Sled Hockey In Wilmington Gives Players 'Something To Brag About'
WILMINGTON (CBS) – It's fiercely competitive and incredibly fun, according to those who play it.
Sled hockey was introduced into the Winter Olympics back in 1994.
Now there's a league featuring disabled and able bodied players in Wilmington.
Eleven-year-old Kane Goodman loves the game. Born with neuroblastoma, his parents did not know if he would survive, never mind walk.
Now he can walk, with the help of braces. But hockey was out of the question, until now, thanks to a tricked out sled.
The game has also introduced him to new friends.
"All my friends are mostly able-bodied, so they don't play sled hockey," he told WBZ NewsRadio 1030.
"It is a total, total dream to have something for him to do, something for him to brag about. We come from a hockey town – Andover, Mass. – and all his friends, that's all they talk about and they go to tournaments. And now he can walk with his head held high, saying, 'my team has a tournament this weekend,' 'I have practice on Sundays,' so it's more than I could ever ask," Kane's mother Tracy told WBZ.
It's the same story for six-year-old Gavin.
He gets around pretty well in his wheelchair, but when he's on the ice, he's something else.
When asked how fast he can go, he said, "maybe 30 miles per hour."
Joe Dellano heads the Boston Shamrocks sled hockey program at the Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington.
He told WBZ, disabled or not, once you try it, you'll be hooked.
"What's great about it is that you have two sticks, you're in a sled and you're able to get around pretty easily and it equalizes everybody and everybody's having a great time and it's a lot of fun for both because nobody's really disabled on the ice," he said. "Everybody is equal."
For more information visit the Shamrocks website.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karen Twomey reports
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