When Karen Kelm’s son Noah first stepped on the ice, all she and her husband Mike could do was cry.
Noah had always wanted to be a hockey player. He also has a rare disease that affects his speech and cognitive function.
Now 21, Noah started playing six years ago, and is living his dream thanks to SuperHEROS, a hockey program in Western Canada for those with cognitive and physical disabilities.
“Noah has the most complex needs of my kids,” said Karen. “This gives an opportunity for my other two (children) to really see that he’s just Noah. He’s not just their older brother with different needs. They’re here to celebrate him and cheer him on and see him for the spark he has.”
Noah’s disease does not have target treatments to help with his speech and communication. Since starting with SuperHEROS, Noah’s communication and function have improved.
Karen says hockey helped that. “Hockey has done what research has yet to do,” she said.
SuperHEROS started in 2018 after Rob Kerr and Kevin Hodgson identified a need in Western Canada. A hockey program for young kids suffering from cognitive or physical disabilities did not exist. HEROS hockey – a program providing free hockey for marginalized kids – had already been established in Canada, but Western Canada had no options for kids with disabilities.
After a parent of a child with autism explained the situation to Kerr, he and Hodgson got to work.“The problem with sports in our country has always been you, as the athlete, need to adapt to the sport to be a part of it, and that’s wrong,” said Kerr. “The sport needs to adapt to the needs of the athlete.”
“That first year was a lot of learning, a lot of trial and error, but we really felt good about it,” said Kerr. “We also learned that it wasn’t just about the kids, but the parents.” Making SuperHEROS a program where everyone, including the adults, felt welcome and comfortable became priority number one for Kerr and Hodgson.
Familiarity is important for the kids, says Kerr. “They see it in school and other places, where it’s never the same people. If you volunteer (with SuperHEROS), we ask that you come to 75 per cent of the ice times.”
“They need the continuity.”
The practices are pure joy. Kids smiling ear-to-ear, laughing with each other and the volunteers, parents watching from the stands. Any support the kids need is provided so that everyone can be involved. Some kids sit and talk the whole time, while others skate for an hour straight. For those who cannot skate because of their disabilities, a volunteer takes them wherever they want to go.
It is impossible not to feel a sense of belonging and community.
Last March, SuperHEROS teams from four different cities flew to Ottawa for their first tournament. They got the whole tournament experience, such as staying at a hotel and team dinners.
“Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever cried in a hockey arena, but there were a lot of happy tears that day,” said Josh Delves, an Ottawa-based fundraiser for SuperHEROS. “It was such a special experience, watching 15 deserving kids being able to experience that for the first time.”
SuperHEROS is being introduced to various cities that need these kinds of programs for their youth. The number of lives the program can change is unfathomable. As Kerr puts it, “There isn’t a limit on this.”
To find out more about the program, volunteering or donating, visit https://heroshockey.com/programs/super-heros/.
