The NAAS Team is Dwaine Jones (coach and team member), Shannon Hanson, Quinn Howard, Natasha Wilkins, Elizabeth Hardin, Derrick Manning, and Randy Hodge (coach).
Our Short History
In a way, the origins of NAAS go back to 2016 when Randy Hodge first met Dwaine Jones. They both belonged to Achilles Nashville (and still do) where Dwaine was a blind runner and Randy a running guide. They were both running their first half marathon in November of that year although not together. The next year they started training together to run in the California International Marathon relay in Sacramento. They quickly became friends and training partners. In 2018, they trained for and ran together in the NYC marathon. And, in 2019, trained for and ran together in the Palm Beaches marathon.
In 2022, Dwaine and Randy decided to resurrect the goalball community in Nashville. Most of the players had retired from the sport or moved on to other things. Dwaine started recruiting friends (Shannon Hanson, Quinn Howard, Natasha Wilkins, Elizabeth Hardin, and Derrick Manning) onto the team. At the time we were operating under a different organization and decided in July 2023 to start Nashville Association of Adaptive Sports to pursue our own goals and grow the sport of goalball in Tennessee.