Savannah's Matthew Gavin, who is blind, has become a standout in Goalball

Savannah's Matthew Gavin was born with a rare genetic disorder, a type of cone-rod dystrophy that gradually took away his sight — leading to total blindness — with a strength and courage that belies his age.

Now a 16-year-old sophomore at Benedictine, where he is a 4.0 student, Gavin has always been an enthusiastic athlete as he grew up playing sports such as wrestling, jujitsu, flag football and even tackle football for a year at Saint Peter the Apostle Catholic School on Wilmington Island.

But when he completely lost his sight, Gavin discovered Goalball, a Paralympic sport that started in the 1940s to help visually impaired war veterans. It has been a mainstay in the Paralympics since the 1976 Summer Games. Two teams of three players try to score by throwing a ball into the other team