Students on the goalball teams at W. Ross Macdonald School are busy preparing for the sixth Canadian junior goalball championship next weekend.
A Paralympic sport invented after the Second World War to rehabilitate visually impaired war veterans, goalball helps athletes heighten their other senses and develop their socialization skills.
W. Ross is hosting the tournament for the fourth time. The three-day event begins April 15, and will display the highest level of competition across Canada in boys and girls goalball under the age of 20. Opening ceremonies begin at 9:30 a.m. and the event is free to spectators.
Three players per team defend a zone of three- by nine-metres on either ends of the court, about the size of a volleyball court.
While staying in their own defensive zone, each player is blindfolded and attempts to throw a basketball-sized ball, embedded with bells, into the other team's net.
The school is submitting two teams in the boys division - the "Whites" and the "Blacks" - and one team in the girls division.
"I'm yet to see someone that is not totally amazed when they see these guys play, wearing a blindfold," said Blacks' assistant coach Mike Bruel, who has coached the sport since 1988.
"How they find where the ball is, how they dive and stop the ball -- it's just phenomenal."
To maintain their level of competitiveness, the boys teams practise three nights a week, with weight and cardio training. They play against teams in the United States and regularly participate in training camps.
"I strongly believe in dedication and commitment, and these guys have been 100% committed," said Bill Morgan, the Whites' head coach and a three-time judo Paralympian.
"If you make these opportunities available, than that lays the foundation for their future. I encourage them to have fun -- it's high school. These are some of the best year of their lives."
