BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Campers partaking in the Outlook Explorers: Journey Beyond Sight camp are learning to play goalball, a sport designed for players who are visually impaired, using auditory equipment like balls filled with bells.
In goalball, players roll the ball toward the other team's goal and use their bodies to protect their own. All players wear blindfolds and must stay quiet — the only way to locate the ball is by listening.
Anna Weber, one of the campers, said the challenge is real.
"It's really hard...because when I was doing is I heard it from one way...but then it was going the other way. So it kind of messed me up."
The camp is a collaboration between Outlook Explorers and the UNO School of Health and Kinesiology. This is the first year it has run since 2019, after COVID disrupted operations and funders moved on.
Mike Messerole, Outlook Explorers co-director, said the need to bring the camp back was clear.
"We kind of came together and said look we really need to do this camp again."
Most of the campers are new, but some are returning students — including Alex Guenther, who started as a camper in 2012 when the program first opened and is now working as a counselor.
Guenther said the experience of helping a new camper brought back memories of his own first year.
"But then when my camper came and I helped her...it took me back to when my counselor was helping me my first year."
That connection helps players like Weber discover how it feels when the playing field is more level.
"All the sports that I do with not blind people...it just gets to the point where it's harder...and being on a playing field with actual blind people...it gets to that point where it's just more fun then doing a sport just to win."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
