How VisAbility Pittsburgh and a rattling ball have made tennis possible for athletes with vision loss

CBS News

5 hours ago

Sharing a story about strength and the power of purpose on and off the court
Sharing a story about strength and the power of purpose on and off the court
Sharing a story about strength and the power of purpose on and off the court
VisAbility Pittsburgh is a place where people who have lost their vision, or never had vision, learn life skills.
The low vision tennis court in Highland Park.
(Photo Credit: KDKA)
Over the years, it's turned the impossible into the possible for people who are visually impaired. One of those possibles is sports, and a Dormont man has learned that firsthand.
At first glance, it looks like any other tennis court, but if you listen closely during matches, there is something very different about this place in Highland Park.
Serve the ball and listen to it rattle. It helps Chuch Gottus, of Dormont, find it during play.
Gottus was diagnosed at a young age with a genetic disorder called retinitis pigmentosa. It caused him to slowly lose his sight. These days, all he can really see is shadows.
"I have very little useable vision," Gottus. "I feel like I'm an athlete at heart, and when my vision took a pretty-hard dive, I thought sports were done for me. I'll admit I was skeptical at first, but wow. It just opened up a whole new set of windows for me."
The ball they use is a little bigger than a regular tennis ball. It's made of foam, and inside it has a plastic golf ball, then inside that are three ball bearings. So when the player hit it, it rattles.
This kind of tennis was pioneered Japan.
Here in Pittsburgh, Dana Costa founded the Highland Park Tennis Club Blind and Low Vision Tennis Clinic six years ago. Her inspiration is her daughter who was born with a visual impairment.
"Chuck, my daughter, other players I've come across over the years, they're the drive," Costa said.
Gottus said when he takes the court, he feels invigorated.
"The freedom of being on a court like this, being able to run around, which is not something I get to do anymore, is incredible," he added.
Chuck is in pretty incredible, too. Off the court, he gets around with his guide dog, Beckett.
"He helps my confidence a lot," Gottus said. "The bond is just incredible. I never thought I was a dog person until now."
Gottus works at VisAbility Pittsburgh. Their mission is to help people find a way to do things they used to do with their eyes in different ways.
"Just because you've lost your vision does not mean that your life is over," Erika Petach, the president of VisAbility Pittsburgh, said. "We exist to help people not just survive vision loss but thrive, live their best life and achieve their hopes and dreams."
When Gottus lost his sight, he had to quit his job in retail, but now he's been hired by VisAbility to help make road signs. It's just one of things they manufacture there.
"I was pretty intimidated at first," he said. "I hadn't done anything like that before, but, man, it was great. It's been terrific for me."
Gottus says his loving wife, his guide dog, the sport of tennis and VisAbility Pittsburgh has made a huge difference in his life.
"You can do anything that you set your mind to," he said. "Just like anything, you might bumble along the way, but you've got to get out there and try it.
For more information on VisAbility Pittsburgh, visit their website here.