Students at Port Elgin Regional Middle School in Port Elgin, N.B. were given a special lesson on a game that may take them out of their comfort zone.

Goalball is a Paralympic sport normally reserved for those living with impaired vision.

Students at the school got a special lesson on the game from fellow New Brunswicker, Dieppe raised Paralympian, Simon Richard.

 “It’s really fun. Just kind of hearing that ball brush past you just as you’re about to catch it,” said student Ayden Morin.

 “There’s a ball and then there’s a bell inside of it and you roll it, and people try to stop it from getting past the cones.”

“I was scared it was going to hit me in the face and I don’t like getting hit in the face, said student Grace Peters.

For students at the school without impaired vision, blindfolds were used to give them the full experience.

“I thought it would be a cool opportunity for the students to try a new sport and to see a new sport, and especially to see that sports are for everybody,” said Gabrielle Leblanc, physical education teacher at Port Elgin Regional Middle School.

“It’s the charm of like, you can’t see, so every one’s kind of on the same level,” said Morin.

Richard was born with aniridia, which is the absence of an iris, usually affecting both eyes.

Richard says he only has about 5 percent of his vision.

“If you know someone who has glasses and they take them off, then everything is blurry for them, right? So for me, it’s a little bit like that but maybe a bit more exaggerated,” said Richard.

In 2015, Richard and his team took home the bronze medal at the Parapan AM games in Toronto.

“It’s always cool having a Paralympic star come to the school and showcase some of his abilities,” said LeBlanc.

“Everybody has their own challenges and even if you have challenges in your own life, whatever it is, there’s ways to go around it. There’s ways to still live your life,” said Richard.

Richard hopes teaching inclusive sports in schools will show students that everyone can play, with just a few adaptations.

“The first time I was a little scared, but the second time I know I’ll do way better,” said student Leigha Mountian.

“I don’t normally do good at sports, but it was a lot of fun!” said Morin.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Eilish Bonang