Another hockey season began last week, which is a perfect
time to tell you about my new endeavor.
Playing hockey.
(Hello! McFly! You’re 51-years-old, you’ve never played
hockey, you can’t even skate, and you’re disabled. You think you can play
hockey?)
I’m speaking about Sled Hockey, also known as Sledge Hockey.
When you’re disabled, you need to make some type of adjustment for everything
you do. If you’re disabled and you want to play hockey, you adjust the way you
play the game.
The origin of sled hockey, as written in Parasport, a
website about all Para-Olympic sports, goes back to the early 1960s when a
bunch of former hockey players in a rehabilitation center in Stockholm, Sweden bolted
two hockey blades to the bottom of a sled, and armed with rounded poles in each
hand played the game they loved.
The origin of my involvement in sled hockey goes back to New
Year’s Eve 2011. Nik, Amy, Mom and I went to an Arizona Sundogs hockey game in
Prescott Valley, Arizona. Before the game started, Prescott’s Tom Lopeman, who
lost both legs to injuries he suffered while serving in Vietnam, skated out on
his sled to deliver the puck to the referee. During the first intermission, we
talked about his equipment and playing the game. Tom invited me to practice with
the Phoenix Coyotes Sled Hockey team that he plays for. A couple of weeks
later, I met the team at the Ice Den in Scottsdale. The guys on the team were
fantastic. They let me borrow a sled and some equipment, helped me get on the
ice and got me involved in their practice. What I was able to do can in no way
be confused with playing. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I
could barely skate the width of the rink before I had to stop and catch my breath.
After an hour and a half of the team practicing on half the rink and me hoping
to not have a coronary on the other half, practice was over. My arms were so
sore I could barely lift them, but I loved being on the ice. I had to be able
to actually play this game.
First, I had to get my upper body prepared for the rigors of
just skating. The muscles of my arms, shoulders and back were not prepared to
propel nearly 200 pounds. Perhaps if I had walked on my hands for 50 years, I
would have felt better. I got a membership to Kate’s House of Fitness in
Prescott Valley. Kate Cooper is a professional bodybuilder and does not look feminine. Kate is a wonderful lady but scary looking. I told my dad if I was ever
in a dark alley, I wanted Kate by my side. Kate wrote up a workout program and
showed me how to complete the program without injuring myself. I went to Kate’s
House of Fitness three or four days a week until earlier this when she closed
her gym. Now I go to a different gym that has more equipment but not as nice as
Kate’s.
The weightlifting is paying off. This past summer, a Phoenix
organization called River of Dreams reserved time at the Ice Den for anyone
wanting to try sled hockey. Tom and other members of the Coyotes sled team were
there to help novices like they helped me a year and a half earlier. I was able
to skate the length of the rink multiple times and I never thought my arms
would fall off my shoulders. And I’m glad Nik was one of those first-timers. He
enjoyed it and he did great. Of course he is nearly 40 years younger and 75
pounds lighter than me.
I have all my personal gear. A few months after my first
attempt at sled hockey, I came across a man from Flagstaff who was selling his
helmet, gloves, pads, and bag – everything but his skates – on Craig’s List. I
don’t need the skates anyway. I have prescription heavy-duty athletic glasses.
I look like a raccoon, but I don’t have to worry about breaking my everyday
specks. And I’m saving for my own sled and hockey sticks.
My goal is to play sled hockey, not just in practice, but in
a game. I still have strength gaining and a whole lot of conditioning yet to
do, but I have a goal. And what better place to have a goal but a hockey rink
where there is one on each end.
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