Minnesota blind school transforms goalball experience with portable goals

Portable goalball goals from Packaworld are helping Minnesota State Academy for the Blind to revolutionise its successful goalball program by allowing athletes to play the game they love in competition conditions.

That’s according to the academy’s athletic director Charlie Lechtenberg, who said goalball – a team sport designed specifically for athletes with visual impairments – had become the most popular of the six sports offered at MSAB.

“The students love everything that goalball has to offer and they love competing and travelling to other schools to play,” he said.

"Having goals will help better prepare students for our upcoming tournaments – they will have a better feel of the court.

“In the past, we just used ropes for practise and it was always an adjustment when we got to tournaments having to get used to playing with nets."

MSAB’s 12-strong goalball squad competes against 11 other schools across various states in America in The North Central Association of Schools for the Blind Goalball Conference. The squad boasts a diverse roster, having counted visiting international students from Latvia, Georgia, Russia, and Romania among its members.

The goalball squad is currently practicing for upcoming fixtures towards the end of the year in Missouri and New Mexico and will be hosting a tournament in February 2025, where the portable Packagoals will be put to good use, before competing in South Dakota in March. 

Lechtenberg said his students were excited about using the new goals. Being able to deflate and store them easily meant no additional storage space was required.

“I thought the goals were really easy to set up. We had the students help us set them up and they were all really impressed. It's also nice that the goals can be packed away because we don't have a lot of space in our gym.”

The goalball program at MSAB has seen sustained growth under Lechtenberg's leadership.

"When I first started, we had four students interested and were only playing in one tournament. Now we are playing in multiple tournaments and hosting an annual tournament."

The program's success is evident in the team’s recent achievements, including placing in a conference tournament and winning the New Mexico tournament last year.

Looking to the future, Lechtenberg said he had ambitious plans for MSAB’s goalball program as he begins his tenth year coaching goalball. Those plans included starting a sports camp at the academy so students from other schools in Minnesota could experience the thrill of the game.

He also dreams of taking his team to experience a US Paralympic practise and game, as well as participating in a junior national tournament.

"I hope to keep growing the sport and get kids more excited about it."

Packaworld Chief Executive Peter Roberts said hearing about the difference the goals were making for MSAB’s goalball team further reinforced the reasons Packaworld had developed the goals originally.

"The portability and user-friendliness of our Packagoals make them ideal for schools like the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind who have limited space. We designed the goals to be practical and easy-to-use without compromising on quality, to ensure that every practice can be as close to game-day conditions as possible.

“It's heartening to know that our inflatable goals are helping these young athletes bridge the gap between practice and competition. Our mission is to make sports more accessible and it's incredibly rewarding to see that mission in action.”

MSAB caters for students across Minnesota with varying degrees of vision loss. It was established in 1866 and currently has a roll of 50 students.

>> Want more info? Visit our Goalball Packagoal product page to learn about our portable goalball goals.