Blindness hasn’t prevented Matt Wallace from covering the University of Pennsylvania women’s hockey team with his broadcasting partner, Sam Fryman, writes Maria Panaritis for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Fryman does a play-by-play of the games, painting a picture for Wallace, who adds relevant information and stats from his mind. He also provides a high level of color commentary.

Wallace is the orphaned son of a long-disabled pipefitter from Delaware County. His family moved from Yeadon to Lansdowne to Springfield. During that time, Wallace attended several schools for the blind and graduated from Monsignor Bonner.

He got his start as a commentator when he, along with another blind undergraduate, auditioned to lead Temple University Television’s first sports show eight years ago. They made it into the last two pairs of commentators and won in a face-off against their sighted opponents.

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“They just blew us out of the water,” said George Cummings, who helps to run TUTV. “They were 10 times better than the kids who could see. Everybody that was in the control room and the studio burst into spontaneous applause.”

Fryman, who worked behind the scenes at the time, marveled at Wallace, who inspired him to give on-screen commentary a try.

Wallace and Fryman call games at Penn for free, to keep their skills trained and resumes hot, and are the perfect team. Wallace’s insight also helps Samantha Pulley, the women’s coach at Penn, adjust her team’s play.

“I want to know what he’s hearing,” she said. “He’s always spot on.”

Read more about the broadcasting duo in the Philadelphia Inquirer by clicking here.

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