I’ve been playing sled hockey for about
10 years and even since then, I’ve seen
it grow exponentially. You see from year to
year, not only do we get more sled players
in programmes and around the country but you
also get people that you may not know, you
run into at the airport and they ask you about
sled hockey. So I think that just from what
I’ve seen throughout the years, it’s grown
tremendously and I think a lot of that has
to do with the media exposure that we have
gotten - obviously NBC airing the gold medal
game in Sochi last year.
Here comes Sweeney, he’s alone and he scores!
The US is about to go back to back for the
first time in Paralympic ice sledge hockey history!
I think at the grass-roots level, especially
the US, I think it’s been driven by our
success and again, from the media exposure
that we’ve received, disabled kids are being
able to see sled hockey on TV, online, they’re
seeing it on social media. So everywhere they
turn they’re seeing sledge hockey and that’s
just helping them get involved in the sport
at a younger age. You know, there’s guys
on the US team now that have been playing
since they were 6 and 7 years old, which compared
to when I started, there was guys who had
only been playing for 2 or 3 years.
The best part about it is they’re young.
They’re going to be back and they’re going
to be as strong and they’re just going to
get stronger and stronger and it’s really fun to watch them play.
The biggest thing that I’ve seen with the
youth starting out in adapt sports is that
it’s too much of a challenge for them, but
you know with anything, practise makes perfect
and I think regardless of the adversity you
face in your life, or whatever disability
you may have acquired, it’s not the end
of the tunnel. You know, there’s always
light at the end. You can always dream and do bigger.
The best advice is just to work hard and keep
your head up. You know, a lot of these sports
are very competitive, they’re not easy and
a lot of times people get down on themselves
because they don’t pick it up right away
but it takes a while to get the hang of things,
whether it be sled hockey or any other disabled
sport. So just stay positive, keep your head
up and keep working hard and you know really,
if you keep that attitude, you never know
what you can accomplish and you might end
up on a national team someday.
