So I recently retired from playing men's league hockey. The late games and the physical play combined with my 7 back surgeries and constantly deteriorating back had finally gotten to the point where it just wasn't worth it anymore.
With my new surplus of free time I decided to get back into coaching. Didn't want to work with those water guzzling kids anymore, wanted to try something different. Noticed for a couple years that there is a sled hockey team (disabled athletes) that practices at McFetridge before my league games. Had never seen it up close before and was intrigued. As someone who has a history of back issues it seemed like a good fit to work with disabled athletes, many of whom are disabled because of traumatic spine injuries.
So I got in contact with the guy who runs the program and offered to volunteer. Turns out they have 2 teams. One competitive travel team that plays in the top league in the country and has 2-3 gold medalists from the 2014 Paralympics and then a developmental house team for guys at a lower level. Right now they are in offseason workouts which means no formal practices, but they get the ice twice a week to work out and scrimmage.
I've gone out to help a few times which usually involves me getting all the water bottles and pucks, helping anyone who needs help getting dressed and then getting on the ice and providing on ice assistance. On the ice they've only had 6-8 players out each day so I've been jumping into the scrimmages as an all time offensive player (like all time QB) to help facilitate puck movement.
Pretty diverse group of guys. You've got guys who were born disabled, guys who had accidents and became disabled and also some vets who were injured in combat and have now turned to hockey.
The point of this shoutout is to say how amazing these athletes are. Last night 2 of the gold medalists showed up and it was pretty eye opening. Those guys are flying out there, pretty much going as fast with just their arms as lots of guys can skate with their legs. And they never stop. 1.5 hours of scrimmage and they are still going strong. Even the low level developmental guys who can barely do it go full on for the full time. And the velocity they get on their shots is really something to behold. They also pound the crap out of each other. I asked one guy if it hurts his body to get hit that hard and he said he's paralyzed so he doesn't feel a thing and that he loves the contact.
and they never asked to stop for water even one time.
Here's what it looks like if you haven't seen it...
