Dan Pritchard is one of Australia's leading goalball talents and has turned his hand to coaching
Australia goalball star Daniel Pritchard has issued a call to arms for potential recruits from across Victoria - as the Aussie Storms target the Paralympic Games in Brisbane in 2032.
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The sport itself is in its infancy in relation to other established Down Under pastimes, having first launched on these shores back in 1980.
It was devised in Austria in 1945 before eventually being adopted as an event at the 1976 Toronto Paralympic Games.
Fast forward to 2026 and over 100 nations around the world play the game itself - with Australia’s men’s and women’s teams ranked 15th and 18th in the world, respectively, at the time of writing.
Pritchard’s own on-court journey began nearly two decades ago, setting him on the pathway towards representing Victoria from 2010 onwards before first receiving the call-up for the Australian men’s team in 2015.
From humble sporting beginnings as a junior novice at the age of 14, he has risen through the country’s youth ranks to become one of the nation’s leading talents.
Now living in Sunshine, Melbourne, the Australian No. 7 led his team to bronze medals at the Berlin Nations Cup and the Trakai International Goalball Tournament last year.
In recognition of his efforts, the 31-year-old was named by Disability Sport & Recreation as 2025 Elite Sportsperson of the Year back in September.
Describing the sport as something akin to ‘reverse dodgeball’, he admitted that the game itself is a unique undertaking for all who attempt it.
“It’s three-on-three and you try and stay in your own halves - a bit like a game of high school dodgeball,” he said.
“Instead of trying to avoid the ball, you try and dive in front of the ball to try and stop it going into a set of goals that are the full-width of the court that are located at either end.
“The three of you work together to try and stop the opposition from scoring. Once you’ve got control of the ball, you’re trying to throw it back.”
Opening up on his love of goalball, he explained how it essentially democratises sport as something that can effectively be played by all - irrespective of a player’s vision level.
“The added twist in this game is that no matter what level of vision you have, you are blindfolded. So everyone is able to compete on a level playing field.
“It’s a great experience to have such an inclusive sport and getting fully-sighted brothers and sisters, mums and dads onto the court and experiencing my world for a period of time!”
While helping Victoria win bronze at the 2024 Australian Goalball Championships, earning All Star 6 honours in the process, he also turned his talents to coaching - guiding the state’s junior team to a podium finish at the event.
Victoria's men's and women's teams both have proven successful in recent years
Now, Pritchard is determined to get more youngsters involved in the sport as he looks to pass on his expertise to the next generation of performers.
In this vein, the Aussie Storm ace issued an open invite to any prospective players in Victoria who may be wanting to try out a new sport in the future.
“We’ve got some Come & Try dates in the pipeline for March, with some dates for April - so two or three in total,” he said.
“They’ll be at our home base at Scotch College in Hawthorn and our season kicks off after Anzac Day, through May until the end of September.”
“Although its amazing to pull on the green and gold for my country, the thing that kept me coming back year after year was always the access to the community with a support network of friends who love to come together to take part.
“It is a very faced paced but fulfilling game.”
Pritchard’s own on-court ambitions show no signs of slowing down yet either as the Aussie Storms set their sights on performing for the Paralympic Games on home soil in 2032.
Securing a place at the Los Angeles edition in two years’ time proved beyond his team after an agonising loss in the bronze medal playoff clash at the Asian Pacific Regional Qualifiers last year in Islamabad.
“We went down to Thailand by one goal in the bronze medal playoff match!
“One goal was the difference between them going, versus us. So competition is very fierce as it is played by over 100 countries across the globe.
Outlining his long-term ambitions, he admitted that putting on a show in Brisbane in front of a home crowd would naturally put the gloss what has already been an impressive career.
“I guess that’s the ultimate goal. It’s going to be in front of a home crowd, so you are always wanting to perform well,” he said, as he dared to dream about making the hotly-contested eight-team cut in LA.
“So we’ve kind of being working backwards and been thinking ‘how do we get medal-ready for 2032?’”
“We’ve got to qualify for that and the way to do that is to do well at the World Championships in 2030.”
In terms of local competition, Pritchard revealed that the SuperShades program - a first of its kind in Australia - is currently under development for youngsters aged seven and under.
“We notice that there is a gap in the fundamental skills of a lot of kids with vision impairments that they maybe don’t pick up with catching the ball with mum or dad, for instance,” he said.
“So we’re introducing this program to help them right from the start and get those motor skills going - providing a nice environment for some rough and tumble, loosely based around goalball.“
Beyond the SuperShades program, youngsters aged over seven can attend a host of different programs which they will be allocated to based on their skill level.
“Our junior program is open for those wanting to take part who are 14 and under. It’s a soft 14, so there if you’re a little older that’s ok as it is skills-based,” Pritchard said.
“After that we have our senior programs, where we play once a week - but a brand new person coming down will be put in a category that is skill appropriate!“
In addition, the Victorian Goalball Association will take part in the Good Friday Appeal to raise funds for The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne this year.
The 2026 Australian Goalball Championships will be staged at RMIT University Sports Centre, Bundoora between Thursday, October 1 to Sunday, October 4.
