My First Goal Ball Tornament

Goalball has been called (by a T-shirt I bought) "The coolest sport you've never heard of." It was created after World War I to give soldiers, coming home without their vision, a sport of their own.  

I've played myself once, but like the low-vision or totally blind athletes, I had to wear eye shades that don't allow any light in. 

The point of the game is to make more goals than the other team. The goal, is wider than a soccer goal, in fact, it's as wide as a. basketball court, which makes it hard to block. The ball has bell and so when it comes you throw you body in the way to keep your opponents form scoring. Then you take the ball and roll it back to them. This may not sound very challenging, but when you realize that it's like doing burpees for a 12 minute half, you'll understand. There are a lot of core muscles at work with the blocking and the going up and down so many times. There's also a challenge of making sure you roll the ball the right direction. There are tactile markings on the floor to help you play your zone, and it helps to back up to the goal before rolling, in order to orient yourself.

I was able to help chaperone my school's goalball team this past month and it was very interesting to watch the tournament. We competed against teams from Canada, Florida, Arizona, Utah, and South Carolina. It's not like football where there are teams in every high school in your area. You need to travel to find someone to play against. But with the tournament so close to the ocean, I asked if there was anyone who had never been to the beach before. A couple high schoolers admitted, they hadn't had that experience despite growing up a couple hours from the coast. One of girl asked, "What's a beach?" There's something about experiencing the difference between walking on loose hot sand and hard wet sand, smelling and tasting salty air. Feeling the water moving the earth beneath your feet. Just ten minutes and the stresses of the trip and the previous week, were swept away. Sports teaches more than athletic skills, and these trips teach more than how to compete. I'm so glad I get to see life through the my student's, even the eyes that don't see well.