Sports 313: Beyond the Comfort Zone: Trust, Grit, and Adaptive Sports

1) Episode Summary

In this episode of Navigating Life with Vision Loss, Kim Wardlow continues the sports series with Calli Roars and Terry Garrett for a conversation about adaptive recreation, guiding, trust, and what it takes to try new things safely.

Calli brings the guide and recreation-provider perspective, while Terry shares his lived experience as a blind athlete who has participated in goalball, wrestling, martial arts, triathlon, CrossFit, climbing, cycling, swimming, and endurance sports. Together, they talk about how most sports can be adapted, but the level of support, safety planning, communication, and trust will vary depending on the activity.

A major theme of the conversation is that trust is often the most important piece of adaptive equipment. Calli and Terry explain how that trust is built slowly through communication, practice, clear goals, and honest conversations when something is not working. They also discuss the difference between pushing past a comfort zone and ignoring safety, especially in activities like climbing, biking, and open-water swimming.

The episode closes with encouragement for listeners to take the first step, try again if a first experience did not go well, advocate for themselves, and look for community through recreation, sports, and local adaptive opportunities.

2) Contact Info

Guests:

Calli Roars

Terry Garrett

Organizations mentioned:

Adaptive Adventures

Foresight Adventure Guides