Articles provided by Paul Ponchillia, PhD
Professor, Western Michigan University
Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies

Coaching Athletes with Visual Impairements

AccesSports: A Model for Adapting Mainstream Sports Activities for Individuals with Visual Impairments

An Aerobic Exercise Class for College Students with Visual Impairments (Author: Linda Powell / Susan Ponchillia, Ed.D)

Athletes with Visual Impairments: Attributes and Sports Participation

An End-of-Lane Signalling Device for Swimmers Who Are Visually Impaired

Paul is a friend and supporter of what The Blind Judo Foundation is about and promoting Judo among the blind and visually impaired community.

PAUL PONCHILLIA, Ph. D.
Enshrined September 28, 2000
Before the hunting accident that took his sight at age 30, Paul Ponchillia was a high school and college athlete. After he discovered the vigorous competitive sport of goalball, he was more determined than ever to stay involved in sports despite his blindness. He is or has been a competitive goalball player, track and field athlete, and a cross-country skier. He took first in the totally blind category in the 1986 Michigan Ski for Light ski race and had numerous first, second and third place finishes in state, national and international tournaments. The vice president of the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes was a USABA nationals star in track and field (discus and shotput) and in the 50-meter event. As a Western Michigan University professor, Ponchillia developed a course called Teaching Sports and Physical Education Activities to Visually Impaired Individuals. He has also developed instructional videos aimed at teaching parents, teachers and coaches how to teach blind students goalball and its strategies, and hundreds of children benefit from a program he initiated in 1988, the annual Sports Education Camp for Visually Impaired Youth.