This year Goalball UK will be running a series of blogs on the brilliant people who are involved in goalball across the country. First up is Winchester Goalball Club’s Adam Knott. Read below on Adam’s great journey through goalball.

  1. Name and age – Adam Knott, 23 Years Old
  2. Nature of visually impairment? Ocular Cutaneous Albinism
  3. Are you a volunteer and, if so, in what capacity? I am the Chairman and Head Coach at Winchester Goalball Club. As part of this role I manage the daily organisation of the club as well as planning training sessions, delivering training sessions with a great group of volunteers and coaching at tournaments.
  4. Level of play? Elite (Former GB)
  5. What club do you play for? Winchester Goalball Club
  6. Why did you get involved in goalball/how did you hear about it? In early 2010 my dad saw a piece on BBC News about getting disabled youngsters into sport. On the back of this I attended a ParalympicsGB Talent Day at Brunel Univeristy, I didn’t hear anything for a while, but then in July 2010 I got invited along to a GB training session and that’s where it all began!
  7. How long have you been involved in goalball? I started playing Goalball in July 2010.
  8. How is the 2018 season looking for you/your club? The club is going from strength to strength. We have a number of players who will be progressing up to the next level and that’s really exciting.  We have started the season off well and I am confident that we all levels will make improvements in the next tournaments.  With focus on the elite team, for whom I play, we have a strong setup with some new players joining us and it is shaping up to be another successful year.  Who knows it we could win the Goalball cup 3 years in a row….
  9. What has been the highlight of your goalball journey so far? The London 2012 Paralympics were a definite highlight, having 7000 fans cheering for GB. It can’t get much better than that! However, another highlight was GB winning promotion from the European B to European A league in October 2016.  An amazing achievement and experience!
  10. How active were you before getting involved? I was very active. I had played rugby for 5 years, blind cricket for 3 years, I enjoyed running and a kick about every now and then.
  11. What aspects of goalball do you enjoy the most? All of it (apart from the pain the day after playing). No other sport would you want to throw yourself in front of a ball travelling at 50mph with a blindfold on…but in Goalball you do!
  12. Do you think goalball has had a positive impact on other areas of your life? 100%. At the age of 15 I was travelling independently around the country to training and tournaments.  Goalball has not only increased my independence but has increased my confidence through numerous TV, radio appearences etc., given me many many new friends and overall it has given me opportunity play a sport on an even playing field with other blind and partially sighted people.
  13. Have any of your friends/family become involved in goalball since you started? My brother also played for GB and we played alongside eachother at the 2012 Paralympics and numerous International tournaments after that.  He also now plays occasionally for Winchester Goalball Club too.  My mum also helps run Winchester Goalball Club (treasurer and coach) and both my parents helped cater and accommodate the GB squads during training weekends between 2011 and 2016.
  14. What would you say to someone thinking of getting involved in goalball? Give it a go – you’re missing out if not!!
  15. Is there anything else you’d like to add? Thanks to all the staff at GoalballUK, all the volunteers throughout the country who put in countless hours to help the sport run, and a huge thanks to everyone at Winchester Goalball Club for making the club such a fun club to be part of!

Want to be part of the Goalball Blogs? Then get in touch with Becky Ashworth on 0114 223 5670 or becky@goalballuk.com