LITTLETON — When a brain injury at the age of 1 left William Lewis nearly blind, it didn’t stop him from being active.
Now 15, he has climbed a fourteener and plays goalball and soccer every chance he gets.
But it’s difficult, he says.
“My kicks are not very straight, and usually the other kids are able to take away the ball before I’m able to do anything,” William said.
On Saturday, he was one of about seven children who spent two hours practicing kicking, passing and listening while blindfolded in a workshop for visually impaired .
The sport is popular in other countries but not yet practiced in the U.S.
Through an exchange program from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes is working with Gabriel Mayr, a former coach and founder for Urece Sports and Culture for the Blind in Brazil.
Mayr is helping the association design a program in Colorado, and ran the first workshop Saturday.
“The biggest thing is they must have spatial awareness to run freely,” Mayr said, something many aren’t used to.
The synthetic leather ball looks like any soccer ball at first glance, but rattles are sewn inside the fabric, so any tap will make a sound that guides the players.
Because some kids have different levels of sight, all wear blindfolds.
During the drills Saturday, kids and instructors clapped or yelled to let other players know where they needed to kick the ball.
Brent Batron, director of youth programs at the Colorado Center for the Blind, said the group just stopped leasing out its gym, in hopes of creating its own use for the space.
“We want to take the opportunity to get kids, and visually impaired kids, to be more active early in life,” Batron said. “Especially with the obesity rate in the blind community, and we have all this great outdoor space in Colorado, we have no excuse.”
William said relying more on his hearing than ever before would take some getting used to, but he liked that it was fair for everyone.
He’ll keep practicing if it’ll help him become a professional soccer player one day, like he’s always wanted, he said.
“It’s fun,” William said. “It’s fun to run and to score.”
Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1372, yrobles@denverpost.com or twitter.com/yeseniarobles
