as a newcomer. I was small and didn’t have a very strong shot. My offensive ability never developed into anything special, but I was fearless on defense.

Anyone who thinks goalball is a great feel-good sport that gives blind people a chance to do something fun has never experienced a speeding ball thrown by a well-fed, athletic guy putting all his strength into it has. It takes a lot of practice and the right padding to land in front of these speeding missiles, and it became my specialty.

The other thing I was able to do was keep track of the game – and this is where the two-shot rule comes in – and I was able to distribute the ball easily. Despite my obvious lack of offense and small stature, perhaps unexpectedly, I became a center and was captain of the TSB goalball team for three years.

I loved the responsibility of playing center and the leadership qualities required of a captain. I don’t think I had much talent for the game, but I loved working on it. The effort paid off my senior year as TSB won the conference championship.

However, far from telling my memories in the letterman jacket to anyone who will listen, I have packed away most of the goal ball over the years. There are many reasons for this, but the above half-page explanation of what the game is, before I can even get to my personal review of it, is an important one. However, when Goalball was broadcast on my television by Peacock on NBC, two decades-old memories came flooding back to me.

Goalball has taught me a lot and I’m happy that it’s becoming more and more popular

The Paralympic Games have been a while. The International Paralympic Committee. Record viewership expected for the 2024 Paris Games, surpassing the global mark of 4.1 billion combined viewers set by the postponed 2020 and 2016 Games. In the US, NBC was expected to broadcast around 1,500 hours of Paralympic sports on Peacock and 140 hours on its traditional channels. What was important was that all 22 sports were to be broadcast live, another record.

When I was still playing goalball, the Paralympics were a distant dream. I wouldn’t even say it was a goal. There was no TV coverage, and although internet availability increased over time, smartphone access and the like were not yet ubiquitous. I never imagined that one day we would be able to watch goalball in the same way we would any other popular sport.

I couldn’t help but wonder how much more motivated I would have been to play beyond high school if I had seen blind athletes like me playing my game on the biggest stage in the world like all great athletes, and how This must be motivating for young goalball players today.

However, I don’t hold grudges. The game was more than good for me and taught me lessons that I carry with me today as a working adult.

Amazingly for this old player, it has now arrived for the whole world to see.

Alex Hubbard is a professional journalist in Nashville. He previously served as a columnist and editor for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee. A native of Goodlettsville, he is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and Columbia University.