Massachusetts high school hockey goalie excels on ice despite being legally blind
EVERETT – Aaron Al-Marayati isn't like most high school hockey goalies.
"If you'd said five years ago he'd be playing high school hockey. I'd say you're crazy, there's no way," said Malden father Ghazi Al-Marayati of his son.
Despite living with severe vision loss, the junior goalie always finds a way. He plays for Team REMM, made up of players from Revere, Everett, Mystic Valley, and Malden high schools, because the schools can't field entire teams on their own.
"I just love playing. It's taken a lot of work to stay competitive but I'm happy with where I am," the 17-year-old said.
When Aaron, was 10, after he'd already fallen in love with the game, he was diagnosed with Stargardt Disease, a juvenile form of macular degeneration that affects his central vision.
"I can have some trouble seeing the puck when it's far away. I've had to work harder making sure I'm always in the right position," Aaron, who is who is Braille proficient, explained of his vision.
Aaron's parents would always yell from the stands, to help fill in the blanks of what he might be missing on the ice. This year the MIAA granted the accommodation of a small earpiece under his helmet.
"A shot from really far away; He tells me when I can play the puck; Instead of yelling over the glass I have him right in my ear. It has helped a lot with keeping me confident and on angle," Aaron said of hearing his father's directions.
Wearing glasses, Aaron's vision is around 20/250, meaning what someone with normal vision can see from 250 feet away, Aaron could only see from 20 feet. It's amazing when you consider the speed of high school hockey.
"He just doesn't quit because something is hard on any part of his life. He doesn't quit. He doesn't give up. As a mom I'm very proud," Karen Rockwell said.
Aaron wants to be an engineer. He is already applying his problem-solving mindset to life on and off the ice.
"I don't see him winning a Stanley Cup, but just the fact that he can be out there and compete close to the same level as everyone else is like winning the Stanley Cup every day," his father said.
